Abortion and open primaries are on the ballot in Nevada. What to know about the key 2024 measures

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — It’s been more than three decades since Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved a law allowing abortions until 24 weeks of pregnancy. Now they must decide if they want to make it a constitutional right.

Nevada is one of nine states where abortion rights are on the ballot, as supporters in the state and elsewhere try to strengthen abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that made abortion legal nationwide for 50 years.

It’s a key issue that could drive voters to the polls in Nevada, a crucial presidential battleground, even if abortion access has been protected by state law since 1990.

Here’s a closer look at the key ballot measures in Nevada:

Abortion rights

The 2024 election is only the first test of the measure seeking to enshrine the right to an abortion until the fetus can survive outside the womb, known as “fetal viability” which doctors say is after 21 weeks, with exceptions to save the mother’s life or protect her health. Voters would again have to approve it in 2026 in order to amend the state constitution.

It wouldn’t expand current abortion access in the state, but supporters and organizers of the initiative say it adds an extra layer of protection. State laws in Nevada are more vulnerable to change — the current 1990 law could be reversed by another voter referendum — but proposed changes to the state constitution have to pass in two consecutive elections.

Las Vegas resident Laura Campbell, 36, said she supports the initiative to strengthen Nevada’s abortion access. Without it, Campbell said she isn’t sure she would be alive today.

At 27 weeks, she said she learned that her pregnancy was nonviable, meaning the fetus couldn’t survive outside her womb. Her doctor took her hand and promised to take care of her.

“I was able to come out of that healthy and able to get pregnant again,” Campbell said. A year later, she gave birth to her daughter, now 3. “I could have been a tragic story.”

Opponents say the proposed amendment goes too far because it doesn’t clearly define “fetal viability.”

“It opens up a huge can of worms,” Davida Rochelle, 68, said.

Anti-abortion group Nevada Right to Life also said in a recent ad that the initiative is “deceptively worded” because it doesn’t make clear that abortion is already legal in the state.

Voting process

Two different measures going before voters could alter the way Nevada residents cast their ballots.

An initiative to open up primaries and implement ranked choice voting would fundamentally change elections in a key swing state where nonpartisan voters outnumber registered Democrats and Republicans, and where 42% of voters do not belong to one of the major parties. Supporters of the measure say opening up primaries would give a voice to more than 1 million voters in the state who currently do not have a say in the nomination of major-party candidates for Congressional races and statewide office.

If it passes, all registered voters in Nevada starting in 2026 can vote in primary races for Congress, statewide office and the state Legislature. It would not affect presidential primaries and races for elected office at the local level.

Under the proposed system, the top five primary candidates, regardless of their political affiliation, would move on to the general election, in which voters would rank by preference up to five candidates. The first candidate to receive more than 50% of the vote would be declared the winner.

If none of the candidates immediately win the majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes would then be redistributed to the voter’s next highest ranked candidate. The process would repeat until a winner is declared.

The citizen-led initiative has faced opposition from both Republican and Democratic party leaders who say ranked choice voting is too confusing.

Another measure on the ballot would require that voters show photo identification at the polls. It’s the first time the Republican-led measure is going before voters and would have to again pass in 2026.

Slavery as punishment

Nevada voters this election could vote to reject slavery or indentured servitude as a criminal punishment, which is still on the books in the state constitution.

Around 10,000 people are currently imprisoned in Nevada. Some make as little as 35 cents an hour.

There is no formal opposition against the proposed amendment.