LAS VEGAS (AP) — It’s been more than three decades since Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved a law allowing abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Now they have to decide whether to make it a constitutional right.
Nevada is one of nine states where abortion rights are on the ballot, as supporters in the state and elsewhere seek to strengthen abortion access after the election. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadethe groundbreaking decision that made abortion legal nationwide for fifty years.
It’s a crucial issue that could drive voters to the polls in Nevada, a crucial presidential battleground, even if it were access to abortion has been protected by state law since 1990.
Here’s a closer look at key ballot measures in Nevada:
Abortion rights
The 2024 election is just the first test of the measure that seeks to enshrine the right to abortion until the fetus can survive outside the womb, known as “fetal viability,” which doctors say is after 21 weeks, with exceptions to life save the mother or protect her health. Voters would have to approve it again in 2026 to amend the state constitution.
It wouldn’t expand the flow access to abortion in the statebut supporters and organizers of the initiative say it adds an extra layer of protection. State laws in Nevada are more vulnerable to change — the current 1990 law could be overturned by another voter referendum — but proposed changes to the state constitution must be passed in two consecutive elections.
Las Vegas resident Laura Campbell, 36, said she supports the initiative to strengthen access to abortion in Nevada. Without it, Campbell said she’s not sure she would be alive today.
At 27 weeks, she reported that her pregnancy was not viable, meaning the fetus could not survive outside her uterus. Her doctor took her hand and promised to take care of her.
“I was able to come out of that healthy and get pregnant again,” Campbell said. A year later she gave birth to her daughter, now three. “I could have been a tragic story.”
Opponents say the proposed amendment goes too far because it does not clearly define “fetal viability.”
“It opens up a huge can of worms,” says Davida Rochelle (68).
Anti-abortion group Nevada Right to Life also said in a recent ad that the initiative is “deceptively worded” because it does not make clear that abortion is already legal in the state.
Voting process
Two different pre-voter measures could change the way Nevadans cast their ballots.
An initiative to open primaries and implement ranked-choice voting would fundamentally change elections in a key swing state, where nonpartisan voters outnumber registered Democrats and Republicans, and where 42% of voters do not belong to any of the major parties. Supporters of the measure say opening primaries would give a voice to more than 1 million voters in the state who currently have no say in the nomination of major party candidates for congressional races and statewide offices.
If passed, all registered voters in Nevada would be able to vote in primaries for Congress, statewide office and the state Legislature beginning in 2026. It would not affect presidential primaries and races for elected office at the local level.
Under the proposed system, the top five primary candidates, regardless of political affiliation, would advance to the general election, with voters preferentially ranking up to five candidates. The first candidate to receive more than 50% of the votes is declared the winner.
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If neither candidate wins an immediate majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed to the voter’s next highest-ranked candidate. The process would repeat until a winner is declared.
The citizen-led initiative has faced opposition from both Republican and Democratic party leaders ranked choice voting is too confusing.
Another measure on the ballot would require voters to show photo identification at the polls. It’s the first time the Republican-led measure has come before voters and should be re-enacted in 2026.
Slavery as punishment
Nevada voters could reject this election slavery or indentured servitude as a criminal penalty, which remains in the state constitution.
There are currently approximately 10,000 people incarcerated in Nevada. Some earn as little as 35 cents an hour.
There is no formal opposition to the proposed amendment.