Competing abortion proposals confirmed to be on November's ballot

Nebraskans will decide between keeping the current 12-week abortion law in place or expanding access during the November election. The Secretary of State confirmed Friday that two competing petition efforts collected enough valid signatures to make the ballot.

One proposal – sponsored by the Protect Women & Children campaign – would enshrine the law banning most abortions after the first trimester through a constitutional amendment.

The new amendment would allow future restrictions to abortion in Nebraska and is supported by Nebraska’s most prominent anti-abortion groups. The Ricketts family, including senator and former governor Pete Ricketts, has donated more than $2 million to the effort.

Voters will also see a proposal to expand abortion rights until fetal viability – usually around 24 weeks – on the November ballot. That petition is backed by Protect Our Rights, a coalition of pro-abortion rights groups like Planned Parenthood, ACLU Nebraska and I Be Black Girl.

Jennifer Gutierrez leads the Nebraska Pregnancy Care Alliance and supports the 12-week ballot measure. She said the competing measures give Nebraskans options at the ballot box.

“There are definitely two distinct pathways with each of these initiatives,” Gutierrez said. “Nebraskans will be able to make that choice of what future they see in our state.”

Both campaigns turned in 136,000 valid signatures, according to a press release from the Secretary of State’s office. That cleared the requirement of about 123,000 signatures from 10% of Nebraska’s registered voters, including signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in 38 counties.

Nebraska is the 10th and likely last state to add abortion access to its ballot. Voters in Missouri, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Florida, Maryland and New York will also weigh in on abortion rights in their states.

Turning toward voter outreach

Allie Berry, a campaign manager for Protect Our Rights, called the signature certification “an important next step for this campaign.”

“Nebraskans in every corner of the state believe in the freedom to make private health care decisions without political interference,” she said in a statement. “Now they can make this a reality in November.”

With the signature requirement cleared, Jasmine Smith said the Protect Our Rights campaign will focus on voter outreach. Smith is a sworn sponsor of the ballot measure aiming to expand abortion access until fetal viability and works as a doula.

“We're just going to keep staying involved and engaged with the community,” she said. “We’ll be getting everyone prepared to know what they're voting for and when to vote.”

Advocates for the 12-week petition effort also said they’ll prioritize communicating to voters.

Marjorie Dannenfelser leads Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and said education will be critical to keeping the current limits on abortion in place.

“If the only thing that people hear is we're going to give you abortion rights again, then we're in trouble,” she said. “If people have a clear eye to what is actually on each ballot on election day, I have no doubt who will win. It will be the 12-week limit.”

Unprecedented

Nebraska is the only state where voters will choose between two proposals for abortion rights, and November’s election will mark the first time Nebraskans see two conflicting petition efforts on the same ballot. It will be up to the governor to declare such a conflict.

“Barring any legal challenges, this November general election ballot will host two ballot measures that appear in direct conflict with each other, which could be the first time this has happened in Nebraska’s history,” Secretary of State Bob Evnen said in a press release.

According to a law established in 1912, whichever gets the most votes will be adopted into Nebraska’s constitution if a majority of voters approve both proposals in November.