Dueling abortion ballot measures in Nebraska too close to call

LINCOLN — With abortion access on the line in Nebraska's 2024 election, results for two competing ballot initiatives on the subject were too close to call Tuesday night.

As of 10 p.m., both Initiatives 434 and 439 had more "yes" votes than "no" votes, albeit by different margins. Initiative 434, which would solidify Nebraska's 12-week abortion ban, led by just over 50.2% to 49.7%. Initiative 439, which would expand abortion access up to "fetal viability," led 54% to 46%.

Just 146 of Nebraska's 1,326 precincts were fully reporting at that time, according to the secretary of state's website.

"We feel really optimistic and hopeful," said Adelle Burk with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska, a sponsor of Initiative 439.

Abortion rights have been a top issue on the ballot across the country since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade. Among the 10 states with the issue on the ballot this year, Nebraska is the only one to feature two competing measures.

Initiative 434, known as the Protect Women and Children campaign, would amend the Nebraska Constitution to ban most abortions after the first trimester but also leave room for lawmakers to increase restrictions in the future.

Initiative 439, known as the Protect Our Rights campaign, would amend the state's constitution to establish the right to an abortion up until "fetal viability," which is generally considered to be 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Each initiative needs a majority of "yes" votes in order to succeed, but because the two initiatives directly conflict, if both receive enough votes to pass, the initiative with the highest number of "yes" votes will makes it into the state constitution.

In that respect, Initiative 439 had an edge by about 17,000 votes as of 10 p.m. Early voting results showed Initiative 439 holding a stronger lead with Initiative 434 trailing, but the gap steadily closed as more results poured in.

Burk said she wasn't surprised by the lead that came from early voters, but also claimed that early voting in Nebraska was more bipartisan than previous elections. She said she expects Initiative 439 to gain ground when more results come in from Douglas County.

Protect Women and Children officials did not provide a comment by print deadline.

The campaigns prompted huge donations, with their combined contributions nearly surpassing $20 million through late October. Initiative 434 raised over $8 million, most of which came from the Ricketts and Peed families — two major GOP donors in Nebraska. The Ricketts family, which includes U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, donated over $5.1 million of their total funding, while the Peed family donated $1.5 million.

Initiative 439 raised over $11.7 million since the start of its campaign, with roughly $4.5 million donated to them in the first three weeks of October. Its notable donors include Michael Bloomberg, who donated $1.5 million, and The Fairness Project, which donated over $1.7 million.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling, Nebraska lawmakers limited the state's abortion availability to 12 weeks based on gestational age. But anti-abortion politicians in the state have said they are interested in pursuing further restrictions, up to a full ban, potentially.

In response, abortion rights activists launched the Protect Our Rights campaign last year, with the Protect Women and Children campaign launching several months later in an effort to provide an alternative on the ballot that would protect the state's current restrictions. In July, both campaigns submitted more than 200,000 signatures as part of their petition drives.

Abortion rights proved to be a top motivator that drove Nebraskans to the polls, as a collection of voters told The World-Herald.

"I just think it's my right and other women's rights to be able to say what they do with their body," Laura North, 34, said Tuesday after she voted at Omaha's Order Sons and Daughters of Italy. "I think it's important to be able to have access to health care that's life-saving and keeps me in mind instead of other people in government."

Voting at Faith Presbyterian Church in LaVista, Mary Jo Gunnels said the abortion measures were important to her as well.

"Because I'm pro-life except if someone is raped (or a victim of) incest or something is wrong with the baby," Gunnels said.

Lawsuits, ads and confusionShortly after Secretary of State Bob Evnen confirmed that both petition drives met the minimum requirements to qualify for the ballot, multiple lawsuits were filed against the abortion rights initiative, asking the Nebraska Supreme Court to remove it from the ballot. The suits alleged that the initiative violated a provision in the state constitution that limits ballot measures to a single subject.

In response to the lawsuits, a group of nearly 30 medical professionals filed a separate lawsuit in an attempt to defend the abortion rights initiative. It asked the high court to treat both ballot measures the same — either remove both or keep both on the ballot.

In September, the high court rejected all three lawsuits, allowing both initiatives to remain on the ballot.

Since then, both campaigns have gone on a media blitz, releasing multiple video advertisements that have raised concerns about voter confusion. Many of the ads make similar claims about their opponents, alleging they are lying to voters and seek to harm women. They have also posted letters signed by hundreds of local health care professionals advocating for the benefits of their initiative.

In response to the bevy of ads, Gov. Jim Pillen hosted a press conference to correct what he considered misinformation about Nebraska's current abortion ban, including claims that state law doesn't allow treatment for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. Nebraska's chief medical officer, Timothy Tesmer, who was present at the event, later issued a health alert out of concern for "incorrect and misleading information" about the Preborn Child Protection Act.

Members of Protect Our Rights described the event as "propaganda," "misleading" and "insulting." None of their ads have claimed ectopic pregnancies can't be treated under the current law, although some ads say the 12-week ban threatens women's lives because doctors can't treat them even if their pregnancy won't survive.

Amidst the concerns of voter confusion and election integrity, Susan Goracke, a Douglas County Election Commission inspector, said the biggest problem Tuesday was people mis-voting on the two initiatives. By noon, about 10 people had asked to revote, said Goracke, who has worked polls for more than 20 years. Typically, she only sees one or two in a whole day.

World-Herald staff writers Steve Liewer and Marjie Ducey contributed to this report.