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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Carter Sherman

Contested state supreme court seats are site of hidden battle for abortion access

a woman carries a sign reading 'Vote yes on 4 for reproductive rights' while walking through grass
A person holds a sign during a pro-abortion rights rally on the second anniversary of the supreme court ruling to overturn Roe v Wade, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 24 June. Photograph: Marco Bello/AFP/Getty Images

Abortion will be on the ballot in 10 states on Tuesday, and it’s one of the top issues in the presidential contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. But it is also key to less publicized but increasingly contested races for seats on state supreme courts, which often have the last word on whether a state will ban or protect access to the procedure.

This year, voters in 33 states have the chance to decide who sits on their state supreme courts. Judges will be on the ballot in Arizona and Florida, where supreme courts have recently ruled to uphold abortion bans. They are also up for election in Montana, where the supreme court has backed abortion rights in the face of a deeply abortion-hostile state legislature.

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