{"id":3491,"date":"2026-07-31T21:09:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3491"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:09:58","slug":"abortion-is-on-the-ballot-again-in-these-two-states-from-the-politics-desk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3491","title":{"rendered":"Abortion is on the ballot again in these two states: From the Politics Desk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Welcome to <\/em>From the Politics Desk<\/em>, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team\u2019s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Seattle mayor defends ousting police chief after festival shootout<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s edition, Adam Edelman previews two under-the-radar ballot measures that voters will decide on in next week\u2019s primaries. Plus, our Capitol Hill team has the latest on Todd Blanche\u2019s confirmation saga. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Wollner<\/em><\/p>\n

Abortion is on the ballot again in two states<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Analysis by Adam Edelman<\/h3>\n

Following the Supreme Court\u2019s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion rights advocates brought the fight to the states \u2014 including red ones. <\/p>\n

That year, Kansas<\/strong> voters overwhelmingly struck down a proposed constitutional amendment that would have removed language enshrining abortion rights in their state \u2014 the first victory that year in what quickly became a clean sweep in six states. Two years later, Missouri<\/strong> voters approved a ballot initiative that effectively protected abortion rights until fetal viability \u2014 one of seven states where similar measures passed that cycle. <\/p>\n

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Next Tuesday, abortion is on the ballot again in these two states \u2014 albeit indirectly. In Missouri, one initiative on the ballot would require citizen-led constitutional amendments to secure a majority in all eight congressional districts \u2014 a significantly higher bar than the current threshold of a simple statewide majority. <\/p>\n

In Kansas, voters will weigh in on a proposal to change how state Supreme Court justices are chosen. Currently, the governor (who since 2019 has been a Democrat) gets to appoint justices to the bench, selected from a list created by a nine-member nonpartisan commission. Tuesday\u2019s ballot measure would instead allow for the direct election of state Supreme Court justices. In a state where registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats 2 to 1, the proposal essentially bets that voters will reliably elect conservative \u2014 and anti-abortion \u2014 justices.<\/p>\n

Republican legislative supermajorities in both states referred those measures to the August primary ballot \u2014 not the November general election \u2014 another bet that diminished summer voter turnout could boost their prospects of passage. <\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake about it \u2014 this is happening because the people have been winning on progressive issues,\u201d said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo<\/strong>, the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which works with progressive organizations to help advance citizen-led ballot measures.<\/p>\n

In states like Kansas and Missouri that reliably elect Republicans up and down the ballot, the citizen-led ballot measure process is one of the few ways liberals have been able to score wins in recent years. <\/p>\n

In Missouri, for example, some of the other most recent constitutional amendments passed by voters include the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2022 and Medicaid expansion in 2020. <\/p>\n

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A September analysis by Bolts magazine, which focuses on state and local politics, concluded that all five of the citizen-led ballot initiatives approved by Missouri voters since 2020 would have been rejected under the proposed threshold. <\/p>\n

Republicans in other states are also seeking to make it more difficult for citizen-led constitutional amendments to pass. Voters in North Dakota <\/strong>and South Dakota<\/strong> will decide this fall whether to raise the requirement for passage to 60%. In Utah<\/strong>, voters will be asked to bump up the threshold for ballot measures specifically related to increasing taxes.<\/p>\n

Read more Decorated Army vet files $3M claim alleging National Guard assault<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump defends \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund, further complicating Blanche nomination<\/h2>\n

By Frank Thorp V, Julie Tsirkin and Scott Wong<\/h3>\n

President Donald Trump<\/strong> defended his administration\u2019s controversial proposal for a $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund for Jan. 6 defendants and others who he says were unfairly targeted by the government.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s continued flirtation with the fund undermines assurances from his acting attorney general, Todd Blanche<\/strong>, and others in the administration that the idea, which faces strong opposition from some key Republicans, is dead.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s thrown Blanche\u2019s nomination to be the nation\u2019s chief law enforcement official into limbo, with two Republicans \u2014 Sens. John Cornyn<\/strong> of Texas and Thom Tillis<\/strong> of North Carolina \u2014 blocking it over concerns about the settlement between Trump and the IRS that created the fund.<\/p>\n

But Trump\u2019s comments today are only worsening tensions with the two senators. Asked at a Cabinet meeting if the fund is dead, Trump replied: \u201cIt is dead, but you know, I wish it weren\u2019t. To be honest with you, I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused. This has nothing to do with Todd.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Blanche is now unlikely to be confirmed before the Senate departs next week for its five-week summer recess. The chamber is not slated to return until after Labor Day.<\/p>\n

In a post on Truth Social earlier in the day, Trump specifically lashed out at Cornyn, suggesting that he was standing in the way of the Blanche nomination because Trump had endorsed the longtime senator\u2019s primary challenger, Ken Paxton<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cornyn has not directly responded to Trump\u2019s post. But he reposted two individuals who questioned Trump\u2019s comments on X. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\ud83d\uddde\ufe0f Today’s other top stories<\/h2>\n