Abortion Right, Economic Justice Ballot Measures Win With Voters Nationwide
WASHINGTON, DC – Voters in red, blue, and purple states across the country sent a clear message Tuesday that Americans want abortion access and reject cruel abortion bans, as reproductive rights ballot measures won in seven states and garnered record support on Election Day. As the biggest funder and strategic partner of abortion ballot measures in 2024, the Fairness Project helped drive the historic wins and massive voter turnout for abortion rights, as well as victories on a slate of economic justice measures to raise wages, provide sick leave, and more.
“The trend we’ve continued to see since the fall of Roe held true last night: the American public stands with abortion rights and against dangerous restrictions to reproductive freedom,” declared Kelly Hall, Executive Director of the Fairness Project, which backed no fewer than five of the ten ballot measures upholding abortion rights.
Fairness Project-supported ballot measures on abortion rights won in Missouri, where a total abortion ban was overturned for the first time, as well Arizona and Montana. Reproductive rights measures also swept to victory in Maryland, Colorado, Nevada, and New York.
The organization also supported groundbreaking abortion rights campaigns in Florida and Nebraska, where millions of voters cast ballots for reproductive freedom but were ultimately stymied by political interference and campaigns of voter manipulation.
“More people voted for abortion rights in Florida than voted to elect Donald Trump,” Hall stated. “The fact that 57% of Floridians supported reproductive freedom at the polls is an incredible victory, and the fact that Florida’s repressive system allows minority rule to silence the will of the people is a travesty.”
In several states across the country, including in conservative red states, voters also resoundingly supported ballot measures that raise the minimum wage, expand paid sick leave, and advance other economic policies critical to working families.
The Fairness Project helped secure four victories on these key issues of economic justice and voting rights This includes a higher minimum wage and paid sick time in Missouri and Alaska, and paid sick time in Nebraska. Voters also reaffirmed their dedication to direct democracy, with even voters of conservative North Dakota voting down a proposed restriction on future citizen-driven ballot measures.
“When they are empowered to make the change themselves, voters support preserving their economic interests and strengthening their access to direct democracy,” Hall declared. “In an election whose outcome has led many voters to despair, the results of these ballot measures should reassure Americans that their fellow citizens value popular participation in the democratic process – even if their elected officials do not.”
**Abortion ballot measures supported by the Fairness Project**
In Missouri, a decidedly “red” conservative state, voters of all political ideologies and backgrounds came together to protect abortion rights by approving Amendment 3, which will amend their state constitution to protect abortion access. It’s a decisive victory for reproductive freedom as the first state becomes the first to overturn a total abortion ban since the 2022 overturn of Roe v Wade. The Missourians for Constitutional Freedom campaign, backed by the Fairness Project, won its “Yes on 3” effort Tuesday night, with the “Yes” votes leading 51.7% to 48.3% at the time the race was called.
In Arizona, a state in which Donald Trump is expected to eke out a narrow electoral victory, voters once again reaffirmed their position that reproductive rights belong to the people and should not be subject to government restrictions. The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign, backed by the Fairness Project, won its “Yes on Proposition 139” campaign, with the “Yes” votes leading 62.8% to 37.2% against the opposition.
Montana, known to be a largely rural and conservative state, also saw voters embrace abortion access as a fundamental right belonging to citizens. The Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights campaign, another statewide campaign backed by the Fairness Project, won its “Vote Yes on 128” effort, with the “Yes” votes leading the “No’s” 57.1% to 42.9%.
In Florida, a clear 57% majority of voters backed Amendment 4, which would have enshrined the right to abortion care in the state constitution. However, a 60% threshold for the passage of ballot measures under Florida state law meant that even with a majority of voters supporting the amendment, a minority was able to block its passage. Additionally, extremist politicians, led by Governor Ron DeSantis, took the unprecedented step of turning the tools of the state against the citizens advocating for abortion access. Efforts by DeSantis and his allies included a misleading “financial statement” to the proposed amendment, used state agencies to run oppositional political advertising, and dispatched a state election police unit to residents’ homes, purportedly to root out fraud in the signature-gathering process for the proposed measure months after it was certified for the ballot.
In Nebraska, 48.8% of voters backed a proposed amendment to the state constitution to protect a abortion rights. The state, however, presented a unique challenge, with two dueling ballot measures: one seeking to enshrine the right to abortion access in the state constitution, the other to make permanent the state’s abortion ban. The competing ballot initiative needlessly complicated the voting process and sowed confusion before and throughout Election Day. The result is not conclusive repudiation of abortion access in Nebraska – it does however prove that anti-abortion extremists cannot win on this issue at the ballot box if it’s a fair fight. Initiative 434 was funded by anti-abortion politicians – including a sitting U.S. Senator and multiple University of Nebraska Regents – to confuse their own constituents and deny them the opportunity to vote cleanly on whether to allow government interference in personal healthcare decisions.
**Economic justice ballot measures supported by the Fairness Project**
Missouri voters passed Proposition A, which guarantees a gradual raise of the minimum wage to $15 an hour and the right for workers to earn one hour of paid sick time per 30 hours of work to help care for themselves and their families. The Missourians for Healthy Families and Fair Wages campaign, backed by the Fairness Project, won its “Yes on Prop A” effort Tuesday night, with the “Yes” votes leading 57.6% to 42.4% with 99% of votes counted.
In Nebraska, voters successfully passed Ballot Initiative 436, which guarantees that workers can earn 5-7 days of paid sick time per year to help care for themselves and their children. The Paid Sick Leave For Nebraskans campaign, backed by the Fairness Project, won its “Yes on 436” effort with “Yes” votes leading 74.3% to 25.7% with 95% of votes counted. Thanks to this victory, 250,000 workers who previously had to choose between losing pay, going to work sick, or sending children to school while sick will now have the right to prioritize their health and the health of their families and communities.
In Alaska, voters successfully passed Measure 1, which guarantees a gradual raising of the minimum wage to $15 an hour and the right for workers to earn 5-7 days of paid sick time per year to help care for themselves and their children. The Fairness Project supported Better Jobs for Alaska’s “Yes 1” effort, helping advance this groundbreaking win for workers’ rights in the state. The wage increase included in Measure 1 will help an estimated 23,600 children in Alaska whose parents work minimum-wage jobs to access basic necessities like food, housing, and medical care. The current minimum wage in Alaska is $11.73 per hour, or about $24,000 a year.
**Democracy ballot measure campaigns supported by the Fairness Project**
In North Dakota, voters across the ideological spectrum resoundingly rejected Measure 2, which would have changed the constitution to require voters to pass future amendments twice, in both a June primary and November general elections. The Fairness Project was proud to join the opposition to this attempt to undermine direct democracy. The measure, deliberately designed to make the passage of citizen-driven ballot measures more onerous, would have needlessly complicated the voting process, increased the petition signature threshold for ballot measures, and denied citizens the opportunity to vote on important questions. If passed, it would have allowed as few as 10% of voters to veto the will of the majority.