Voters in Vermont and California voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night in favor of ballot proposals that will enshrine a right to abortion in their respective state constitutions.
With 53 percent of votes counted, 76 percent of Vermonters had voted in favor of the proposal while 24 percent voted against it, according to the New York Times, a sufficiently wide margin for local news outlet VTDigger to project the measure will pass.
In accordance with the vote, an additional article will be added to Vermont’s constitution guaranteeing the right to abortion, contraception, and sterilization.
“That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means,” the article will read.
Abortion was already legal in Vermont without any limits, but the practice will now be further protected as a constitutional amendment would be required to limit access to the procedure.
The executive director of Vermont’s ACLU chapter, James Lyall, applauded the vote as a “historic victory for everyone who values reproductive liberty, bodily autonomy, and the right to access abortion care…It is a momentous occasion for Vermont, and for the nationwide movement for reproductive liberty.”
The referendum was first introduced in 2019 amid growing fears that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade, as it eventually did earlier this year in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Proposal 5 had the deep backing of Vermont Democrats as well as the incumbent Republican governor, Phil Scott. Although Governor Scott did not campaign on the issue, he did publicly support it.
Vermont joined California, Michigan, and Kentucky in adding the abortion question to midterm ballots Tuesday night. Both California and Michigan asked voters similar questions concerning enshrining abortion access within their state constitutions, whereas Kentucky is asking residents to determine whether abortion is protected under the state’s existing constitution.
California’s state referendum, Proposition 1, also passed, per NBC.
Prior to the referendum, abortion was already deemed a legal medical procedure across Vermont. The state has a long history of prioritizing access to abortion. In 2019, Act 47 was passed protecting abortion which built upon a 1972 state supreme court ruling that removed a ban on abortion books as well as legalized the medical practice.
Phil Scott won his fourth term as governor Tuesday night, the Associated Press projects.