“If past is prologue, this will have a deep and lasting impact on Arizona politics,” Mayes said. Georgia bans abortions after six weeks, but Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania allow them until 20 weeks. When asked, voters have supported abortion rights, even in conservative areas like Kansas and Kentucky. Democrats outperformed projections in the 2022 midterms due to the issue.
Arizona's political impact from Tuesday's verdict might be significant. Biden and Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego have prioritized abortion rights. It will boost abortion rights campaigners' efforts to have a referendum issue on the ballot to restore abortion rights.
This will supercharge signature collection,” said Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin, who is working to add an Arizona ballot proposal this fall enshrining the constitutional right to abortion. Levin stated the signature-gathering groups have 384,000 legitimate signatures by July 4. He claimed they want 800,000 signatures by July.
Last Monday, the Florida Supreme Court allowed the state to restrict most abortions after six weeks, which could make the state competitive after years of Republican control. The court also permitted a ballot issue to let Floridians decide on abortion rights in the state constitution.
The bill will certainly help Democrats capture a legislative majority in a competitive state and control abortion restrictions. In the 2022 midterm elections, 61% of Arizona voters felt abortion should be permitted in most or all situations, according to AP VoteCast. Only 6% felt it should always be illegal.
Two-thirds of Arizona midterm voters indicated the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade reversal influenced their vote. About 6 in 10 Arizona voters supported a nationwide legal abortion bill in that election.
The 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature passed the “Howell Code” in 1864, decades before Arizona became a state in 1912. Legislative researchers claimed it remained in the penal law in 1901 and was rewritten in the 1970s. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the decision will affect the fall elections.
“The American people know where the Democrats are, where the Republicans are, and this will be a major campaign issue,” he said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he hadn't read the court's opinion. However, McConnell believed “this whole issue is going to continue to unfold in the course of the campaign.”
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