In a victory for reproductive rights, voters in Missouri on Tuesday rejected a ballot amendment that would have reinstated the state’s abortion ban. Two years ago, Missouri became the first state to undo an existing abortion ban after voters historically approved the measure at the polls following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. The proposed amendment would have barred nearly all abortions in Missouri, as well as added a constitutional ban on gender-affirming care for transgender children and youth. Meanwhile, voters in Virginia and Nevada passed measures to enshrine abortion rights in the states’ constitution. An effort to restore abortion access in Idaho failed.

In more related news, Arizona approved a ballot measure to expand a ban on transgender athletes from participating in school sports. Similar ballot measures in Colorado and Washington state are leading in early results, but votes are still being counted. In Colorado, a measure to ban gender-affirming surgeries for trans youth is also ahead.

In California, Proposition 40, which would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires in the state, is trailing in early returns. This all comes as Arizona rejected a measure that would have required government-issued identification and proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in local elections, including when casting a ballot by mail. A similar voter ID measure also failed in California just days after a federal appeals panel refused the Trump administration’s request to have California set aside about 20,000 mail ballots supposedly sent to noncitizens. However, several other states, including Alaska, North Carolina and Nevada, will now require a government ID or proof of citizenship to vote.
In more related news, voters in Virginia approved a measure to immediately restore voting rights for people convicted of a felony upon their release from prison.