Organizers in Arizona and Nebraska stated on Wednesday that they have submitted a significantly larger number of signatures than required to place abortion rights measures on the ballot for the November election.
In Nebraska, there may be two conflicting propositions. One would add a right to abortion to the state constitution, similar to the Arizona proposal. The other would solidify Nebraska’s existing ban on most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
In both states, the verification of signatures by election officials is now needed before they can be included on the ballots.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Democrats have emphasized abortion rights as a key aspect of their election campaigns this year. Activists in Arkansas are still striving to meet the deadline on Friday to qualify for the ballot there.
In five other states, the abortion issue is already slated to be put before voters this year: Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and South Dakota. New York also has a proposal that advocates claim would safeguard abortion access.
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Arizona organizers have submitted 823,685 signatures, well surpassing the required 383,923 from registered voters. County election officials have until August 22 to verify the validity of the petition signatures and report the results to the Arizona secretary of state.
Arizona currently has a 15-week abortion ban. The proposed amendment would allow abortions up until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions for the mother’s life or health. It would prevent the state from enacting laws that restrict access to abortion.
Critics argue that the proposed amendment goes too far and could result in unregulated abortions in Arizona. Supporters believe that a constitutional change is necessary to safeguard abortion rights from being easily erased by court rulings or legislative actions.
Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition that includes the ACLU of Arizona and Planned Parenthood, delivered 300 boxes of signed petitions to the secretary of state’s office, which has heightened security measures.
Arizona for Abortion Access spokesperson Dawn Penich stated that this was the highest number of signatures ever submitted for a citizen’s initiative in Arizona’s history.
In April, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 1864 abortion ban that only allowed abortions to save the mother’s life and had no exceptions for rape or incest survivors. However, the Republican-controlled Legislature voted to repeal the ban, and Governor Katie Hobbs promptly signed it. The current 15-week ban was enacted in 2022.
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In Nebraska, Protect Our Rights officials submitted 207,000 signatures to safeguard abortion rights. The organizers of SBA Pro-Life America’s rival petition effort also submitted over 205,000 signatures.
Nebraska requires over 123,000 valid signatures, equal to 10% of registered voters, to make it onto the ballot. Signatures must also come from various counties in the predominantly rural state.
A potential third measure that aimed to ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy by identifying embryos as people appears unlikely to qualify for the ballot. There has been no information about gathering enough signatures by the Wednesday deadline.
Supporters of an Arkansas proposal to relax the state’s abortion ban face a deadline on Friday to submit petitions. The proposal would prohibit Arkansas from banning abortion within the first 18 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for various circumstances.
Arkansas’ existing ban only exempts abortions to protect the woman’s life in a medical emergency.
