Arizona, 6 other states have abortion on the ballot, will it help Democrats?

Ray Bogan: Arizona voters will decide whether to enshrine the right to an abortion into their state’s constitution this November. The Arizona Secretary of State’s office announced it certified a ballot measure after the ‘Arizona for Abortion Access’ coalition submitted a petition with more than 577,971 signatures, surpassing the required 383,932 signatures.  

The measure is called the Arizona Abortion Access Act. It amends the state constitution to say, “every individual has a fundamental right to an abortion”, the state shall not enact a law that interferes with that right before fetal viability or after if necessary to protect the physical or mental health of the pregnant individual. It defines fetal viability as the point in which a doctor determines there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’ sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures. That usually occurs by 24 weeks. 

In addition to the ballot measure and the presidential election, Arizonans will also be choosing who they want as their next Senator. 

The race is between Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake, a former TV news anchor. It’s a race that could decide which party wins the Senate majority. 

Other states are in Arizona’s position. There are 11 states where an abortion related measure is either already on the ballot, or organizers are actively seeking ballot access. That includes Montana, Nevada, Arizona and Maryland which all have hotly contested Senate races. 

Since the Dobbs decision in June of 2022, abortion ballot measures have gone undefeated. In August of that year, Kansas voters shot down a proposed constitutional amendment that said there’s no right to an abortion. During the midterm elections in November 2022, five states voted on abortion related ballot measures, in each one, voters chose to protect abortion access. In 2023, Ohio voters did the same. 

Despite the momentum in favor of abortion rights, it doesn’t appear to be helping Democratic candidates. As an example, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, R, is considered a safe bet to win his reelection, according to the Cook Political Report. Incumbent Democratic Sens Jon Tester, Mont., and Jackie Rosen, Nev., are both toss-ups. 

An AP-NORC poll from July found that six in ten Americans think their state should allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don’t want to be pregnant for any reason.