Two opposing proposals on abortion rights to be featured on Nebraska’s November ballot

Nebraska voters will face a choice between two conflicting abortion measures in the upcoming election. The options are to either broaden abortion rights or uphold the current 12-week ban. This decision is anticipated to draw more voters to the polls in a state where one of its five electoral votes could be pivotal in the highly contested presidential race.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen revealed that both competing initiatives have gathered adequate signatures to be included on the November ballot. This makes Nebraska the first state to have dueling abortion amendments on the same ballot following the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Among several states, Nebraska is the latest to introduce an abortion measure on the November ballot, joining swing states like Arizona and Nevada. The presence of abortion-related ballot measures in these states is expected to drive increased voter turnout. Other states with similar measures on the ballot include Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, and South Dakota. New York also has a measure aimed at ensuring access without explicitly mentioning abortion.

One of the initiatives seeks to amend the state constitution to guarantee the right to abortion up to viability or later for the protection of the pregnant woman’s health. The organizers of this measure submitted over 207,000 signatures. On the other hand, the competing measure aims to enshrine the current 12-week ban in the constitution, with exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and saving the pregnant woman’s life. Organizers of this measure gathered more than 205,000 signatures.

After validating over 136,000 signatures for both proposals, Secretary of State Evnen confirmed their eligibility for the ballot. A third effort, which aimed to ban abortion entirely and define embryos as people, did not submit petitions. Despite abortion bans being implemented in many Republican-controlled states post Roe v. Wade, proponents of abortion rights have had successes in all seven state-level ballot questions on the issue since 2022.

Abortion could take on a significant role in Nebraska’s Omaha-centered 2nd Congressional District during the U.S. House and presidential races. The House race, featuring a close contest between Republican Rep. Don Bacon and Democratic challenger State Sen. Tony Vargas, is expected to be tightly fought. In addition, in the presidential election, higher voter turnout due to the abortion ballot measures might aid Vice President Kamala Harris in securing the district’s lone electoral vote. Nebraska is known for dividing its electoral votes, and although the state largely leans Republican, the Omaha district remains competitive and has previously awarded its electoral vote to Democratic candidates such as Barack Obama in 2008 and Joe Biden in 2020.