Election officials in the state of Montana allowed a question on abortion rights to be placed on the November ballot, and the Arizona Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the bill, allowing a similar bill to go before voters.

This week’s decisions mean that citizens in at least eight states will be deciding on abortion policies this fall, which could draw even more voters to the polls in an election that also includes the presidency, the congressional majority and several key state races.

Legal disputes have arisen across the country over whether voters should be allowed to decide these questions for themselves – and over the exact wording on the ballot papers and in the explanatory notes.

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the federal right to abortion in 2022, launching a nationwide initiative to let voters decide.

Most Republican-governed states have since passed abortion restrictions, including 14 that ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-governed states have passed laws or executive orders to protect access to abortion.

In all seven states where abortion issues have been on the ballot since 2022 – California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont – voters have sided with abortion rights advocates.

What will be on the ballot for 2024?

MONTANA

Montana’s Secretary of State announced Tuesday that an abortion issue had been put on the ballot.

If passed, the bill would amend the state constitution to allow the government to deny the right to an abortion before viability – generally meant by 23 or 24 weeks of pregnancy – or when it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.

After a legal battle over the wording on the ballot, the Montana Supreme Court in April drafted its version of the language that would appear if enough valid signatures were certified. Sponsors were required to submit about 60,000 signatures by June 21, but submitted nearly twice that number — about 117,000 — and said counties had certified more than enough signatures.

Following a 1999 ruling by the Montana Supreme Court, abortions are legal in the state until they are profitable.

ARIZONA

Arizona voters will decide in November whether to amend the state constitution to provide abortion rights up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The Arizona Secretary of State’s office announced on August 12 that enough signatures were collected to put the bill on the ballot.

The state’s highest court has addressed the details several times this month, ruling that an informational pamphlet can refer to an embryo or fetus as an “unborn human being,” even though that language isn’t in the amendment and won’t appear on the ballot itself. The court’s latest ruling on Tuesday keeps the measure on the ballot and rejects Arizona Right to Life’s argument that the petition summary was misleading.

The amendment would prevent Arizona from banning abortions before a fetus can survive outside the womb and would allow later abortions to protect a woman’s physical or mental health. Opponents say this goes too far and could lead to unlimited and unregulated abortions in Arizona. Supporters say it would keep abortion access free from political interference.

In Arizona, abortion is currently legal in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

COLORADO

Colorado’s top election official confirmed in May that a bill to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution and require Medicaid and private health insurance to cover abortions had been placed on the ballot for this fall’s election.

Supporters said they had collected nearly twice the number of signatures required.

To change the state constitution, the support of 55% of voters is required.

In Colorado, abortion is already legal at any stage of pregnancy.

FLORIDA

The state Supreme Court ruled in April that a bill legalizing abortion up to viability could go to a vote despite a lawsuit filed by the state. Attorney General Ashley Moody had argued that there were differing views on the meaning of “viability” and that some key terms in the proposed law were not properly defined.

For the law to pass, the support of at least 60 percent of voters is required. Proponents hope to reach this high hurdle after collecting almost a million signatures on the petition to put the law to the vote.

Under a law that went into effect on May 1, abortions are currently illegal in Florida after the first six weeks of pregnancy.

MARYLAND

Maryland voters will also be asked this year to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. Abortion is already legal in Maryland as long as it is not feasible.

MISSOURI

Missouri voters will decide whether to guarantee the right to abortion through a constitutional amendment that would lift the state’s near-total ban.

The Secretary of State’s office confirmed on August 13 that a ballot initiative had received more than enough signatures from registered voters to be approved. To be enshrined in the state constitution, it must be approved by a majority of voters.

The ballot bill in Missouri would create a right to abortion until “there is a significant probability that the fetus will survive outside the womb without the use of extraordinary medical measures.” The ballot bill would allow abortions even after the fetus is viable if a doctor decides it is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

NEVADA

The Nevada Secretary of State’s office announced in June that a ballot question to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution met all requirements to be put before voters in November.

This amendment would ensure abortions in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy or later to protect the health of pregnant women. To amend the Constitution, voters would have to approve it in 2024 and 2026.

Abortions until viability are already legal in the state of Nevada due to a law passed in 1990.

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota voters will decide this fall on a constitutional amendment that would prevent any restrictions on abortion in the first trimester.

The measure would allow the state to regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its implementation in the second trimester “only in a manner that is reasonably proportionate to the pregnant woman’s physical health.” Abortions could be banned in the third trimester, provided there are exceptions to protect the woman’s life and health.

Opponents have filed suit to remove the initiative from the ballot or prevent the results from being counted. A trial on that challenge could take place in September.

What is up for election in New York?

While it does not explicitly protect the right to abortion, a reproductive rights question is on the ballot in New York. The measure would prohibit discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive health care,” as well as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability.

Supporters say it would protect abortion access, which is currently allowed in New York until the fetus is viable. And Democrats have sued to add the word “abortion” to the ballot proposal. It’s unclear when a decision might come, but the Elections Board has until Sept. 11 to certify what’s on the ballot.

There were many twists and turns before the question was put before voters. It was on the ballot, then struck down in May by a judge who found that lawmakers had overlooked a procedural step in adding the question. An appeals court reinstated the question in June.

Where else could the issue of abortion be on the ballot in 2024?

NEBRASKA

In November, Nebraska voters could decide on competing abortion laws after their supporters submitted far more than the required 123,000 signatures.

One would enshrine the right to abortion until viability. Supporters said they had submitted more than 207,000 signatures. The other would add to the Constitution the current law, which bans abortion after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy with some exceptions. Supporters said they had submitted more than 205,000 signatures.

If both bills are approved for voting, the one with the most votes will be included in the state constitution, provided that it also receives more yes votes than no votes.

ARKANSAS

Activists filed petitions to put an amendment on the Arkansas ballot that would prevent lawmakers from restricting access to abortion during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Arkansas currently bans abortion at any point during a pregnancy unless it is necessary in a medical emergency to protect the life of the mother.

State election officials rejected the petitions, saying the documentation was inadequate, so supporters filed suit asking the state Supreme Court to order officials to count the signatures.