Missouri voters are deciding Tuesday whether to undo the abortion rights amendment they passed two years ago and put a new ban in its place, the most closely watched of 145 proposed laws and constitutional amendments on state ballots nationwide.
Several of the measures test President Donald Trump's priorities on redistricting, transgender athletes and voter identification. They share the ballot with midterm races that will settle control of Congress, state legislatures and many governorships.
The Missouri proposal, sent to voters by the Republican-led Legislature, would allow exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal anomalies, plus rape or incest up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion rights advocates, led by national progressive groups, have spent far more than opponents trying to defeat it.
Three other states are weighing new abortion protections modeled on standards that applied nationally before Roe v. Wade fell in 2022. Idaho and Nevada measures would bar bans before fetal viability, generally considered after 21 weeks, while Virginia's would protect abortion through the first two trimesters. Nevada voters must approve their measure a second time for it to take effect.
Redistricting fights
Nine states are holding midterm elections under new congressional maps after a rare round of mid-decade redistricting that Trump encouraged. In Missouri, courts blocked a Republican map meant to gain the GOP another House seat unless voters ratify it in a referendum; if approved, the lines would apply in 2028.
Democratic-led Maryland is voting on a constitutional amendment that could clear the way for new congressional districts in 2028, a move backed by former President Barack Obama and framed by supporters as a check on Trump. In Colorado, where some Democrats also want new maps, a citizen initiative would forbid any 2028 redistricting from favoring a party and require sign-off from an independent commission and the state Supreme Court.
Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington have measures restricting transgender athletes or medical procedures. Citizen initiatives in Colorado and Washington would impose sports limits already common in Republican-led states, Arizona's would extend school sports rules to private schools, and Nebraska's would write existing limits into its constitution. A separate Colorado question would ban some transgender medical treatments for minors.
Voter ID and citizenship
With Trump's call for national voter ID mandates stuck in Congress, activists went around Democratic-led legislatures to put government-issued ID requirements before voters in California, Colorado and Nevada. Nevada's version passed in 2024 but needs a second vote. Republican-led legislatures in North Carolina and Ohio referred measures that would lock current ID rules into their constitutions.
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia are voting on measures reinforcing that only U.S. citizens may vote. Critics call them largely symbolic, since noncitizen voting is rare and already illegal in federal races, though a handful of localities, including parts of California, Maryland and Vermont as well as Washington, D.C., allow it in certain local contests. Similar amendments passed in all eight states that considered them two years ago.
Election rules and other measures
Massachusetts voters could replace party primaries with an open system sending the top two finishers to the general election, while Alaskans decide for the second election in a row whether to drop open primaries and ranked choice voting. North Dakota and South Dakota would require 60% voter approval to amend their constitutions, Utah proposes the same bar for tax-raising citizen initiatives, and Missouri would require an 80% legislative vote to revise voter-approved initiatives.
A Colorado amendment placed on the ballot by conservative activists would weaken state limits on working with federal immigration agents. Officers would have to alert federal homeland security officials when a person lacking legal status, or whose status is unclear, faces a violent-crime charge or a fresh charge after an earlier felony.
Arizona voters are also considering limits on traffic cameras, a measure the Republican-led Legislature referred after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a ban. It would block new camera contracts starting in 2027 and force local governments to hold votes on keeping existing systems; Hobbs says the cameras improve safety, while opponents cite privacy concerns and misuse by some officers.
