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An analysis released by the Fairness Project, an advocacy group that supports progressive citizen-sponsored ballot measures, argues that “direct democracy is facing a coordinated attack from extremist politicians who are either unresponsive to or intent on silencing the voices of their constituents.”

“It’s certainly a pattern,” Ledford said. “I fully expect additional attacks on the ballot measure process to continue, and we will be fighting these fights next month and beyond.”

"There is a lot of fantastic round-the-clock cycle after cycle organizing that works in these states to pass ballot measures instead of having that infrastructure built behind any party apparatus."

“South Dakota’s implementation of Medicaid this week is a hard-fought victory by voters, advocates, providers, and countless individuals who organized for years to make this possible,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of The Fairness Project, which has helped several states expand Medicaid via voter referendums since 2017.

In each place, Hall said, advocates would have to file proposed ballot language and form committees before Labor Day to qualify for the 2024 ballot. She cautioned, however, that just because surveys show a growing majority of Americans oppose strict abortion bans doesn’t mean ballot initiatives are sure to succeed.

“They are saying: ‘We know that voters disagree with us on this issue, and rather than us changing how we govern to be more in line with the people who we are elected to represent, we are going to change the rules of governance itself to make sure that we don’t have to listen to our constituents.’"

Kelly Hall, the executive director of the Fairness Project, which advances progressive ballot measures, told me, “We will make sure that the voters of Ohio understand the implications, not just for the abortion issue that is coming in November but all of the other issues that Ohio voters will want to vote on in the future.”

Putting up barriers to voting is bad enough, suggested Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, a progressive group. “Now it’s, ‘How can we restrict the power of those... who actually do make it to the voting booth? ‘“