By Amanda Castro
Associate News Editor
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Voters across the United States are deciding dozens of consequential ballot questions on Election Day, with measures covering abortion access, same-sex marriage, voting rules, taxes, transgender policy, housing and criminal justice.
The initiatives give voters a direct say over policies that could reshape state constitutions and laws even as control of Congress dominates the 2026 midterm election.
Residents in 39 states will vote on 145 statewide measures on November 3, with some of the highest-profile contests concentrated in Virginia, California, Missouri, and other states.
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In all, 164 statewide measures were certified in 40 states during 2026, including 19 that went before voters earlier in the year. That is the largest even-year total since 2018 and represents a 17 percent increase from the 140 measures considered during the 2022 midterm cycle. Louisiana has the most measures with 15, while California and Colorado each have 14.
The unusually crowded ballot extends far beyond any single partisan or cultural fight. Ballotpedia identifies constitutional rights, bond issues and public education governance among the year's most common subjects, while its list of 50 measures to watch groups major contests around voting, abortion and gender policy, taxation, housing, firearms and criminal justice.
The votes come alongside the broader midterm elections, in which all 435 voting seats in the U.S. House and 35 Senate seats are being contested. Thirty-nine gubernatorial elections are also being held across states and territories.
Virginia Same-Sex Marriage and Abortion Ballot Measures
Virginia is home to two of the most closely watched constitutional-rights questions. Question 2 asks voters to remove language from the state constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman and replace it with a provision preventing the state from denying marriage licenses to two adults on the basis of sex, gender or race.
The marriage question is accompanied by Virginia Question 1, which would establish a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom covering decisions related to pregnancy. A third Virginia amendment would restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies after they are released from incarceration.
Taken together, the proposals make Virginia one of the clearest examples this year of voters being asked to define individual rights directly through the state constitution.
Abortion Rights on the Ballot in Four States
Abortion policy is before voters in Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia. Three of the measures would establish protections for abortion, while Missouri voters face a proposal moving in the opposite direction.
Idaho Proposition 1 would establish a statutory right to reproductive freedom and privacy. Nevada Question 6 would put a right to abortion before fetal viability into the state constitution, while Virginia Question 1 would establish a broader constitutional right to reproductive freedom.
Missouri Amendment 3 would repeal the constitutional abortion protection voters adopted in 2024 and prohibit abortion with specified exceptions; the measure also addresses gender-transition procedures for minors.
Voter ID and Election Rules Across the States
Election administration is another major theme. Ballotpedia identified 34 statewide measures on the November ballot, including questions involving voter identification, citizenship requirements, and the rules governing citizen initiatives and referendums.
Voters in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio are considering voter ID measures on November 3, after Oklahoma voters approved a voter identification question earlier this year.
Separately, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota, and West Virginia have measures specifying that only U.S. citizens may vote in state and local elections. Alaska also has a closely watched proposal to repeal the state's top-four primary and ranked choice voting system.
The proposals come as election rules have become a major part of the broader 2026 political debate. The midterms will determine control of the next Congress while numerous state and local offices are also being contested, meaning voters in some states will simultaneously choose candidates and decide the rules governing future elections.
Transgender Sports and Medical Care Measures
Six statewide measures in five states address sex-based rules for youth sports or medical procedures for transgender minors. Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Washington are home to those measures.
Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Washington are holding what Ballotpedia describes as the first statewide votes on sex-based eligibility requirements for school sports.
Colorado and Missouri separately have measures restricting certain medical or surgical procedures for transgender minors, with the Missouri provision appearing alongside the state's abortion proposal.
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Taxes, Property and the Economy on State Ballots
Economic policy accounts for an even broader share of this year's ballot activity. Nine measures in six states address income and wealth taxes, while 13 measures in seven states concern property taxes, according to Ballotpedia.
California is home to some of the most expensive and far-reaching contests. Proposition 40 would levy a one-time 5 percent tax on covered assets exceeding $1 billion and direct the proceeds toward health care, food assistance and public education. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) said approval would make it the first state wealth tax of its kind in the country.
Other measures would constrain taxation, including Washington Initiative 645, which would repeal a tax on household income over $1 million and prohibit state and local taxes on individual income.
Property-tax questions stretch across Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming. The proposals range from exemptions for homeowners and agricultural property to limits on assessments and government taxing authority, giving voters in those states choices with potential consequences for household tax bills and government revenue.
Housing Ballot Measures Target Affordability
Six statewide housing measures appear in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, the most in a single election year in at least two decades, according to Ballotpedia. They address financing, housing assistance and rules governing development.
California Proposition 1 would authorize $11.25 billion in bonds for housing programs, while Proposition 37 would establish a second-mortgage program for eligible homebuyers backed by $25 billion in bonds.
Hawaii voters will consider allowing counties and municipalities to issue housing infrastructure growth bonds, and Rhode Island Question 2 would authorize $120 million for affordable-housing development.
Criminal Justice and Bail Measures
Criminal justice questions are appearing in Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Six measures across those five states would generally increase criminal penalties or broaden circumstances in which bail could be denied or restricted, according to Ballotpedia.
Indiana Public Question 1 would permit denial of bail when an accused person is determined to pose a substantial risk to another person.
Tennessee Amendment 1 would remove the right to bail for specified offenses, while Colorado voters are considering separate measures increasing penalties for fentanyl crimes and requiring life without parole for people convicted of trafficking a child for sexual servitude.
More Major 2026 Ballot Measures to Watch
Other significant proposals span education, marijuana, gun rights, and state government mechanisms. Massachusetts Question 8 would repeal laws permitting recreational marijuana sales and home cultivation, while Michigan Proposal 1 asks voters whether the state should hold a constitutional convention.
North Dakota voters will decide whether the state constitution should require public schools to provide students with a free breakfast and lunch.
Arkansas voters are considering an amendment declaring the right to keep and bear arms a fundamental individual right. Vermont has a proposal expanding constitutional equal-protection language, while Wisconsin voters face a measure that would prohibit government discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Ballotpedia counts 14 measures in nine states that deal with state constitutional rights.
Record Spending Surrounds 2026 Ballot Measures
Campaign spending also reflects the stakes. As of November 2, Ballotpedia had tracked about $1.25 billion in contributions to campaigns supporting or opposing statewide measures that qualified for 2026 ballots.
California Proposition 40 led the measures tracked by Ballotpedia, with about $173.7 million contributed to campaigns on either side. Proposition 42 followed at approximately $172.6 million.
The figures show that although congressional and statewide races command much of the attention on Election Day, some of the country's largest policy fights are also being waged over questions printed farther down the ballot.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Robert Greenall and Jason Lemon
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