Har­ris banks on abor­tion bal­lot mea­sures for South­west path to vic­to­ry

As Vice Pres­i­dent Kamala Har­ris and Gov. Tim Walz (D‑MN) cam­paign in Ari­zona and Neva­da, they see an oppor­tu­ni­ty for vic­to­ry with two pend­ing bal­lot mea­sures that would guar­an­tee abor­tion access in the South­west­ern states.
A grow­ing num­ber of states, includ­ing Neva­da, have cer­ti­fied bal­lot mea­sures in Novem­ber to vote on a con­sti­tu­tion­al amend­ment to enshrine abor­tion rights into their state con­sti­tu­tion.
Efforts are under­way to secure bal­lot ques­tions in oth­er states, includ­ing Ari­zona, where activists have sub­mit­ted the required num­ber of sig­na­tures and are await­ing approval. The office of Ari­zona Sec­re­tary of State Adri­an Fontes, a Demo­c­rat, has until Aug. 27 to review the sig­na­tures and cer­ti­fy the mea­sure.
Dur­ing Har­ris and Walz’s vis­it to Ari­zona and Neva­da on Fri­day and Sat­ur­day, respec­tive­ly, the two intend to high­light abor­tion bal­lot mea­sures with the hope that it will mobi­lize the base and dri­ve turnout. In some cas­es, abor­tion could also be a moti­vat­ing fac­tor for unaf­fil­i­at­ed vot­ers and even Repub­li­cans to sup­port Har­ris — which is crit­i­cal in swing states such as Ari­zona.
Peg­gy Neely, the for­mer Repub­li­can vice may­or of Phoenix, recent­ly joined a new Repub­li­can Ari­zona task force to orga­nize sup­port for Har­ris, specif­i­cal­ly citin …