Abortion rights on the ballot may not be bad news for Republicans everywhere

ST. LOUIS – Missouri may soon be a barometer for how abortion-related ballot initiatives can affect elections in Republican-led states.

If advocates and volunteers turn in enough signatures by May 5, Missourians will vote on an abortion-rights initiative in November.

Some Democrats in the state hope it energizes voters enough to help candidates running for key statewide and state legislative posts, but in some respects, having the ability to pick and choose policies through a robust initiative petition process could be a double-edged sword.

Voters in Missouri could show that abortion rights initiatives are not a down-ballot Democratic dream everywhere, especially if GOP voters who dislike their party's views on abortion rights still like candidates on most other issues.

Desiree White, a Missouri resident, says the state has the opportunity to break from widespread assumptions about its politics and voting habits.

White is a volunteer for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, a group trying to repeal the state's ban on most abortions. As she helped gather the signatures needed to appear on the ballot, White says there's ample evidence that Missouri is not some "throwaway state" when it comes to abortion rights just because it tends to back GOP candidates.

"We're not too red," White says. "We long for our freedoms here in all aspects."

Public opinion may show the same. "We know from polling, and from results in other states, that there are a fair number of Republican voters who will vote Republican in other elections, but they don't agree with their party on abortion rights," says Kyle Kondik, who is with the University of Virginia-based Sabato's Crystal Ball. "They can place themselves on a spectrum of supporting