As Democrats face a resurgent presidential race and tough challenges in the Senate against a resurgent Donald J. Trump, they have an increasingly powerful political weapon: a ballot measure to protect abortion rights. I believe I got it.
Arizona and Nevada, two key presidential and Senate battleground states, are expected to put such measures directly before voters. The same goes for other states with top Senate races, such as Maryland and Montana. Abortion rights measures are also in place or likely to appear on the ballot in states such as New York, Florida, and Nebraska, where Democrats will be in a race to take back the House. It may be decided.
Hopeful Democrats – and worried Republicans – have seen a rise in abortion access in red states like Ohio and Kansas and beyond since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade two years ago. We are keenly aware of the success of any ballot measure that seeks to protect or restore . Battleground states like Michigan. These measures have led to a sharp rise in voter turnout for liberals and even helped Democratic candidates win.
So in every state where abortion bills are already on the 2024 ballot or could be on the 2024 ballot, Democratic candidates, state parties, and allied groups are running a furious election campaign alongside ballot efforts. They are active, running ads, funneling money toward abortion legislation, and addressing it in speeches. After the speech.
In Arizona, where Democrats are trying to overturn Congress, party candidates are knocking on voters' doors and even gathering signatures for the state's ballot measure.
“When the abortion petition came out, it made sense to carry it around,” said Brandi Reese, a Democrat running for the Arizona House of Representatives, who said she collected dozens of signatures during her campaign. . “I introduce myself as a candidate who is in favor of running for office, and you can easily tell by people's body language that they are excited to hear that. ”
A wave of abortion referendums, some of which aren't officially on the ballot yet, organizers say, but most have gathered enough signatures to put them on the ballot. , adding new unpredictability to an election season already disrupted by Trump's criminal case and other difficult questions. About the future of democracy in this country.
Polls show a majority of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, at a time when President Biden faces stubbornly low approval ratings and skepticism within his own party. , this measure could serve as a political life raft. Democrats hope the get-out-the-vote effort will increase turnout among core voters such as suburban women, young people and African Americans.
“This is a well-funded and well-organized effort,” said Democratic strategist Christina Freundlich. She's “generating a tremendous sense of energy, not just within the Democratic Party, but across the electorate.”
Party leaders have echoed that message.
“Momentum is on our side,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday at an abortion rights event in Jacksonville, Florida. He voted for freedom. ”
Beyond electoral politics, abortion voting initiatives garner significant attention and turnout because they directly impact voters' lives. In Florida, for example, a new ban on nearly all abortions in the state has cut off a key access point for patients throughout the Southeast. Lawmakers in Arizona this week repealed a near-total ban on abortion, but the state plans to enforce the ban for 15 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Medical professionals have also expressed concerns about criminal penalties being imposed under the ban.
“The fear is just devastating,” said Mona Mangat, president of the Healthcare Protection Committee, an advocacy group that is supporting voting efforts in multiple states. “That would be devastating for health care workers and patients alike.”
Mangat said the restrictions could affect whether doctors want to move to these states to practice or attend training programs.
Abortion is legal in Nevada within 24 weeks of pregnancy. Organizers are gathering signatures to put an amendment to the state constitution that would recognize the right to abortion on the ballot. The state's top Democratic politicians, including Sen. Jacky Rosen, who is facing a close re-election race, signed the petition.
Rep. Dina Titus, also a Nevada Democrat, said in an interview that even if there is no impetus to overturn broader regulations, the amendment would encourage voters, especially young people, to vote.
“We're going to talk about it in terms of how this really protects women,” Titus said. “And we use this to get young women and young people in general to vote, because they suddenly realize that things they took for granted are no longer available to them.”
Although some Republican leaders have voiced opposition, Republican candidates and their allies appear reluctant to campaign directly against ballot measures to protect abortion rights.Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recorded a video In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis opposed the state initiative last year, saying the current voting criteria were too broad. “Overriding parental consent for the benefit of minors is completely unacceptable,” he said at an event last month.
Given recent developments in abortion referendums, some Republicans are openly concerned that restrictive measures like those in Florida could play into Democratic hands.
“For me, Kansas and Ohio should be on everyone's radar,” said state Rep. Vicki Lopez of Miami, one of the few Republicans to vote against Florida's six-week ban. Ta. Voters will now decide in November whether to add the right to abortion to the state constitution, an issue known as the Fourth Amendment. “This will be a test.”
But Lopez added that it would be a mistake to think that “everyone who voted for the Fourth Amendment is actually going to vote for Biden.”
Either way, Democrats believe they have an advantage. “Reproductive freedom will continue to be an important issue for voters this November,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a memo last month, adding that the group hopes “voters will seek a nationwide ban on abortion.” “We will continue to prioritize the efforts of House Republicans.” It's a public opinion poll. ”
The DCCC announced that it has identified 18 contested House seats in states where abortion measures are likely to be on the ballot. Republicans are trying to protect their narrow House majority.
Money for voting measures is cascading in from both major liberal groups and small donors. Some so-called underground finance organizations, whose donors are not disclosed, have donated millions of dollars, including the Open Society Policy Center, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the Fairness Project. Other advocacy groups such as Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union have also donated seven figures.
Think Big America, an abortion rights group founded by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, has spent millions supporting abortion efforts. After spending $1 million in Ohio last year, $1 million has already been spent in Arizona and Nevada, and a so-called “rush investment” of $500,000 in Montana, where the issue is not yet on the November ballot. I did it.
“This has the power not only to eliminate Democrats, but to ensure that the wavers, independents, persuasive voters, and other people who are on the fence are on the side of long-standing beliefs in reproductive freedom.” said Michael. Mr. Oren is the executive director of Think Big America.
In Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs directed Arizona Communities United, a well-funded state political action committee, to focus on ballot initiatives.
Hobbs, who has navigated the narrow Republican majority in Congress during his first two years in office, has made reversing both chambers a key goal in 2024 and sees voting bills as a central part of that effort.
In Nevada, the Biden campaign hosted ballot initiative organizers this month to collect signatures at an event featuring Jill Biden and Harris.
Speaking in the state, Harris thanked the petitioners in the audience. They responded by holding up clipboards and cheering.
“We will win this ballot initiative,” the vice president said. “And Joe Biden and I will return to the White House.”
Patricia Mazzei Contributed to the report.
