Beyond the candidate races, voters in several states decided ballot measures touching on abortion and related social policy, with mixed results across the country.
In Missouri, voters rejected a proposed amendment that would have added protections for the unborn to the state constitution. In Virginia, voters approved a measure enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. The two results, coming on the same night in neighboring regions of the country, illustrate how much abortion policy continues to vary state by state since the issue returned to the states in recent years.
Elsewhere on the ballot, voters in multiple states approved measures requiring that eligibility for girls' school sports be based on biological sex, according to early results reported Wednesday morning. These measures have been on ballots in a number of states over the past several election cycles as state legislatures and voters weigh in on eligibility rules for school athletics.
Ballot measures like these are decided independently of candidate races and often draw significant outside spending and advertising, since their outcomes can stand regardless of which party controls the legislature or governor's office in a given state.
Expect legal challenges in states where ballot measures passed by narrow margins, a common next step after closely contested constitutional amendments.
Did any states change their abortion laws through ballot measures this year?
Yes. Virginia voters added abortion rights protections to its state constitution, while Missouri voters rejected a fetal-protection amendment.