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Washington DC — On Election Day, the Fairness Project expanded its win record by securing six new ballot measure victories on key progressive policies to benefit working people in America, including campaigns to codify reproductive freedom in Michigan and Vermont, expand Medicaid in South Dakota, and raise the minimum wage in Nebraska to $15 an hour. Several national media outlets covered the Fairness Project’s role in securing these wins and its use of ballot measures as a solution to partisan gridlock and political polarization.

Vox: What wins for Medicaid and the minimum wage mean for the future of ballot initiatives

“There’s been this vacuum of leadership, and in places where voters can take matters into their own hands, they’re doing it,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which has worked to support minimum wage and Medicaid expansion initiatives across the country.

Vanity Fair: “This is the beginning of a very long arc”: The midterms prove abortion can galvanize voters

Ballot proposals, according to Kelly Hall… can be “a much more distilled way of getting a sense of voters’ enthusiasm as opposed to candidates where the candidate is not just responsible for their views on abortion, but also the economy and immigration and social security and all sorts of other things.” After the ballot measure to protect abortion in Michigan passed on Tuesday night, Hall hailed the victory. “When voters have a chance to decide on this issue, they choose to protect their rights.”

NBC News: ‘So much relief’: South Dakota voters pass Medicaid expansion

The Fairness Project is a national group that has helped local advocates push through progressive policies via ballot initiatives. Kelly Hall, its executive director, said that it started polling in South Dakota more than two years ago and that the results were not promising initially compared to the results of efforts in states like Missouri or Oklahoma. “South Dakota has felt like the most challenging of the Medicaid expansion fights that we’ve taken on, and a lot of things could have gone wrong along the way,” she said, lauding the coalition her group and others built to get the measure passed.

The Washington Post: With inflation top of mind, voters raise minimum wages in two states

“Nebraska proves to the nation that a $15 minimum wage is not a coastal elite priority,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which helped draft the language for the Nebraska measure. “It’s an absolute necessity everywhere.”

More coverage:

  • CNN: Voters approve Medicaid expansion and a minimum wage increase in these states

  • Arizona Republic: Proposition 209: Arizona voters back lowering maximum interest rates on medical debt

  • Roll Call: Abortion rights backers see big wins in Tuesday results

  • Reuters: Abortion rights wins in Michigan, Kentucky give fuel for future ballot measures

  • Politico: Democrats plan to go on offense after abortion-rights-fueled wins

  • Newsy: 5 States Celebrate Victory To Protect Abortion Rights

  • Bloomberg: Midterm Voters Sent a Clear Message on Support for Abortion Rights

  • Bloomberg Law: South Dakota Votes to Expand Medicaid, Eyes Turn to Abortion

  • Politico: South Dakota votes to expand Medicaid

  • Forbes: Medicaid Expansion Wins In Red State South Dakota

  • Vox: South Dakota voters decide to extend Medicaid coverage to 45,000 people

  • Modern Healthcare: South Dakotans vote in favor of Medicaid expansion

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