KFF’s analysis of the 2026 midterm elections focuses on four states with abortion-related ballot measures: Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia. The data comes from the NORC Civic Health and Elections Project, a survey of the 2026 midterm electorate conducted nationally and in all 50 states. Midterm voters decided on four abortion measures, with outcomes varying widely across the region.
Missouri and Idaho Reject Rights Measures
In Missouri, the Republican-led legislature placed Amendment 3 on the ballot to repeal the constitutional right to abortion approved in 2024 and add a prohibition on gender-affirming care for minors. Voters rejected the amendment, keeping the existing right to abortion in place. About 58% of voters opposed repealing the right to abortion, while 62% supported prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors. However, voters were more than five times as likely to prioritize abortion policy over gender-affirming care in their decision, with 45% citing abortion policy as the more important issue compared to 8% for gender-affirming care.
Idaho voters rejected Proposition 1, a citizen-initiated statute that would have established a right to reproductive freedom, including abortion before fetal viability and after viability in cases of medical emergency. Women of reproductive age were split, with about half voting to expand abortion access and half rejecting the measure. The rejection leaves Idaho with its existing near-total abortion ban, one of the most restrictive in the country. Leading candidates for governor in Idaho took opposing positions on the measure, with Democrat Terri Pickens supporting it and Republican Gov. Brad Little opposing it.
For voters in these two states, the measures had a major impact on turnout. In Missouri, about 43% of voters said the measure had a major impact on their decision, including about half of women of reproductive age (51%) and Democratic voters (54%).
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Across Missouri and Idaho, many voters held views that did not align with the ballot measure provisions. In Idaho, the split between Democrats and Republicans on the measure was stark, with 98% of Democrats supporting Proposition 1 and 79% of Republicans opposing it.
Virginia and Nevada Approve Rights Measures
Virginia voters approved Question 1, a constitutional amendment that enshrines the right to reproductive freedom, including decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care. The amendment passed with 62% support, including more than 94% of Democrats and about 35% of Republicans. Three-quarters of women of reproductive age voted in favor of protecting abortion access. Along with the measure, Virginia voters cast ballots in a U.S. Senate race, where Democratic Sen. Mark Warner sought a fourth term.
Nevada voters approved Question 6, the Right to Abortion Initiative, for the second time. The measure adds a constitutional right to abortion up to fetal viability, and after viability when the pregnant person’s life or health is at risk. Voters first approved the measure in 2024 with 64% support. This time, the measure passed with 63% support, including nine in ten Democrats and nearly half of Republicans. Eight in ten women of reproductive age supported the initiative. Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford supports the measure, while Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has said abortion rights should be left to voters and signed a law protecting out-of-state patients who travel to Nevada for abortion care.
Impact on Turnout and Voter Motivation
In Idaho, Missouri, and Nevada, proponents of abortion access were more likely than opponents to say the measure had a major impact on their decision to vote, but in Virginia, those who oppose access to abortion were more likely than supporters of the measure to say it majorly impacted their decision to turn out. At least three in ten voters in each of these states said the abortion ballot measure in their state had a major impact on their decision. In Nevada, about a quarter of voters said the initiative had a major impact on their decision, with 34% of voters who supported the measure saying it had a major impact.
