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Across the country, right-wing officials and interest groups opposed to the will of voters aren’t trying to change minds — they’re trying to change the rules.
Citizen-led initiatives aimed at protecting reproductive rights are under attack, with anti-abortion rights politicians challenging signatures, devising competing initiatives meant to confuse voters, and challenging ballot measures in court to prevent voters from having the opportunity to weigh in at the voting booth.
- This November, ballots in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota will include measures aimed at protecting abortion rights.
But even when voters choose to protect abortion rights through ballot initiatives — as Americans in seven states have done since 2022 — the attacks continue, whether in court or through behind-the-scenes subversion.
This week, American Oversight announced its investigation into efforts to undermine direct democracy by sabotaging abortion access ballot measures. We have filed public information requests in seven states to learn more about the attempts to undercut these ballot initiatives nationwide.
- In Missouri, we requested communications about the “decline to sign” initiative, as well as communications with anti-abortion rights groups from the governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and key state legislators.
- We also made requests in Montana, Nebraska, and Nevada, asking the offices of the respective states' attorney general, governor, and secretary of state for records related to upcoming abortion-related ballot measures. In Florida, we asked state officials for similar records.
- In Arizona, we’re seeking Republican House leadership and staff communications concerning their strategy to address the state’s abortion rights ballot initiative. Requests were also sent to multiple legislators and the state treasurer, seeking communications with anti-abortion figures, with certain external state officials, or about abortion and ballot measures.
- Additionally, following Ohio’s passage of its abortion-rights initiative in 2023, we sent requests to the governor and four state representatives seeking their external communications with anti-abortion figures, and later sent requests to the attorney general and State Medical Board seeking guidance regarding the implementation of the passed amendment and any related complaints or documents.
- Learn more about our investigation here.
Settlement in Lawsuit Against Ohio Secretary of State
After months of mediation, we reached a settlement in our lawsuit against Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose for records related to the 2023 decision to withdraw Ohio from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), the bipartisan voter-roll maintenance tool.
- American Oversight’s investigation and the documents we obtained show how election officials defended ERIC behind the scenes while publicly caving to a pressure campaign led by some of the same people who sought to keep former President Trump in power in 2020. This includes LaRose, who had publicly praised ERIC as “one of the best fraud-fighting tools that we have” and saying that it had “provided great benefit for us."
- The records released through the litigation shine light on the months leading up to Ohio’s departure from ERIC and LaRose’s apparent evasion of transparency by using the encrypted Signal Messenger app to discuss government business.
On the Records
Missouri Legislator Working to Sabotage Ballot Measure
Records we obtained from Missouri show how state Sen. Mike Moon — a staunchly anti-abortion rights legislator — has sought to subvert the state’s measure related to abortion rights by trying to amend the ballot initiative process.
Earlier this year, 380,000 Missourians — more than double the number required — signed a petition to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow abortion up to the point of fetal viability (typically 23 or 24 weeks into a pregnancy). In response, conservatives in the state pushed a bill that would have made it much harder to pass any constitutional amendment via a ballot initiative.
- In records we obtained, Moon’s policy director directly tied Moon’s desire to defeat the measure to his support for adding a concurrent majority measure to the initiative petitions. Moon’s chief of staff suggested collaborating with Priests for Life, a Catholic anti-abortion rights group, to defeat the amendment.
- We also obtained documents related to the “decline to sign” campaign launched by anti-abortion activists in Missouri, which discouraged people from signing the ballot measure petition and pushed those who had signed to withdraw their signature through the secretary of state’s office.
Other Stories We're Following
Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
- Amid fears of a November crisis, states have legal mechanisms to ensure votes get certified (Votebeat)
- Election integrity group presents to sheriff in another attempt to prove voter fraud (Argus Leader)
- Election deniers in key states are newly empowered in 2024 (The Hill)
- Virginia removes 6,303 'noncitizens' from voter rolls, fueling fraud allegations (NBC News)
- Grand jury information exposed by defense attorney in Arizona fake electors case (AZ Central)
- How Arizona’s Maricopa County Became the Battleground for Election Conspiracies (New Yorker)
- The GOP is making false claims about noncitizens voting. It’s affecting real voters (NPR)
- In Georgia, Local Officials Express Frustration Over New Election Rules (NY Times)
- Here's How Pro-Trump Georgia Officials Wrote New Rules to Deny Election Results (Rolling Stone)
- Republicans sue over partisan breakdown of election workers in Detroit (Detroit News)
Voting Rights
- Texas Gov. Abbott orders hospitals to collect and send state data on patients’ immigration status (Yahoo News)
- 2 Waukesha County communities vote to ban ballot drop boxes (Wisconsin Public Radio)
- Latinos accuse Paxton of using AG’s office to suppress voter turnout (Dallas News)
- Texas' new drivers license rule may make it tougher for trans people to vote (San Antonio Current)
- Texas Removed 1 Million From Voter Rolls. But Most Had Moved or Died (NY Times)
- GOP crackdowns on noncitizen voting ensnare newly naturalized Americans (NBC News)
In the States
- Ken Paxton sues to shut down Houston immigration nonprofit for posts criticizing Trump, Abbott (Houston Chronicle)
- Gov. Abbott planning to expand buoy border barriers in Rio Grande (News Nation)
Abortion and Reproductive Rights
- Judge declines to order New York to include ‘abortion’ in description of ballot measure (AP)
- Missouri Republican lawmakers sue to block abortion rights amendment from ballot (Kansas City Star)
- Competing measures to expand or limit abortion rights will appear on Nebraska’s November ballot (AP)
Threats to Education
National News
- Texas, other GOP-led states sue over program to give immigrant spouses of US citizens legal status (AP)
Immigration
- Republicans flood TV with misleading ads about immigration, border (Washington Post)
Trump Administration Accountability
- Deploying on U.S. Soil: How Trump Would Use Soldiers Against Riots, Crime and Migrants (NY Times)
- Trump indicted again in election subversion case brought by Jack Smith (Politico)
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