Redistricting measures could shape the 2028 congressional elections
Voters across several states are deciding 145 proposed laws and constitutional amendments Tuesday, with some congressional-district measures that could shape the 2028 elections. The ballot accompanies a midterm election that will determine which party controls Congress, state legislatures and gubernatorial offices in many states. Some questions put President Donald Trump’s priorities to a public test by gauging support for his attempts to reshape congressional districts, limit transgender athletes in sports and strengthen voter identification requirements.
Nine states are using new congressional districts in the midterm elections after a rare spate of mid-decade redistricting encouraged by Trump. Missouri’s Republican lawmakers also adopted new House districts designed to help the GOP win an additional seat, but courts ruled they cannot be used unless voters first approve them in a November referendum. If passed, the districts would take effect for the 2028 election.
Voters in Democratic-led Maryland are deciding on a constitutional amendment that could pave the way for new congressional districts in 2028. Democratic proponents, backed by former President Barack Obama, have urged a “yes” vote as a way to “stop Trump.”
Some Democrats also want to redistrict in Colorado, but a citizen initiative on the ballot would prohibit any potential 2028 redistricting from favoring one political party. The initiative would require approval from both an independent commission and the state Supreme Court.
Five state measures seek voter-identification requirements, even as Trump’s push for nationwide mandates remains stalled in Congress. Citizen activists bypassed Democratic-led state legislatures to place new requirements on ballots in California, Colorado and Nevada. The measures would require government-issued identification, such as a driver’s license or a partial Social Security number, to cast a ballot. Nevada’s amendment won approval in 2024 but needs a second vote to take effect. Measures referred by Republican-led legislatures in North Carolina and Ohio would enhance existing requirements by placing them in the state constitution.
Six states are also considering citizen-voting measures that would reinforce current election practices limiting voting to U.S. citizens: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia. Critics argue the measures are largely symbolic and unnecessary because noncitizen voting is rare and already forbidden in federal elections. Noncitizens can, however, vote in some local elections in California, Maryland, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Two years ago, similar citizen-voting amendments won approval in all eight states where they appeared.
The structure of elections is also on the ballot. A Massachusetts measure would end separate party primaries in favor of open primaries in which the top two vote recipients from any party advance to the general election. Alaska voters are deciding for the second straight election whether to scrap the state’s system of open primaries and ranked-choice voting. Proposed amendments in North Dakota and South Dakota would require 60% voter approval to amend their state constitutions instead of a simple majority. Utah has a similar 60% threshold proposed for citizen initiatives that raise taxes. A Missouri amendment would require an 80% vote in the state House and Senate for lawmakers to revise voter-approved citizen initiatives.
Abortion rights are among the issues before voters. Missouri is voting again on abortion policy two years after voters adopted an amendment. Missouri voters became the first in the nation to pass a measure undoing an existing ban on most abortions in 2024. The new amendment would repeal that abortion-rights amendment and replace it with a prohibition allowing exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal anomalies, and for rape or incest up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The Republican-led Legislature placed the proposal on the ballot, and abortion-rights advocates, led by national progressive groups, have greatly outspent abortion opponents in the effort to defeat it.
Voters in Idaho, Nevada and Virginia are deciding on other abortion-rights measures. Ballot measures in Idaho and Nevada would block bans before fetal viability, a point usually considered after 21 weeks, while Virginia’s amendment would ensure abortion is allowed for the first two trimesters. All three proposals would use standards similar to those in place nationally before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and opened the door to state bans. Nevada voters approved its measure once, but a second vote is required for it to take effect.
Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington are considering measures restricting transgender athletes or medical procedures. The proposals come as the Trump administration pushes restrictions affecting transgender people, especially youth. Most Republican-led states already bar transgender women and girls from female school sports teams. Citizen-led ballot initiatives propose similar restrictions in the Democratic-led states of Colorado and Washington. Arizona’s measure would extend public-school sports restrictions to private schools, while Nebraska’s would add existing restrictions to the state constitution.
A second Colorado ballot question would ban some transgender medical treatments for minors. Missouri’s abortion amendment also would add existing transgender medical restrictions to the state constitution.
In Democratic-led Colorado, a proposed constitutional amendment could aid President Donald Trump’s immigration-enforcement efforts by chipping away at state laws restricting cooperation with federal immigration agents. Placed on the ballot by conservative activists, the proposal would require law-enforcement officers to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when someone with an illegal or unknown immigration status is charged with a violent crime or faces a new charge following a prior felony conviction.
Arizona voters are deciding on a proposal to limit traffic cameras used to catch drivers who speed or run red lights. The Republican-led Legislature referred the measure to voters after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a ban on the cameras. Hobbs said the cameras enhance roadway safety. Opponents contend they infringe on people’s privacy and point to instances of misuse by certain law-enforcement officers. The proposal would bar new contracts for traffic-camera systems starting in 2027 and require local governments to hold elections on whether to continue existing systems.
About half the states, including Arizona, have communities that use cameras to enforce speeding or traffic-signal laws, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Source note: Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.