Voters in as many as 13 states could decide on abortion measures this year, though it’s too soon to predict exactly how many will secure spots on the 2024 ballots.
Proposals to enshrine constitutional protections for abortion have been certified for ballots in Maryland and New York. In Florida, abortion-rights advocates submitted more than the 890,000 valid signatures needed to get on the ballot, and their proposal is under review in the state Supreme Court, which has scheduled arguments for Feb. 7.
Signature-gathering efforts have begun in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, and South Dakota.
Earlier this week Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen blocked a ballot proposal seeking to create a constitutional right to abortion, opening a short window for advocates to challenge the rejection in court, while in Arkansas, state officials are reviewing potential abortion-rights ballot language, a key step before the signature gathering can begin.
On the other side of the issue, lawmakers in Iowa and Pennsylvania are pushing for statewide votes on proposals declaring that their state constitutions don’t provide the right to an abortion. In both states, the legislature has the power to put questions on the November ballot.
It’s all part of a wave of activism that followed the US Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade. Since that 2022 ruling, abortion rights proponents won seven out of seven statewide ballot initiatives. Initiative commercials will compete with presidential and other campaigns for advertising attention, and could have an impact on turnout. — Celine Castronuovo
(Planned Parenthood has received funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization founded by Michael Bloomberg. Michael Bloomberg is the majority owner of Bloomberg Government’s parent company.)
CALIFORNIA: Gaming Proposal
Sports betting could return to the ballot in California after expensive dueling 2022 campaigns went down in defeat. Two new measures backed by gambling industry veteran Kasey Thompson and former Tether CEO Reeve Collins are being proposed.
The measures would allow tribes in California to offer online sports betting, which is currently illegal in the state, as early as mid-2025. James Siva, chair of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, called the proposals “disingenuous” and urged the initiatives’ supporters to withdraw the ballot measures.
The campaign didn’t respond to messages but its growing list of opponents have cast the duo as interlopers in the world of tribal gaming. The Sports Betting Alliance, which includes BetMGM and DraftKings, has said it also opposes the initiatives. — Andrew Oxford
LOUISIANA: Up in the Air
Louisiana’s Republican legislature ended the week still looking for consensus on new congressional lines.
A Senate-passed map would convert Republican Rep. Garret Graves’ 6th District into a Black-majority area linking Shreveport with Baton Rouge. On paper, Democrats would have an edge in two of six seats, up from one now, on that map and on an amended version a state House committee advanced that also imperils Graves.
Backers of the Senate proposal — including new Gov. Jeff Landry (R), whom Graves didn’t back in the October election — said they want to protect Rep. Julia Letlow (R) of the 5th District, who’s the only woman in Louisiana’s delegation, as well as Speaker Mike Johnson (R) of the 4th District and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R) of the 1st District.
Landry and his allies said they’d rather have the GOP legislature draw lines than leave the task to US District Judge Shelly Dick, a Barack Obama appointee who ruled the current 5-1 map likely violates the Voting Rights Act. Louisiana is one-third Black but has just one Black-majority district, the New Orleans-area 2nd District of Troy Carter (D).
Johnson and some conservative activists (who have noted the speaker’s tiny Republican majority in Washington) want to defend the current 5-1 map at a trial. Dick set a Jan. 30 deadline for the legislature, which is slated to conclude its special session Jan. 23. — Greg Giroux
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CALIFORNIA: Schiff Is Spending
Campaign commercial trackers at AdImpact report a jolt of TV spending in California’s US Senate primary, including reservations for $13 million in spots by the campaign of Rep. Adam Schiff (D). Here’s their breakdown of the advertising purchases so far:
California’s all-parties primary is March 5; the top two vote-getters advance to the general election.
NEW JERSEY: We Gotta Wait
Run for re-election while fighting federal corruption charges and assuring constituents of your innocence is a decision that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) says he hasn’t yet made.
Menendez told BGOV’s Zach C. Cohen he’ll make up his mind “before the filing deadline” on March 25. (Asked if he’d already decided, the senator shook his head.)
Meanwhile, fellow Democrats are working to become Menendez’s successor. Jonathan Tamari has this look at the efforts of Democrats Tammy Murphy, a first-time candidate married to a sitting governor, and Rep. Andy Kim: NJ Race to Replace Menendez Pits Insiders vs Grassroots Backlash.
OHIO: Skipping the Primary
If you were in Washington 11 years ago, you’ll appreciate this blast from the past: Ex-Rep. Dennis Kucinich, previously the youngest mayor of a major city, an eight-term member of the House, and briefly a presidential aspirant, is seeking a congressional comeback at age 77.
In his first political iterations Kucinich was a Democrat. Now he’s running as an independent. READ MORE from News 5 Cleveland.
ALABAMA: One-of-a-Kind Contest
Now that we’re a whole cycle away from redistricting in most states, there’s only one incumbent-versus-incumbent primary to watch. It’s the March 5 Republican contest between Reps. Jerry Carl and Barry Moore under the new court-ordered lines in Alabama’s 1st District.
Carl’s newest TV ad lauds Donald Trump’s border-security positions and knocks Moore for voting with Democrats last September against a stopgap funding and border measure (H.R. 5525) that included most provisions from House Republicans’ border security package (H.R. 2). Moore was among 21 Republican dissenters, most of them colleagues in the hard-right Freedom Caucus.
His position is that Congress should have done more to pass all 12 appropriations bills instead of a 30-day continuing resolution. They’ll debate Jan. 24. — Greg Giroux
Resources
- Our past coverage: BGOV Archive and BLAW Archive
- Tracking Departures in the US House and Senate
- Litigation Trackers: ABC News, Loyola Law School, and Brennan Center
- BGOV OnPoint: US House Election Landscape
- BGOV OnPoint: US Senate Election Landscape
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