Abortion rights activists eye ballot measures as a new red-state strategy

Here’s one way to make abortions legal again in red states with bans: ballot measures

Abortion rights advocates are quietly exploring ballot measures to enshrine access to the procedure into state constitutions in 2024, including in several GOP-led states with restrictions on the books. 

Conversations are in the early stages. But discussions around whether to pursue an abortion rights ballot measure are occurring in states including Ohio, Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado and Missouri, according to interviews with more than a dozen advocates, liberal groups and others, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations.

One person familiar with the discussions said at least a dozen states are exploring — or are expected to soon explore — whether a citizen-led petition is a viable path to restoring or protecting abortion access in their state. 

This represents an emerging strategy for the abortion rights movement and a growing belief that public opinion is on their side. After the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, advocates believe that appealing directly to voters is one of the only ways to counteract bans in conservative states and reshape access in a post-Roe America. 

• “Every state that has access to direct democracy as a tool will consider if that is a strategy that makes sense for 2024, for 2026 and beyond,” said Sarah Standiford, the national campaigns director at Planned Parenthood Action Fund. But she cautioned that research and analysis will ultimately determine whether state advocates decide to move forward.

An unexpected Kansas victory has already served as a test case for abortion-related ballot measures. In early August, roughly 59 percent of voters in the conservative state defeated an attempt to strip abortion protections from the state constitution. 

Even beforehand, abortion rights supporters began eyeing the ballot box as a critical tool shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

• “Conversations immediately started stirring,” said one person in the abortion rights movement who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations. “Can we do this? Can we make this happen?”

Some abortion rights advocates warn the movement should proceed carefully, wary of pouring millions of dollars into a campaign only for it to be defeated. This comes as antiabortion advocates have already pledged to fight hard against such initiatives.

But in most states — except Colorado — the discussions exploring such campaigns for 2024 are preliminary, and no decisions have been made. Key groups — like the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which helps with liberal ballot measures — advise state advocates to…