49 ballot measures to watch in the 2024 election

The next leader of the free world isn't the only thing being decided on Tuesday. Voters in 41 states will take policymaking into their own hands as they decide the fate of 146 ballot measures on topics as diverse as abortion rights, election laws, workers' rights and even drug legalization. Since it takes time for politicians to take office and make laws, these ballot measures will, in many cases, be the first tangible impact that Americans feel from the 2024 election.

With so much else on the ballot, though, it's hard to keep track of 146 different measures, so we've narrowed the list down to what you really need to know. Without further ado, here are the 49 most consequential, competitive and/or just plain interesting ballot measures of 2024.

Abortion

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the fight over abortion rights has turned to the states - and in many cases, abortion-rights advocates' most effective weapon has been ballot initiatives. Since the ruling, there have been seven statewide ballot measure elections concerning abortion rights, and the pro-abortion-rights side has won every one.

That record will be put to the test on Tuesday, when 10 or 11 such measures (depending on your definition) will be decided. The most consequential of these are in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota - five states where abortions are currently either banned or significantly restricted. Abortion-rights advocates in these states collected enough signatures to force a vote on whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions, which would effectively overturn those bans and restrictions.