A guide to the key ballot measures voters will decide on Election Day

When Americans cast their ballots in this year's midterm elections, they'll not only be picking who represents them in Congress, but also weighing in on a range of topics that could change their state laws and constitutions.

Beyond national, state and local leaders, millions of Americans in 39 states will vote on issues including election laws, transgender rights, taxes and abortion. Out of 145 total initiatives around the nation, California and Colorado have the largest number of ballot measures at play this fall with 14 each.

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Sometimes, initiatives are put on the ballot to incentivize voter turnout, Rick Hasen, election law expert and political science professor at University of California, Los Angeles said in an email.

Historically, midterm elections have lower voter turnout than presidential ones.

WATCH: A look at the major state ballot measures voters will decide in the midterms

Some measures create new constitutional amendments or laws while others repeal existing policies. Every state has different laws governing how measures make it on the ballot. In states like California, citizens can bypass state legislatures and include their proposed initiatives on the ballot. Other states require legislators to vote to include a measure.

The threshold for passing a ballot measure also varies. In Florida, for example, constitutional amendments require 60% of the vote to pass. In Nevada, citizen-initiated constitutional amendments must be passed by voters twice, in successive elections, before they're implemented.

In November, citizens in five states will vote on their ballot measure processes.

With about a week before the elections, here's a look at ballot measures across four key topics.

Measures on noncitizen voting and voter IDs

It's already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, and no state allows them to vote in statewide elections.

However, six states — Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia — are voting to amend their state constitutions or laws to explicitly include language saying only U.S. citizens can vote in state elections.

While some jurisdictions allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, such as school board elections, none are in states with noncitizen voting ballot measures.

"One reason for ballot measures in states might be to prevent this choice," Hasen said.

President Donald Trump has long made false claims of widespread voter fraud by noncitizens and his Justice Department is leading efforts to catch and prosecute people they say have illegally cast ballots. But so far, there's been no evidence to support Trump's statements.

WATCH: Examining the DOJ's effort to prosecute non-citizens accused of voting

Noncitizen voting is extremely rare, and noncitizens who register as voters or vote in federal elections face significant penalties, including steep fines, time in federal prison and deportation.

Voters in six states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio — will also have a say on another election security measure. They'll vote to amend their state constitutions to require voter identification when people vote in person or by mail.

The amendments vary by state but would generally require voters to present a government-issued ID or Social Security numbers when they cast their votes.

Trump previously led an unsuccessful charge to pass a federal voting bill that would in part require all voters across the country to present a photo ID when voting regardless of the method.

WATCH: How Trump's SAVE America Act would reshape voting and why critics are concerned

Trans athletes in sports, gender-affirming surgery for minors

Voters in five states — Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington — will decide on issues related to the rights of transgender people in November.

Over the past several years, states across the country have passed laws banning trans women and girls from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld those laws.

WATCH: Who is affected by the Supreme Court's ruling on trans athletes in women's sports

Several of the measures seeking to limit the rights of trans athletes are in Democratic-led states. The ballot initiatives are petitioned by citizens who know their state legislatures aren't going to pass similar laws.

"Instead, supporters of these measures have gone to the people, gotten the signatures, and gotten on the ballot," Reid Wilson, editor and founder of Pluribus News, a site that covers politics and policy at the state level, previously told PBS News. "We see this in progressive states where conservatives use the ballot measure to get something on the ballot that the legislature won't pass."

Watch the PBS News Hour segment in the player above.

Most laws dictating gender identity in school sports ban trans girls from participating in girls' sports, according to the Trans Journalists Association. Ballot measures in Arizona and Colorado would also ban trans boys from competing on boys' teams.

Arizona's ballot measure would also ban trans kids from using restrooms or locker rooms that don't match the sex recorded on their birth certificates.

Nebraska already has a law banning trans girls from girls' sports. But in November, its voters will decide whether to enshrine the ban in the state's constitution.

Washington's proposed statute banning trans girls from girls' sports would require all girls who want to participate in a sport to provide documentation from a doctor verifying their "biological sex." This could include genital exams.

Voters in Missouri and Colorado will also weigh in on measures prohibiting gender-affirming surgery for trans minors. In 2025, the Supreme Court upheld a similar Tennessee law.

Taxes on the wealthy and cuts to property taxes

Taxes are one of the most popular topics this November, with more than two dozen ballot measures spanning property and income taxes.

Californians will vote on whether to impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires and use the revenue to fund state health and education programs, and whether to retain income tax rates beyond their expiration in 2031. Propositions on the ballot also seek to nullify the wealth tax measure if it passes.

The state's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is against the wealth tax initiative, Wilson said.

"California relies so heavily on its capital gains tax that he worries that, if people with a billion dollars flee to another state, it could have real long-term impacts on the state's fiscal health," he said.

Watch the PBS News Hour segment in the player above.

In Colorado, voters will decide whether to cap state income tax rates based on a percentage of federal taxable income rather than its existing flat income tax rate.

Washington state in March enacted a 9.9% income tax on millionaires that is set to generate billions in revenue annually for state services like education. In November, voters will decide whether to repeal it.

A Florida measure seeks to raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes, meaning less of a home's value would be subject to taxes. While this would lower homeowner taxes, it would also reduce local governments' ability to pay for public services such as public hospitals, libraries, police and fire rescue, according to the Florida Policy Institute.

Tennesseans will vote on whether to permanently ban the state from implementing property taxes that state hasn't levied in decades.

Securing abortion access, or repealing it

In the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, measures on abortion access dominated ballot measures for several elections. This November, abortion won't be as central a topic, but it will still be voted on in four states.

Idaho, Nevada and Virginia voters will decide on measures to provide access to abortions, while Missourians will vote on whether to limit abortion access by repealing a constitutional amendment passed in 2024.

Watch the PBS News Hour segment in the player above.

"Abortion is an issue that we portray as polarizing, but I think the vast majority of Americans are in favor of abortion rights, based on the measures that have passed in just the last few years," Wilson said. "Voters really don't like it when rights are taken away from them."

Idaho's proposition seeks to overturn the state's strict abortion ban, instead allowing abortions until fetal viability, or after viability in the event of medical emergencies.

WATCH: How Idaho's abortion ban reshaped reproductive care and fueled a fight for change

Nevadans will cast their second vote on a constitutional amendment to protect abortions until fetal viability or afterward to protect the life and health of the mother. Voters in the state approved the measure in 2024. If they again vote in favor, the amendment will be enshrined in their constitution.

Virginia, the only Southern state that doesn't ban abortions before 12 weeks, is seeking to instill in its state constitution the right to an abortion before the third trimester or after to protect the mother's life or if the pregnancy isn't viable.

If Missourians repeal their constitutional amendment, the new amendment would only allow abortions before 12 weeks of pregnancy in certain cases, including medical emergenices or if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. The amendment would also prohibit gender transition treatment for minors.

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