Kansas voted decisively to protect abortion rights. These states are voting next

In a big victory for reproductive rights, voters in Kansas on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a change to the state constitution that would have eliminated abortion protections.

The vote in red-leaning Kansas is the first statewide test of voter-driven initiatives to determine the fate of abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year.

It won’t be the last, however.

As we’ve written before, abortion-related measures are either being proposed or already on the ballot in a number of states this year, with some designed to protect women’s right to choose and others designed to take those rights away. Here’s a partial list of what to expect this coming election season:

Anti-abortion measures

Kentucky is probably the big one to keep an eye on here. In November, Kentuckians will vote on a measure very similar to the one that Kansans just rejected. As Louisville’s WPFL points out, a ballot measure would add language to the state constitution that would effectively codify an abortion ban. The stakes are particularly high because Kentucky already has one of the most restrictive post-Roe abortion bans in effect—thanks to a trigger law that was reinstated by an appeals court just two days ago.

Pro-abortion measures

In Michigan, a measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution will likely appear on the ballot after securing enough signatures to do so.
California voters will get to vote on Proposition 1, an amendment designed to ensure reproductive freedom.
Similarly, Vermont voters will have their say on whether to approve Proposal 5, which would add language to the constitution protecting “the right to personal reproductive autonomy and prohibiting government infringement unless justified by a compelling state interest.”

Pending measures

According to a data from Ballotpedia, a number of states have proposed abortion-related ballot measures through the next two years, including Colorado (2022); New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington (2023); and Iowa, Nevada, and South Dakota (2024).