Election officials in Arizona and Missouri announced this week that abortion rights advocates in their states had collected enough petition signatures to put amendments to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions on the ballot.

The decisions mean voters in more than a half-dozen states will decide on abortion policies this fall. The proposals are likely to increase voter turnout and potentially influence elections for president, Congress, governor and other state offices.

In a 2022 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion, sparking a nationwide movement to let voters decide.

Since that decision, most Republican-led states have passed abortion restrictions, including 14 that ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led 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?

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 Tuesday that a ballot initiative has received more than enough signatures from registered voters to be eligible for the general election. 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 a fetus is expected to be able to survive outside the womb without extraordinary medical intervention, which is generally around 23 or 24 weeks of pregnancy. 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.

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 said Monday that enough signatures were collected to put the bill on the ballot.

Under the proposed amendment, the state could ban abortions only when the fetus is viable. Later abortions would be allowed to protect the woman’s physical or mental health. Opponents of the proposed amendment say it goes too far and could lead to unlimited and unregulated abortions in Arizona. Supporters say it would protect access to abortion without political interference.

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

Most notably, the informational pamphlet for voters deciding the fate of the amendment allows a fetus to be referred to as an “unborn human being,” according to an Arizona Supreme Court ruling Wednesday. But it’s unclear whether any of the specific wording included in the pamphlet will appear on the ballot.

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.

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.

The amendment would protect access to abortion in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy – or later to protect the health of the pregnant person. To amend the constitution, voters would have to approve it in both 2024 and 2026.

Abortions up to viability are already permitted in the state under a law dating back to 1990.

SOUTHDAKOTA

South Dakota voters will vote this fall on a constitutional amendment that would ban any restrictions on abortion in the first trimester. The measure would allow the state to regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its execution in the second trimester “only in a manner that is reasonably proportionate to the pregnant woman’s physical health.” An abortion ban would be permitted in the third trimester, as long as it provides exceptions to protect the woman’s life and health.

Opponents have filed suit to try to remove the initiative from the ballot.

What is up for election in New York?

Although the right to abortion is not explicitly protected, 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. Abortion is currently legal in New York until the fetus is viable.

The question was on the ballot but was removed in May by a judge who found that lawmakers had overlooked a procedural step in adding it. An appeals court reinstated it in June.

What other issues could be on the ballot besides abortion in 2024?

MONTANA

Abortion rights advocates in Montana have proposed a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the government from denying the right to an abortion before the pregnancy is viable or when it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.

After a legal battle over the wording of the ballot, the Montana Supreme Court in April drafted its version of the wording that would appear on the ballot if enough valid signatures were certified. Supporters had to submit about 60,000 signatures by June 21. They submitted nearly twice that many — about 117,000 — and supporters have said counties have certified more than enough signatures. The secretary of state has until Aug. 22 to finalize the November ballot.

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

NEBRASKA

Competing abortion laws could be on the ballot in November after supporters of both bills said this month they had submitted far more signatures than the 123,000 needed to put them on the ballot.

One proposal would enshrine the right to abortion up to viability in the state constitution. Supporters said they had submitted more than 207,000 signatures.

The other option would be to write the current law, which prohibits abortion after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy with some exceptions, into the constitution. Proponents say they have submitted more than 205,000 signatures.

The bill with the most votes will be included in the state constitution.