Abortion Rights Are on the Ballot in New York, Though You Might Not Have Heard

Well, unsurprisingly, the Republican Party took it upon themselves to twist Prop 1 into a government overreach boogeyman. They’re claiming that the language is so vague that it can be interpreted to allow men to use women’s bathrooms, illegal immigrants to vote, and boys to take over girls’ sports. According to a Siena College poll from Tuesday, 69% of voters support Prop 1 while 22% oppose it—but, when split by party, 90% of Democrats support it while half of Republicans oppose it.

Ed Cox, the state’s GOP chair, previously called the measure a “radical departure from common sense” and described it as a “Trojan Horse that would grant illegal immigrants access to benefits paid for by taxpayers, as well as open the door to non-citizen voting.” There’s also an anti-Prop 1 campaign, called the Coalition to Protect Kids NY, which is convinced that the measure to prohibit discrimination against vulnerable groups is actually a measure to allow kids to get surgeries without parental consent—a clear anti-trans scaremongering tactic that far-right groups across the country have used to convince people to vote against abortion rights measures. They’ve deemed Prop 1, the “Parent Replacement Act.”

“It will NOT allow young people to have surgeries without their parents’ consent. This is a narrative being pushed by politicians using a small handful of innocent kids as political pawns,” Andrew Taverrite, a spokesperson for New Yorkers for Equal Rights, said in a statement. The New York Bar Association also stated that the measure would have no effect on voting or parental rights.

But beyond the typical 2024 Republican playbook of transphobic scaremongering, Prop 1 hasn’t gotten a ton of attention.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, Sen. Liz Krueger introduced Prop 1 to safeguard New Yorkers’ reproductive rights. In July 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) pledged their support and said they’d help raise $20 million to get the message out. When the measure officially qualified for the ballot in July, House Democrats—who are trying to win six New York swing districts—hoped the chance to directly vote on a measure to protect abortion rights would boost voter turnout.

But the campaign backing the measure, New Yorkers for Equal Rights, didn’t raise even close to $20 million, and the money that was raised seems to have been somewhat mismanaged. Politico recently reported that while most big ballot campaigns in New York will hire one or two consulting or polling firms, and spend about 90% of their budget on voter outreach, New Yorkers for Equal Rights has retained 11 outside firms, and only spent 16% of their budget on voter outreach. On Friday, Hochul seemingly confirmed the pro-ERA campaign’s fuck-ups, telling reporters that “we are stepping in now to provide assistance because it is apparently necessary.”

That reality looks especially shitty after the Vote No campaign spent a bunch of money on Anti-Prop 1 ads that aired during the Jets, Giants, and Bills games on Sunday.

But just to be crystal clear: If you’re voting in New York, this is how Proposition 1 will appear on your ballot, named “Amendment to Protect Against Unequal Treatment.”

“This proposal would protect against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy. It also protects against unequal treatment based on reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

A “YES” vote puts these protections in the New York State Constitution.

A “NO” vote leaves these protections out of the State Constitution.