This November voters in Nebraska and Arizona will face a tricky situation: competing ballot measures that could lead to legal challenges if approved. The measures cover abortion in Nebraska and primary elections in Arizona
In Nebraska‚ two opposing abortion-related measures will be on the ballot. One aims to establish a right to abortion until fetal viability (usually after 20 weeks) while the other seeks to restrict abortion in the second and third trimesters. This comes after Nebraska passed a 12-week abortion ban last year‚ following the Supreme Courts decision to overturn nationwide abortion rights about two years ago
Arizona voters will decide between keeping the current partisan primary system or switching to open primaries with ranked-choice voting. The states constitution says that if conflicting measures pass the one with more votes wins‚ but only for the specific conflicting parts
This situation isnt unique. Michael Gilbert‚ vice dean at the University of Virginia School of Law studied 56 cases of competing ballot measures in 8 states from 1980 to 2006. He found that voters often prefer measures closer to the current situation
Conflicting ballot measures arise frequently enough‚ and the highest-vote rule is applied frequently enough that it merits some consideration
Sometimes voters reject all competing measures. For example‚ in 2022 California voters turned down two proposals to legalize sports betting. In 2018‚ Missouri voters faced three medical marijuana proposals‚ approving one and rejecting two
The outcome of these votes could lead to complex legal situations. In Nebraska‚ if both abortion measures pass courts might have to decide which parts conflict and which can coexist. Arizona has precedent for merging parts of competing measures‚ as seen in a 1992 case about the state mine inspectorʼs term
As November approaches‚ voters in Nebraska and Arizona will need to carefully consider these competing measures and their potential impacts