Control of Congress is not the only thing at stake when Americans vote on Tuesday. Voters in 39 states will also settle 145 statewide ballot measures, direct votes on everything from abortion and transgender healthcare to a tax on billionaires and the future of legal cannabis sales, according to the non-partisan election encyclopedia Ballotpedia.
Ballot measures let citizens or legislators put questions straight to voters, and the results often outlast the candidates. Here are the votes most likely to make headlines beyond their own states.
Abortion is back on the ballot
Four states vote on abortion, Ballotpedia says. Measures in Idaho, Nevada and Virginia would write a right to abortion into state constitutions. Missouri is heading the other way: its Amendment 3 would repeal the abortion-rights amendment voters passed in 2024 and restore a near-total ban, with some exceptions.
The Missouri measure has been one of the most fiercely fought of the year because it also bundles in a ban on gender-transition surgery, cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers for minors. The 2024 abortion amendment passed by fewer than 100,000 votes, according to KFF Health News, and a Saint Louis University poll in September found 43 per cent in favour of the new amendment, 44 per cent against and 13 per cent undecided. That poll did not ask about the two issues separately.
Transgender policy and school sport
Six measures in five states deal with transgender issues, by Ballotpedia’s count. Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska and Washington will vote on rules tying eligibility for school sports to sex, while Colorado and Missouri have measures restricting certain medical treatments for transgender minors.
Tax the billionaires?
California’s Proposition 40 would impose a one-off tax on the state’s billionaires to fund healthcare. Its backers, the healthcare workers’ union SEIU-UHW, say it would apply to about 250 people. Opponents have raised more than $205 million to fight it, including at least $102 million from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, CalMatters reported. Support has fallen: the Public Policy Institute of California found 46 per cent of likely voters in favour and 52 per cent against this month, down from a slim majority in favour in September.
Elsewhere, Colorado votes on a graduated income tax and, separately, on capping its income tax rate at 4.4 per cent, while Washington state voters will decide whether to repeal a tax on household income over $1 million. In all, Ballotpedia counts nine income and wealth tax measures in six states and 13 property tax measures in seven.
How elections themselves are run
Several states are voting on the rules of the game. Alaska decides whether to scrap its top-four primary and ranked-choice general elections, a system currently shaping its closely watched Senate race. Massachusetts votes on top-two primaries, and North Dakota and South Dakota on requiring 60 per cent of the vote to amend their constitutions.
Voter identification measures appear in seven states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Oklahoma. Redistricting features in Missouri, which holds a referendum on its new congressional map, as well as Maryland and Colorado, where an initiative would require commission and state Supreme Court approval for any mid-decade redraw of congressional maps.
Cannabis, guns and same-sex marriage
Massachusetts votes on an initiative that would end recreational sales while still allowing limited possession. It also has a referendum on firearm regulations, while Arkansas votes on a right to keep and bear arms. Virginia will decide whether to remove its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, and Wisconsin votes on barring the government from closing places of worship during emergencies. Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee have measures that would widen the circumstances in which courts can deny bail.
What happens next
Results will arrive alongside the candidate races from late on Tuesday US time, the early hours of Wednesday in Ireland. Some measures need more than a simple majority, and in states that count postal ballots slowly, such as California, close contests may take days to call.
Sources
- Ballotpedia: 2026 ballot measures (accessed 30 October 2026)
- Ballotpedia via Yahoo Finance: Ballotpedia releases 50 ballot measures to watch on November 3 (20 October 2026)
- KFF Health News via KCUR: Ahead of Amendment 3 vote, Missourians campaign to defend transgender health care (30 October 2026)
- CalMatters: New poll shows billionaire tax falling behind as election nears (28 October 2026)
Featured image: photo by Jesse Paul on Unsplash.
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