Kansas voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to strip the right to an abortion from the state constitution, NPR reports.
About 59% of voters voted against the amendment while 41% voted in favor.
The vote was the first electoral test on abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade.
Supporters pushed for the amendment after the state Supreme Court rejected abortion restrictions approved by the legislature in 2019 because they violated the state constitution.
Opponents argued that the amendment would set up Republicans in the legislature to totally ban abortions in the state.
“Decisive” victory:
"This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions," President Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday.
Kansas for Constitutional Freedom, an abortion rights group that campaigned against the amendment, called the vote “huge and decisive.”
"The people of Kansas have spoken," said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for the group. "They think that abortion should be safe, legal and accessible in the state of Kansas."
Huge turnout:
More than 800,000 voters turned out on Tuesday, far more than the 470,000 who participated in Kansas’ 2018 gubernatorial primaries.
The trend could be a worrying sign for Republicans, who have embraced a statistically unpopular anti-abortion position.
A record number of abortion-related questions will appear on the ballot this year in five states, Kentucky, Kansas, Vermont, California and Montana.
Activists in Michigan and Colorado are also seeking to put initiatives on the ballot related to abortion rights.
