New York Dems put abortion on the ballot in bid to retake the House

Left-leaning New York groups pledged $20 million Thursday to support a change to the New York State constitution to protect abortion rights that will be on the 2024 ballot — something they believe will boost turnout for Democrats in key swing House districts.

A state Equal Rights Amendment will ask voters next November to codify a number of rights, including abortion and LGBTQ rights, in the state constitution. New York Democrats are hoping to replicate a model they found successful last cycle, when a constitutional abortion amendment was on the same ballot as vulnerable Democrats in Michigan. The amendment passed and those members held their seats.

“We’ve learned a ton from our colleagues around the country, including our colleagues in Michigan,” said Sasha Neha Ahuja, campaign director for New Yorkers for Equal rights. "It was incredibly successful, and similar to New York in that there was support for this ballot measure across party lines. It was really popular for candidates to stand with and encourage people to vote yes on the referendum.”

The coalition released a memo on its investment Thursday, which says it believes that the constitutional amendment will bolster turnout across the state, particularly in six battleground House districts, five of which are held by Republicans. With a razor-thin margin standing in the way of the majority, Democrats think this strategy will help them flip control of the House next year.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, who will both be on the ballot next year, have endorsed the effort, as well as other statewide Democratic officials.

The coalition backing the measure is led by New Yorkers for Equal Rights and also includes Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the NAACP of New York and an SEIU local. The pledged investment will go toward promoting the measure in statewide broadcast and digital ads and dispatching canvassers for a grassroots voter education effort.

The amendment was passed by the Democratic-majority legislature in two consecutive state legislative sessions, which allows it to be voted on statewide. Lawmakers last year chose to put it on the 2014 ballot instead of this November in order to maximize turnout for it.

Exact ballot language text of the amendment will be released next year. It will add to the New York State constitution explicit protections against discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, according to the memo. The amendment needs only a simple majority of support to pass.

Democrats are increasingly turning to ballot measures for these types of protections, which were previously safeguarded by the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. After the fall of Dobbs last year, state level actions, including direct-to-voter ballot initiatives, have become the main vehicles for abortion policy and have passed with large majorities.

The amendment “launches with a clear path to achieving a decisive statewide victory and activating a powerful statewide electoral coalition from every corner of the state and across demographics,” the memo about the referendum stated, noting they're targeting districts in Long Island, upstate and the Hudson Valley.

New York isn’t the only state trying to bring the issue directly to voters next cycle.

A separate coalition in Florida is currently collecting signatures for a citizen initiative to be on the ballot in 2024, where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) signed a ban on abortion procedures after six weeks earlier this year.