AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
A record number of states this election year - 10 - are asking voters whether to protect abortion rights by changing their state constitutions. It's also been a notable year for opponents trying to block those ballot questions, through the courts or otherwise. Reporters in two states with abortion on the ballot are here to talk more about this - Regan McCarthy of member station WFSU in Tallahassee, Fla., and Elizabeth Rembert in Omaha with Nebraska Public Media. Good morning to you both.
ELIZABETH REMBERT, BYLINE: Good morning.
REGAN MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
RASCOE: First, Elizabeth, can you tell us where abortion is on the ballot? And which states are seeing attempts to remove the amendments from the ballot?
REMBERT: Yeah, we are really seeing abortion amendments in states across the political spectrum. There's Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New York and Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota.
RASCOE: OK, that's a lot of them.
REMBERT: Yep, and some of those more conservative-leaning states are where we're seeing a lot of effort by opponents to keep abortion rights off the ballot - at least 6 of the 10 states overall. So far, officials in Arkansas are the only ones to succeed. Voters there won't see abortion on the ballot this year, meaning abortion in Arkansas will remain banned in nearly all cases.
RASCOE: Regan, let's go to you in Florida. What have you been seeing around the abortion rights amendment effort there?
MCCARTHY: So in Florida, we had close to a million people signing a petition to get a proposal to protect abortion access on the ballot. Now the state's elections police force, which was created by Governor Ron DeSantis, is looking into who those people are. And some of those people who signed the petition say police have been knocking on their doors, asking whether they actually signed. DeSantis says it's all part of ensuring the integrity of the election.
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RON DESANTIS: There's a lot of seedy activity that goes on. These people come in from out of state. We've tried to do reforms to kind of police this, but I think there was a lot of things going on that wasn't right. So that is going to be investigated.
MCCARTHY: So supporters of the amendment say the signatures have already been verified by election officials, and it's too late to use that argument to remove the proposal from the ballot. They say they see these actions as an effort to intimidate and maybe keep people from voting for the proposal.
And that's not the only thing that's happening. The Florida Supreme Court has just agreed to expedite a lawsuit claiming DeSantis and other members of his administration are trying to interfere in the vote for the amendment.
RASCOE: That's a big claim. How does the lawsuit say the state is interfering?
MCCARTHY: One of the main complaints is a website published by the state's Agency for Health Care Administration. The amendment supporters call the site an unconstitutional misinformation campaign using taxpayer dollars. The state says it's meant to provide facts and transparency about the amendment and state law. But in bold letters near the top, the website says the amendment, quote, "threatens women's safety."
RASCOE: Elizabeth, let's get back to you in Nebraska. What pushback has the ballot initiative gotten there?
REMBERT: Well, Nebraska is unique because we're the only state with two abortion amendments on the ballot. So stay with me, Ayesha, because it's a little confusing. One would expand abortion access until fetal viability in the state constitution. The other would enshrine Nebraska's current 12-week ban in the constitution. And folks on both sides of the issue were in the courtroom early last week.
Two Nebraska women were asking the state Supreme Court to throw out the fetal viability measure. They said it unconstitutionally addressed multiple subjects on a single-ballot proposal. Then a group of doctors countersued, saying that the court should apply that test to both ballot initiatives. Ultimately, the court ruled that both could appear on the ballot, setting up voters to choose between expanding abortion rights or keeping the 12-week limit.
RASCOE: A question to you both - what's been the reaction of abortion rights supporters? Let's start with you, Regan.
MCCARTHY: So here in Florida, abortion advocates say women are in danger under the current six-week ban. Many doctors have expressed concerns. It's unclear how sick a person needs to be before an exception to protect the life of the mother can apply, and advocates are working to spread that message. But they'll need approval from 60% of voters for the proposal to pass in Florida.
RASCOE: OK, Elizabeth, what about in Nebraska? What are abortion rights supporters saying there?
REMBERT: Supporters here called the lawsuits coordinated attempts to prevent voters from having the opportunity to expand abortion access. But there was a lot of gratitude from their side on Friday morning when the Supreme Court decision came down. I talked to Allie Berry, who's the campaign manager for the fetal viability proposal.
ALLIE BERRY: Nebraskans deserve the chance to vote on this. And you know, we feel good about our position. We know that we have the majority. At the end of the day, people don't want government involved in their personal health care decisions.
REMBERT: They say now they're turning their focus to educating and turning out voters, which both sides are seeing as really critical parts of their campaign, since voters will likely face two abortion proposals on their November ballot.
RASCOE: We've been speaking with Elizabeth Rembert in Omaha with Nebraska Public Media and Regan McCarthy of member station WFSU in Tallahassee, Fla. Thank you to you both.
MCCARTHY: Thank you.
REMBERT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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