On Tuesday, voters in Nebraska will be presented with dueling measures on abortion. While abortion is on the ballot in nearly a dozen states, and recent polling data appears to show support for measures that protect abortion rights, in Nebraska having two measures to choose from means many voters are simply confused.
Referendum 434 would enshrine the existing 12-week abortion ban in the state constitution, banning abortion in the second and third trimesters, with exceptions for sexual assault, incest or medical emergencies. The constitutional protections would make it more difficult for these restrictions to be rolled back in the future.
Referendum 439 would effectively allow abortions into the second trimester by creating a right to abortion “until fetal viability.”
Many voters are having trouble parsing the wording on ballots as well as mixing up which measure aligns with their views. Local news outlets have offered lengthy explainers, and billboards and ads have tried to demystify the measures.
But some advertising has offered such misleading information about Nebraska’s current abortion restrictions that last week the State Department of Health and Human Services issued an alert clarifying the current law, which passed in 2023 and limits most abortions after 12 weeks. The state’s chief medical officer did not specify which ads were misleading.
A new ad featuring six female University of Nebraska athletes supporting abortion restrictions set off controversy; university officials told media outlets the athletes were exercising their First Amendment rights.
It’s possible both measures could pass — they appear on the ballot as “yes” or “no” questions. In that case, the one with the most votes would win.
The dueling measures were confusing from the start, with canvassing problems that led to hundreds of voters erroneously signing petitions.
Fanchon Blythe, who was attending a Republican rally in Omaha for a Senate candidate Saturday, expressed regret that fellow activists had placed a separate restrictive measure on the ballot (Referendum 434) rather than merely focusing efforts on fighting the abortion protections measure (Referendum 439).
“We could have fought and just told the Republicans to vote ‘no’ on 439,” said Ms. Blythe, who owns a nail salon in Lincoln and is the national Republican committeewoman for the state. “Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion.”
John Hanson, an Omaha labor organizer who on Sunday was at a union hall rally for Dan Osborn, an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, said he planned to cast votes on behalf of his female family members to support abortion protections for them. He was confident most voters wouldn’t be confused.
“If you do your homework, you can figure it out,” he said.
Standing beside him was Joe Nussrallah, of Beaver Lake, Neb., who said he planned to enter the ballot booth with a note reminding him how he should vote on each measure because he didn’t want to accidentally wind up voting to support more abortion restrictions.
Local news reported that the fight over abortion access in Nebraska was already the most expensive ballot question race in state history.
The issue is expected to drive turnout in a state that has tight presidential, congressional and Senate races. Last week in parts of Omaha, the most populous city in Nebraska, the number of early voters had already broken records, with some voters standing in line for four hours.
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