ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Democrats are pushing a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access, hoping it will increase voter turnout this fall. However, there’s a catch: The ballot question doesn’t use the word “abortion.
This week, arguments will begin over a lawsuit that Democrats hope will force election officials to include the word abortion in the amendment’s explanation that voters will see on the ballot.
The legal challenge comes after the state Board of Elections decided to use the amendment’s technical language without interpretation. The lawsuit, filed in Albany’s state Supreme Court, argues that this violates a state law requiring ballot questions to be written in simple, clear language.
The proposed amendment, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, aims to expand anti-discrimination laws by including protections based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy.” Currently, the state only bans discrimination based on race, color, creed, or religion.
Democrats passed this amendment last year, putting it on the 2024 ballot to ensure abortion rights are included in the state constitution. Although the amendment doesn’t explicitly block abortion restrictions, it could be used to challenge future bans by arguing that such bans are discriminatory.
Republicans have raised concerns that the amendment could also offer new protections for transgender athletes.
Democrats had asked the Board of Elections to include the words abortion and LGBT in the ballot description to make it clearer for voters. The Board’s Democratic members agree that the language should be updated, while the Republican members prefer the current wording. The court’s decision on the matter is still pending.
Currently, New York allows abortion until the fetus is viable, usually between 24 and 26 weeks of pregnancy. With Democrats holding strong control of the state government, new abortion restrictions are unlikely.
This move by Democrats follows similar efforts in other states to include abortion-related questions on ballots to boost voter turnout after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Polls show that a majority of Americans support legal abortion in most cases.