Will Abortion Ballot organizers see an election day sweep?
Ashley All, communications director and spokesperson for the Kansas campaign, said that the success in preserving abortion rights in Kansas impacted similar statewide tests in the 2022 election cycle. Ashley All, the Kansas campaign’s communications director, explained that the success of Kansas in preserving abortion rights influenced similar statewide elections in 2022. Organizations have communicated with their out-of state counterparts and watched them closely while many abortion rights initiatives are preparing to be on the ballot in November or have completed the difficult signature collection process. Some of these efforts are more direct, involving actions like attending conferences, publishing research results, and sharing campaign strategies.
The Fairness Project is one of the only national organizations that works with state ballot campaigns to guide them through the process. Although campaigns are led by in-state organizers, the Fairness Project offers experienced advice and is able to informally pass lessons learned in one state on to other campaigns.
Organizations in red and purple states said seeing other states with similar political landscapes pass ballot measures protecting abortion procedures encouraged them to do the same.
“Having that additional context when you’re working with folks who are so focused on doing the best they can for their state–that’s definitely something I think we’re really valued for when we’re working with these coalitions,” said Alexis Magnan-Callaway, communications and digital director for the Fairness Project. “I will caveat this all by saying every state’s very different, and it is very much not the case that it is as simple as running the same program that’s winning in Montana in Missouri.”
After the Kansas victory, All said organizers conducted research and shared it with partner organizations across the country. In the 2023 Ohio election cycle, anti abortion advertising targeted the idea that Ohio’s parental notification law would be overturned, or that children would be hurt. All said that seeing how another campaign played out and knowing how they could reach voters gave MSRR the insight to develop messaging early on in this cycle to counteract that anti-abortion tactic.
The support for ballot measures and the results of research and polling prove that reproductive and abortion rights are nonpartisan issues, All added.
Organizations in red and purple states said seeing other states with similar political landscapes pass ballot measures protecting abortion procedures encouraged them to do the same. All said that seeing other states with similar political landscapes pass ballot measures protecting abortion procedures encouraged organizations in red and purple states to do the same. Rebecca Bobrow is the director of strategy for Arkansans for Limited Government. She said that Arkansas was an example for those who thought Arkansas could not pass a successful measure on abortion rights. She said states like Michigan, where voters enshrined abortion access in the state constitution five months after Roe fell, helped give ALG a positive outlook on campaigning a ballot measure even if initial polling looks unfavorable.
“Through awareness raising and education
were able to get where they needed to be and have a successful outcome,” Bobrow said. “That was encouraging for our leadership to feel like they could keep going, even when perhaps other outside forces were saying, ‘You’re not going to get there, and this is going to be futile.'”
Bobrow said other coalitions provided advice and support in more tangible ways too. Cobalt Advocates in Colorado has been working with other groups since 2021, sharing campaign plans and data, such as the executive summary from 2014 and 2020. “I think some of what we may be learning from each other is a little bit on the fly or as-needed, rather than a formal, structured exchange of information,” said Cobalt president Karen Middleton. “I think some of what we may be learning from each other is a little bit on the fly or on an as-needed basis, rather than a formal, structured exchange of information.”
Ballot campaigns have found ways to support similar initiatives across state lines, whether it was material strategic advice that helped another coalition sign on more supporters or encouragement that the fight for reproductive rights was not only for a select few states.
“I really have a view that we have to all sort of dig in our heels and go together, and I don’t think it’s picking and choosing which state,” Middleton said. Middleton said, “I think we’re better off if all of us stick together.”
