Voters will head to the polls in next year's midterms to decide on a number of critical ballot measures.
While most of the attention in 2026 will be on the fights for the House, Senate and governor's mansions, these measures are no less significant.
From reproductive and transgender rights to agriculture, crucial policies will be determined by these initiatives.
Here are some of the key ballot measures to watch next year:
Abortion
In Missouri, voters will decide whether to repeal the right to an abortion from the Missouri Constitution. In 2024, a measure was added to the state's constitution affirming the fundamental right to an abortion through fetal viability after narrowly passing with 51.6 percent support.
Amendment 3, proposed by the Missouri General Assembly, allows for abortion only in cases of medical emergencies, rape or incest. In cases of rape or incest, an abortion may be performed or induced at no later than 12 weeks gestation.
The initiative also would allow for Missouri to regulate abortions, abortion facilities and abortion providers, require parental consent for minors who wish to have an abortion and prohibit public funds from paying for abortion procedures, except in the three aforementioned cases.
In Nevada, voters will decide whether to enshrine a woman's fundamental right to an abortion until fetal viability in the state's constitution. In 2024, over 60 percent of voters in the Silver State supported the measure, which requires passage in two successive elections to be added to the constitution.
Meanwhile, in states such as Virginia and Idaho, petitions to add abortion rights measures to the ballot are circulating. In Oregon, a measure that would amend the state constitution to note that women cannot be discriminated against on the basis of pregnancy outcomes and related health decisions is garnering signatures.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and ended the federal constitutional right to an abortion, voters in various states have decided on abortion-related measures. In 2024, seven out of 10 states passed measures supporting abortion rights.
Transgender rights
If Amendment 3 passes in Missouri, gender transition surgeries and the prescription of cross-sex hormones and puberty-blockers for children under the age of 18 will also be banned.
The restrictions would not apply to the use of such surgeries, drugs or hormones to treat children born with a "medically verifiable disorder of sex development," or to treat diseases unrelated to a gender transition.
In Maine, a ballot measure that proposes requiring public schools to restrict participation on gendered sports teams to individuals whose sex at birth matches the team's designation is also gathering signatures.
If the measure is added to the ballot and passes, those born male and female could only play on girls and boys sports teams, respectively, although girls could join a boys team if no girls team is offered in that sport. Additionally, students in public schools would have to use restrooms, locker rooms and other private spaces designated for their birth sex.
A similar measure, applying only to participation in athletics, is circulating for signatures in Colorado. Also in the Centennial State, a ballot measure proposing a ban on sex-change surgeries for children under 18 is circulating.
The latter measure also calls for prohibiting state or federal funds, Medicaid reimbursements or insurance coverage from paying for such procedures.
To add their measures to the ballot, petitioners must submit at least 124,238 valid signatures, 5 percent of the total voter count in the 2022 election of Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D), to her office by Aug. 3, 2026.
Changes to threshold for passing amendments
While most states require a simple majority for voters to pass constitutional amendments, some, such as Florida and New Hampshire, require a supermajority. Multiple states could join them after November.
In North and South Dakota, measures that propose increasing the threshold for passing constitutional amendments from 50 percent plus one vote to 60 percent are on the ballot.
A "yes" vote supports requiring a supermajority, while a "no" vote backs keeping a simple majority threshold. Both initiatives were added to the ballot by the neighboring states' respective legislatures.
In Utah, voters will decide whether to increase the threshold needed to pass ballot measures on imposing, expanding, increasing or adjusting taxes from a simple majority to 60 percent. The initiative, also backed by the state legislature, does not apply to laws passed by two-thirds majorities of the Utah Senate and House, as those are not subject to ballot initiatives.
Further west, in California, voters will decide on a measure, referred by the state legislature, that would require initiatives posing that a constitutional amendment must pass via supermajority meet that same increased threshold themselves.
For instance, a measure proposing that constitutional amendments garner 60 percent backing to take effect must pass with support from at least six in 10 voters in the Golden State.
Agriculture
In Florida, voters will decide whether agricultural equipment owned by a farm owner or leaseholder is exempt from property taxes.
The initiative was added to the ballot by the Florida legislature in June. Property taxes in Florida are assessed by local governments.
Voting "yes" on the measure would support exempting farming equipment from property taxes, while voting "no" would support keeping the status quo.
As of 2024, there were roughly 44,400 commercial farms in Florida spanning 9.7 million acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Directly north of the Sunshine State, voters in Georgia will decide on whether to raise the maximum acreage of agricultural and timber land that can be classified for conservation use from 2,000 to 4,000 acres.
Land designated for conservation use, which must be maintained as such for at least 10 years, is taxed at 40 percent of its market value in Georgia -- as opposed to residential or commercial properties, which are taxed at their full market value.
From 2017 to 2022, the number of commercial farms spanning more than 2,000 acres increased by nearly 22 percent in the Peach State, according to the USDA.
Drugs
Idaho is one of five states where medical and recreational marijuana are illegal. Six additional states have only legalized CBD oil for medicinal use.
In November, Idaho voters will decide whether they retain the right to determine the legality of cannabis in their state, or whether it will be up to the Idaho Legislature.
Voting "yes" on the amendment, which the legislature added to the ballot earlier this year, would support granting the body the sole authority to legalize marijuana, narcotics or other psychoactive substances. Voting "no" on the measure would support Idaho citizens retaining the right to legalize such drugs via future initiatives.
A pair of ballot initiatives on marijuana are also circulating for signatures in Idaho. One concerns decriminalizing marijuana while another proposes legalizing medical marijuana.
Signatures for the petitions are due by May 1, 2026, with 70,725 signatures -- 6 percent of the number of registered Idaho voters in the 2024 election -- required for the measures to be on the ballot.
In Nebraska, where voters legalized medical marijuana in 2024 with over 70 percent support, a petition on legalizing recreational cannabis for individuals ages 21 and older is circulating.