Ballot Measures
A handful of states asked voters whether they wanted to amend their state’s constitution to clarify that it does not guarantee the right to an abortion or to solidify abortion rights. Voters across these states signaled their support for abortion rights.
Three states approved ballot measures to protect abortion, and voters in deeply conservative Kentucky rejected an anti-abortion measure. In Montana, the electorate voted against a so-called born alive law, which would require medical care to be provided to infants born alive after a failed abortion.
Voters in Kansas had already weighed in, voting in August by an 18-point margin not to amend their state constitution to remove abortion protections.
Competitive races
The composition of state governments holds a new level of significance now that individual states regulate abortion access without federal protection. For example, Democrats prevented Republicans from securing legislative super-majorities in Wisconsin and North Carolina, which could have paved the way for fresh abortion restrictions in those states.
Abortion legal until 15 wks
Arizona
Party control before election
held
Legislature
flipped
Governor
After election
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, won the closely fought contest for Arizona's open governorship, defeating former news anchor Kari Lake, a Republican who is anti-abortion. The victory flips party control for the seat previously held by Republican Doug Ducey and will allow Hobbs to veto any anti-abortion bills that emerge from the Republican-controlled legislature. Abortion is currently legal up to 15 weeks in the state, while a near-total ban first enacted more than a century ago is on hold pending a legal battle.
Legal until viability
Maine
Party control before election
held
Legislature
held
Governor
Appointed office
Attorney General
After election
Democratic Maine Governor Janet Mills won a second term by defeating Republican Paul LePage, who served as governor of the state from 2011 to 2019. Mills ran on a platform that emphasized healthcare, especially her support for abortion rights. Democrats also held onto both chambers of the state legislature, in races that had been seen as extremely competitive ahead of Election Day.
Legal until viability
Michigan
Party control before election
flipped
Legislature
held
Governor
held
Attorney General
After election
Democrats won both houses of Michigan's legislature, taking full control of state government for the first time in decades. Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer won a second term, having campaigned hard on abortion rights. Her Trump-backed opponent, commentator Tudor Dixon, supported a near-total ban on abortion, including for child victims of rape and incest.
Legal until viability
Minnesota
Party control before election
held
Governor
held
Attorney General
After election
Democratic Governor Tim Walz defeated Republican challenger Scott Jensen, a physician who opposes abortion, while Democrats wrested control of the state Senate from Republicans, giving them total control over state government for the first time in eight years. Some Democratic lawmakers have already said they will seek to codify abortion rights in state law; abortion is currently protected under a 1995 state Supreme Court ruling.
Legal until 20 wks
North Carolina
Party control before election
No election
Attorney General
After election
North Carolina’s General Assembly is controlled by Republicans. Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has successfully blocked Republican lawmakers’ efforts to restrict abortion rights. His term runs through 2024, but Republican lawmakers were hoping to pick up a few seats to override the governor’s veto power. Republicans came up short, however, securing a super-majority in the Senate but failing to gain enough seats in the House to override the governor’s veto.
Legal until 24 wks
Pennsylvania
Party control before election
held
Governor
No election
Attorney General
After election
Democrats held onto the governor’s seat in Pennsylvania with Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro defeating anti-abortion Republican state Senator Doug Mastriano. Republicans remain the majority in the state Senate, but Democrats flipped the state House by a slim margin.
Effectively banned
Wisconsin
Party control before election
held
Governor
held
Attorney General
After election
Wisconsin's Democratic Governor Tony Evers narrowly defended his seat against Republican construction magnate Tim Michels, who had falsely claimed that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Michels had promised, if elected, to enforce a 19th-century abortion ban that Evers and Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, who also won his re-election, are challenging in court. Republicans also failed to secure a super-majority in the state Assembly that would have allowed them to override Evers’ veto of potential new abortion restrictions.
Note
Data is current as of Nov. 18, 2022.
Sources
Edison Research; University of Virginia Center for Politics; Guttmacher Institute; National Conference of State Legislatures; Reuters reporting
By
Matt Zdun, Ally J. Levine and Joseph Ax
Edited by
Feilding Cage, Colleen Jenkins, Julia Wolfe and Alistair Bell
