Virginia solidified abortion rights and the right to same-sex marriage on Tuesday as voters in dozens of states decided ballot questions alongside their picks for Congress.
The abortion-related measure creates a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to restrict abortion if they chose.
Virginia voters approved it with over 60% support, while fewer than 30% voted against it.
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Another measure, Question 2, erases the Virginia Constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage. It passed, 57% to 43%.
Some LGBT advocates were afraid the Supreme Court would revisit a 2015 ruling that forced states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Voters also weighed a third ballot question that would restore voting rights to felons after incarceration. It passed, 55% to 45%.
“I voted all ‘yes.’ There were a few little twinges I felt with some of the language, but nothing that stopped me from supporting the gist of each of the three,” said Deborah Fisco, a 67-year-old retired government attorney from Alexandria, Virginia.
Other voters at the Beltway-region polling site told The Washington Times they had voted against all three questions.
“I don’t think the Constitution needs to be changed,” said Rebecca, a woman in her 40s who only provided her first name.
Thirty-nine states put at least one ballot question before voters on Tuesday, a high-stakes subplot to midterm elections that will determine which party controls the House and Senate.
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