Missouri and Arizona this week joined the list of states where abortion rights will be on the ballot in November.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) certified Tuesday that petitioners had submitted enough valid signatures. That came one day after Arizona officials did the same.
“This is a major step forward for our campaign and for Missourians who want to end our state’s cruel abortion ban,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, which led the petition drive. “The successful submission of more than 380,000 signatures, collected from all 114 counties in Missouri, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of thousands of volunteers and supporters who believe we must end Missouri’s total abortion ban.”
Abortion rights measures have now been certified in eight states, according to KFF. Along with Arizona and Missouri, the other six are Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.
Signatures have been submitted in two more states: Montana and Nebraska. There is a lawsuit in Arkansas, where initiative backers allege the state unlawfully discriminated against them because of the policy.
A wave of legislation and ballot initiatives to protect or ban abortion rights have rolled through the states since the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the federal right to an abortion.
According to the Fairness Project, which has helped fund and organize abortion rights initiatives, 21 GOP-led state legislatures have enacted severe restrictions or bans on abortion. In the most recent ballot test, 57% of Ohio voters last year approved the right to make reproductive decisions.