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Abortion remains front and center in the 2026 election. This week, Kansas voters sent a clear message. They overwhelmingly rejected a ballot measure that would have subjected members of the state's Supreme Court to popular election. This wasn't about improving the integrity of the courts. It was about giving politicians another avenue to limit or ban abortion.
Four years ago, Kansans decisively rejected a constitutional amendment that would have stripped away abortion protections in their state. Rather than accept the will of the voters, anti-choice extremists pursued a different strategy to alter the impartial makeup of the courts and enable anti-choice judges to be placed on the courts.
On Tuesday night, Missouri voters delivered a similar verdict. They overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have made it significantly harder for citizens to amend the state constitution by requiring ballot initiatives to pass in every congressional district rather than by a simple statewide majority. The proposal followed Missourians’ use of the citizen initiative process to overturn the state's near-total abortion ban. If the extremists can't win, they simply try to underhandedly change the rules.
Voters will not be fooled or stopped by these tactics. In November, Idaho voters will have the opportunity to overturn that state's near-total abortion ban through their own ballot initiative. Citizens are standing up, speaking out, and taking action.
This pattern is impossible to ignore. Since the Dobbs decision, when abortion has been put directly before the voters, they have repeatedly shown support for protecting reproductive freedom, despite the will of their governors or statehouses.
However, anti-choice extremists are not giving up. They are simply changing their tactics, targeting courts and citizens’ rights. State ballot measures have become an essential tool — and a sword — in the battle for reproductive rights. But they are also creating chaos and a patchwork of laws across our country. The only way to ensure that abortion rights and care are available universally in this country is to have a pro-choice Congress that will pass pro-choice federal laws. Otherwise, millions of women will be left without the health care and protections they deserve.
Elections have consequences.
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