This autumn, voters will have their say not only on political candidates, but also on a plethora of important issues, covering a wide range of areas from life and death matters, crime regulations, and tax changes. With over 140 initiatives to be considered this election season, voters spanning 41 states will have the opportunity to directly influence policy decisions typically made by their elected officials.
The impact of these ballot measures may extend beyond simple policy changes, potentially boosting voter turnout, and might even affect the outcomes for the presidential race in battleground states, congressional control, and tightly competitive state-level offices. The states presenting voters with the most ballot initiatives are California, Colorado, and Arizona, but this could still change as last-minute additions may take place in some states, or some measures might be removed due to successful pending lawsuits.
Among the biggest topics voters will address, abortion rights are in the spotlight this election. This follows the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 that overturned national abortion rights and delegated the matter to individual states. As a result, at least nine states will be voting on constitutional amendments that would cement abortion rights. A majority of these proposed measures would guarantee abortion up to the point of fetal viability and permit it later under certain circumstances, such as safeguarding the health of the pregnant woman.
One exception to this trend is Nebraska, which will instead vote on a measure that would enforce the state’s existing 12-week abortion ban, with allowances for rape, incest, and the protection of the pregnant woman’s life. If both measures proposed succeed in Nebraska, the one with the greater number of votes will be enacted into law. Meanwhile, a proposed amendment in New York, while not naming abortion directly, would forbid discrimination based on ‘pregnancy outcomes’ and ‘reproductive healthcare and autonomy’.
Another sensitive issue on the ballots will be assisted suicide. West Virginia has proposed an amendment to ban medically assisted suicide, the sole measure of its kind in this year’s elections. Physician-assisted suicide is currently permitted in ten states, as well as in Washington, D.C.
Controlling who has the right to vote is also a major theme in this year’s elections. Eight states, in which Republican-led legislatures prevail, are suggesting amendments to affirm that only citizens are eligible to vote. Despite an existing U.S. law from 1996 that already disallows noncitizens from voting in federal elections, along with many states enacting similar bans, specific constitutional prohibitions are being considered in states including Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. This push coincides with a Republican focus on immigration policy and election integrity.
In the sphere of criminal justice, California is contemplating a plan which would strengthen penalties for recurrent shoplifters and fentanyl dealers, while also initiating a new drug court treatment program geared towards individuals with multiple drug possession convictions. This initiative arrives in the wake of rising smash-and-grab theft incidents, and aims to overturn portions of a 2014 effort designed to alleviate prison overcrowding by reducing penalties for nonviolent drug and property offenses.
Other proposals addressing crime include an Arizona initiative that would mandate life imprisonment for certain convictions relating to child sex trafficking. In Colorado, two measures are under consideration to deny bail in first-degree murder cases, and to prolong mandatory prison sentences preceding parole eligibility for individuals convicted of specific violent crimes.
In the realm of elections, several states are looking to overhaul their primary systems. Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and South Dakota voters are facing measures to implement open primaries—a system where all candidates, regardless of party, appear on one ballot. Arizona has presented dual proposals for open primaries or maintaining their current partisan primaries, with the most popular measure succeeding if both pass.
On the other hand, the Florida measure seeks to increase partisanship in school board elections, a reversal from a 1998 amendment that made these elections officially nonpartisan. A few states—Iowa, Nevada, and Oregon—are considering switching to ranked choice voting, where voters rank their preferred candidates, and the votes for the least popular candidates are incrementally reallocated until a majority winner emerges.
A Connecticut amendment seeks to authorize no-excuse absentee voting, while Nevada is proposing an in-person voting identification requirement, or the submission of the last four digits of a driver’s license or social security number for mail-in voters. The latter, if passed, would need a secondary approval vote in 2026 to take effect.
Moving on to topics of economics and finance, a groundbreaking proposal in Colorado aims to be the second state after California to impose a sales tax on firearms and ammunition, with the revenue going primarily towards victims’ services. Under a separate proposal, Arizona intends to make it a state offense to enter from a foreign country except via official ports of entry, and to apply for public assistance using fraudulent documents.
The issue of same-sex marriage is up for consideration again, even though it was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. California, Colorado, and Hawaii are seeking to remove outdated provisions against same-sex marriage from their constitutions. California’s campaign pushes further, advocating for the explicit constitutional declaration that ‘the right to marry is a fundamental right’.
Finally, a noteworthy measure in North Dakota proposes a unique strategy to eliminate property taxes, which could require the state government to provide over $3 billion biennially in replacement revenue to local governments. This proposal is unprecedented and could create a ripple effect in other state elections, depending on its enactment or defeat.