In Nebraska, competing bills to expand or restrict abortion rights will be put to a vote in November after election officials confirmed Friday that both sides had submitted enough signatures.

This makes Nebraska the first state to put competing abortion amendments on the same ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, triggering a nationwide initiative for voters to decide.

Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota have already voted on abortion protection measures this year. New York also has a ballot measure that supporters say would protect abortion rights, but there is disagreement about its impact.

Still, there have also been legal battles across the country over whether voters get to decide these issues — and over the exact words on ballots and in explanatory materials. Earlier this week, Arkansas’ highest court upheld a decision not to place an abortion rights referendum on the state’s November ballot, agreeing with election officials that the group behind the initiative had failed to file proper records about the signature gatherers it had hired.

Most Republican-controlled states have passed abortion restrictions since the 2022 ruling, including 14 that ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have laws or executive orders to protect abortion access.

In all seven states where abortion issues have been on the ballot since 2022, voters have sided with abortion rights advocates.

What will be on the ballot for 2024?

NEBRASKA

Nebraska’s Secretary of State announced Friday that two competing abortion measures will be on the state’s November ballot.

One of the initiatives aims to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution – similar to other parts of the USA – as long as the woman’s viability is not yet assured or if it is still possible later to protect the health of the pregnant woman.

The other measure would include the current 12-week ban in the constitution, with exceptions in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the pregnant woman.

MONTANA

Montana’s Secretary of State has confirmed that an abortion question has been placed 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.

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, ruling that an informational pamphlet can refer to an embryo or fetus as an “unborn human being,” even though that phrase is not in the amendment and will not appear on the ballot itself.

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.

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?

Even though the right to abortion is not explicitly protected, a reproductive rights issue is up for vote in New York.

The measure would prohibit unequal treatment based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive health care and autonomy,” as well as gender, 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. Democrats had sued to add the word “abortion” to the description of the ballot proposal put before voters, but a judge rejected that on Friday, saying it was not yet clear how the amendment, if adopted, would be interpreted by the courts.

The electoral commission must certify the election results by September 11.

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.

Geoff Mulvihill and Kimberlee Kruesi, The Associated Press