A controversial New York state ballot measure protecting abortion rights will pass despite opposition from critics who see it as a left-wing Trojan horse, The Associated Press predicted.
Early results in New York City show that Prop. 1 had an 80% vote in favor and 20% against, with the city's Board of Elections reporting the results shortly after voting closed at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Early statewide results show Prop. 1 increased by 64% to 26%, according to the State Board of Elections.
The referendum, also known as the Equal Rights Amendment, was one of several recent Democratic-led ballot measures around the country centered on abortion.
The bill makes no mention of abortion itself, instead adding language to the state constitution extending the imperial state's anti-discrimination protections to everyone.
Democrats also hoped that abortion-focused legislation would boost votes among women concerned about reproductive rights under a possible future Trump administration and Republican Congress — and In fact, those concerns are what drove many New Yorkers to vote.
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“The most important issue to me was abortion,” photographer Cordell Hurst, 52, told the Post outside a polling place in the northern part of the state.
Lauren Joseph, 45, a janitor who voted in Bed-Stuy, said she voted “yes” on Proposition 1.
“I should have the right to abort my child if I want,” she said.
But opponents argued the amendments were sloppily written at best and could allow non-citizens to vote or strip parents of their rights to transgender surgery for their children.
“No one shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state,” which “extends such protection to all persons without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, or creed.” [or]religion, or gender (including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive health and autonomy),” the text of the proposed amendment states.
Bobbie Ann Cox, a constitutional lawyer based in Westchester County, argued that “nationality” could refer to aliens, noncitizens and illegal immigrants, while “state law” could refer to voting.
Riley Gaines, a college swimming champion and anti-trans activist, called on New Yorkers to vote against the proposal “if you care about women and girls.”
Gaines and other opponents say the bill would allow biological males who identify as transgender to compete in women's sports and allow young people to undergo gender reassignment surgery without parental notification or approval. It was argued that this could also be allowed.
But Ennis Price, 27, who voted in Brooklyn, wasn't afraid of the possibility of protection.
“I’m transgender,” she said. “I have a direct benefit from it, and beyond that, I get to protect all the people I care about.”
“Even if everything goes horribly wrong from today, I hope it passes.”
