November 5, 2026
BOISE, Idaho (BP) – Voters in only 1 of 4 states chose to protect unborn life Nov. 3, while measures protecting gender-specific competitive sports seemed poised to pass in all four states with the issue on the ballot, as vote tallies continued.
Specifically, 56 percent of Idahoans rejected the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, according to voteidaho.gov, defeating the measure that would have legalized abortion before fetal viability, and after viability in limited circumstances. Other states – Missouri, Nevada and Virginia – protected abortion access.
Concurrently, Wisconsin blocked a measure that would have limited governmental powers to close churches in cases of emergencies such as COVID, rejecting the measure that also would have protected minors from sex change operations. The measure failed 52 percent to 48 percent, or 1,340,000 votes to 1,239,027, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
But in a narrow vote, with 62 of 64 precincts reporting, a Colorado ban on sex change surgeries on minors was leading among voters. The tally was 51.88 percent, or 1,114,848, in favor of the measure, ahead of 48.12 percent, or 1,034,164, opposed, according to Colorado election results.
Right to Life
Idahoans rejected the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act by a vote of 397,585 to 312, 644. The measure would have legalized women’s private healthcare decisions, including abortion up to fetal viability and in medical emergencies, and also other decisions regarding birth control, contraception, fertility treatments, miscarriage care and prenatal, pregnancy and post-partum care. If passed, it would have taken effect in January.
Southern Baptists leaders had encouraged voters to reject the measure.
Missouri voters’ rejection of Constitutional Amendment 3 maintained the current legalization of abortion in the state, enshrined in the state’s constitution in 2024.
Voters rejected Amendment 3 by a vote of 1,173,172 to 941,065, according to the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. In addition to outlawing abortion, the measure would also have prohibited gender transition procedures for minors.
Virginians upheld abortion access by overwhelmingly approving Constitutional Amendment Question 1 by a vote of 2,181,695 to 1,315,442, or 62.39 percent to 37.61 percent, the Virginia Department of Elections reported.
Per the measure, Virginians voted to amend its state constitution to “protect the freedom to make personal decisions about prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, birth control, abortion, miscarriage management, and fertility care; protect doctors, nurses, and patients from being punished for these decisions; and allow for restrictions on access to abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy except, when the patient’s health is at risk or the pregnancy cannot survive.”
Similarly in Nevada, 63.3 percent of voters, or 601,533, approved Statewide Ballot Question No. 6, to amend the state constitution “to create an individual’s fundamental right to an abortion, without interference by state or local governments, whenever the abortion is performed by a qualified healthcare professional until fetal viability, or when necessary to protect the health of the pregnant individual at any point during the pregnancy.”
Only 36.67 percent of voters, 348,347, voted against the measure, according to results from the Nevada Secretary of State.
Arizona and Nebraska passed measures banning biological males from competing on girls’ sports teams. Similar measures in Colorado and Washington State were undecided Wednesday, but affirmative votes were ahead.
With results fully counted, Nebraskans voted 68 percent, or 491,716, in favor of Initiative Measure 442, with 32 percent or 230,919 votes rejecting it, according to state election results.
The Nebraska measure enshrines within the state constitution that schools must designate each athletic team or sport as male, female, or coed, based on the biological sex of the athletes, and prohibits biological males from participating on teams designated for biological females, according to Ballotpedia.org.
In Arizona, 58.9 percent of voters, or 1,219,360, approved Proposition 218, a measure similar to Nebraska’s, compared to 41.10 percent or 851,000 voters who rejected it, the Arizona Secretary of State reported.
In Colorado, with 62 of 64 precincts reporting, 52.37 percent of voters approved Proposition 134 to amend Colorado Revised Statutes to restrict to all K-12 and collegiate sports “based on the participant’s sex as determined by certain aspects of their biological reproductive system and, in connection therewith, requiring a school, institution of higher education or athletic association to designate each school or intramural athletic team or sport as male, female or coeducational.”
But the law creates an exception “to allow a female to participate on a male-designated team or sport if there is no female team available,” and also prohibits related entities, associations or organizations from “entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation or taking other adverse action against a school” for implementing the law, according to the measure posted by the state.
In Washington State, with an estimated 555,504 ballots left to count, 56.76 percent of tabulated votes were in favor of Initiative Measure No. IL26-638 regulating sports participation, with 43.24 percent against the measure.
The measure, as described at votewa.gov, “would prohibit students it defines as ‘biologically male’ from competing in certain school athletic activities intended for female students only. It would require verification of biological sex by students’ healthcare providers.”
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This article appeared in Baptist Press.
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