(WASHINGTON) — Voters in three states have enshrined abortion rights in their constitutions while votes are still being counted in two states to see if access to abortion services will be further restricted.

The power to regulate abortion was returned to the state level in June after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal protections for abortion rights.

Heading into the midterm elections Tuesday, three states — California, Michigan and Vermont — had abortion-related questions on the ballot to strengthen rights and two states — Kentucky and Montana — asked voters if they wanted to further limit rights.

During this year’s primary elections, voters in Kansas struck down a proposal to remove the right to abortion from the state’s constitution.

California

In California, voters decided to amend the state constitution to prohibit the state from denying or interfering with a person’s “reproductive freedom,” ABC News projects.

Voters accepted lawmakers’ proposal to protect the fundamental right to choose to get an abortion or use contraceptives.

Currently, abortion is legal up until viability in California, which is about 24 to 26 weeks gestation, per the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that studies sexual and reproductive rights.

Vermont

In Vermont, ABC News projects voters decided to amend the state’s constitution to include a right to “personal reproductive autonomy,” which includes abortion.

Although it is currently legal in Vermont at any stage of pregnancy, the state’s constitution did not grant explicit protections for the right to abortion prior to the acceptance of the amendment.

Michigan

Michigan voters said yes to a constitutional amendment that would add protections for reproductive rights this November, ABC News projects.

The amendment defines reproductive freedom as “the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management and infertility care.”

A state abortion ban on the books since 1931 is being challenged in state courts, but a state judge ruled in September that the ban is unconstitutional, barring the state’s attorney general and state prosecutors from enforcing it.

Kentucky

In Kentucky, ABC News projects that a proposed constitutional amendment further restricting abortion rights has failed.

The amendment to the state’s constitution would have specified the right to abortion does not exist, nor is the government required to allocate funding for abortion.

Abortion is currently banned in the state after a trigger law went into effect when Roe was overturned. Arguments against the ban will soon be heard in the Kentucky Supreme Court, something the amendment would have prevented.

Montana

Similarly, results are still incoming for a proposal by the Montana Legislature to change the state constitution to define all fetuses “born alive” as legal persons, including those born after an abortion.

The bill defines “born alive” as the complete expulsion or extraction of a human infant at any stage of development, who after extraction breathes, has a beating heart or has definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut or what the birth method is, according to the bill.

This proposal would grant any fetus born alive the right to appropriate and reasonable medical care and treatment. Providers who do not give that care could face a fine of up to $50,000 and up to 20 years in prison.

Montana state courts have blocked three abortion bans passed last year from going into effect while litigation continues.

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(WASHINGTON) — Tuesday’s election results bucked historical patterns and some of the polling averages and forecasts, with Democrats — as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it — “outperforming expectations” even as Republicans celebrated double-digit victories in Florida, a longtime swing state.

ABC News has not projected which party will control either the House or the Senate, and Republicans could flip both chambers, which would be in line with past outcomes for the minority party in a midterm year.

With votes still being counted, here are key takeaways so far from Tuesday’s results, including notable race projections and voter choices:

Democrats overperform

Democrats’ overperformance is best understood by the wins Republicans haven’t seen across the board, as of early Wednesday, despite past midterm wave years — like in 2010 and 2018 — that saw the party in power lose dozens of House seats.

Given President Joe Biden’s low approval rating and voter concerns around issues like inflation and the economy, the GOP had been forecast to potentially win upwards of 240 seats.

Republicans will gain six House seats so far, according to ABC News’ projections, which will be enough to barely flip the House if they don’t lose elsewhere, though there are competitive GOP-held seats in California still to be counted. The ongoing tally has upended the idea that Republicans would net roughly two dozen seats.

In the Senate, where Republicans need to flip only one Democratic seat, Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov. John Fetterman instead is projected to flip the Senate seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, easing Democrats’ path to keeping the chamber that they currently hold only with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.

However, Senate races in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada have yet to be called.

Inflation and abortion were key issues, not crime

Exit polling suggested that inflation and abortion were the key issues on voters’ minds, while crime did not register as highly, undercutting pre-election surveys.

About 32% of voters nationwide said inflation was the biggest issue, while 27% said abortion was. Meanwhile, crime significantly trailed those two issues in importance in several states.

Republicans had launched an advertising onslaught in the final weeks of the midterms casting Democrats as weak on crime and public safety, a relentless campaign that strategists on both sides believed was effective.

House majority up in the air

The ultimate House majority is in question as of early Wednesday.

Republicans had boasted that they could enjoy a majority of at least 20 seats, overtaking Democrats’ current five-seat majority.

Yet the GOP has only gained a half-dozen seats, according to ABC News’ projections. And while several competitive races — for each party — are yet to be called, Republicans had anticipated having the chamber locked up early.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said early Wednesday that he was still confident Democrats would lose.

“If you believe in freedom, hard work and the American dream, these results proved that there is a place for you in the Republican Party,” he said.

Trump allies fall short

Several midterm candidates allied with Donald Trump are projected to fall short, hurting Republicans’ chances of winning the House and Senate and tarnishing the former president’s reputation as kingmaker.

Among the more prominent candidates who are projected to lose are Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz and New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc.

Other candidates who will be unable to win key races, according to ABC News projections, are Maryland gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox, Massachusetts gubernatorial nominee Geoff Diehl and New York gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin.

Fate of election deniers

While some races involving election deniers are not yet projected, several other Republicans who cast doubts on the 2020 election results will not win, according to ABC News’ projections, with ramifications for future presidential elections.

Mastriano, who would have appointed the Pennsylvania secretary of state had he won, was outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and previously alleged — without evidence — that “millions of people across the state have been defrauded.” Mastriano is projected to lose to state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

In Michigan, GOP secretary of state nominee Kristina Karamo is projected to lose to Democrat Jocelyn Benson. Karamo had claimed that Trump won the state in 2020 and unsuccessfully sued to invalidate mail-in voting in Detroit.

There are other secretary of state races yet to be called, but Republicans are projected to fail in swing states where they could have gained the power to certify election results while openly questioning how elections are conducted.

Florida drifts further toward Republicans

Republicans had a disappointing night overall, compared to the pre-Election Day assessments, but they romped in Florida, indicating that the erstwhile and vote-rich swing state is moving further away from Democrats.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, a GOP rising star, coasted to reelection by about 19 points, with nearly all of the expected vote reported. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio also trounced opponent Val Demings by about 17 points — stunning margins in a state where races had often been decided on the razor’s edge of a point or two.

The GOP also flipped three House seats in Florida, wins that could end up playing major roles in deciding which party controls the chamber.

The races left

There are still major races left to be called, with implications for control of both chambers.

Senate races in Arizona and Nevada are yet to be projected. And while Georgia’s Senate race could end in a runoff if neither candidate cracks 50%, that outcome has not been determined.

Dozens of House races are also not yet called, including up and down the West Coast, with enough left to decide the lower chamber’s majority.

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