A voter enters the parish hall at St. John the Baptist Church in Wading River, N.Y., on Election Day Nov. 3, 2026. The parish serves as a Suffolk County, N.Y., voting location. (OSV News/Gregory Shemitz)
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Voters in four states considered ballot measures related to abortion policy Nov. 3, with only one state rejecting a measure to expand access to the procedure, and the others approving proposals to codify a right to an abortion or rejecting further limits.
Voters in Idaho rejected a ballot measure that would have established abortion as a state right, but voters in Nevada and Virginia approved similar measures.
Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said in a Nov. 4 statement that "the results of this election bring serious challenges for the fight for life, but also a tremendous victory in Idaho, where voters rejected an extreme abortion measure and preserved protections for preborn children."
"Voters in Virginia and Nevada approved sweeping pro-abortion amendments, while Missouri voters rejected an effort to restore protections for preborn children. These are devastating setbacks for innocent children who deserve the protection of the law. We will continue working to defend every child whose life is threatened by abortion," Rose said.
The results of the ballot measures came in the same election cycle that saw Democrats win control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by wide margins.
Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, previously urged Catholics in that state to reject Virginia's ballot measure, which he described as "dangerous,” as well as another that would amend the Virginia Constitution to remove a ban on same-sex marriage.
In a Nov. 4 statement, Burbidge said, "Tragically, a majority of Virginians voted this election season to insert an extreme and limitless legal right to abortion into our Commonwealth's constitution. A majority also lamentably voted to strip objectively good and true language from our state's constitution that upheld the truth that marriage is a sacred institution uniting one man and one woman."
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"Despite this defeat, faithful Catholics may be consoled by the certainty that each one of us gave God our best efforts, and that he will not allow those efforts to be in vain," he said. "We know the truth, and no temporary political defeat changes this reality. Thus, we do not despair. We resolve to continue speaking the truth with love and, together, we persevere in faith and hope."
Bans on same-sex marriage in Virginia and other states have effectively been defunct since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.
In Missouri, voters rejected Amendment 3, which would have limited both abortion and certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization in June 2022, resulting in each state determining its abortion laws, voters in most states with ballot measures on abortion in 2022, 2023 and 2024 have supported abortion protections or rejected abortion bans.
More broadly, state ballot measures ask voters to weigh in directly on a policy item, law or regulation, sometimes in lieu of or alongside the legislative process. Rules and procedures for their inclusion on ballots vary by state, as do the topics each state may consider.
Voters in Arizona and Nebraska approved ballot measures that would implement requirements for student athletes to participate on teams that correspond to their biological sex. The outcome of similar ballot measures in Colorado and Washington were still too close to call as of 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 4. Another Colorado measure that would prohibit certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender was also too early to call.
