In just a few months, voters across Appalachia will head to the polls to pick a new president, senators, congressional representatives and hundreds of state lawmakers and local officials.

While the presidential race is the one dominating headlines — especially in the region, where the Republican ticket includes Ohio native J.D. Vance — there are a number of other choices Appalachian voters will make that could significantly change the region’s future. Many of them involve ballot measures: in multiple states, voters will decide whether to change voting rights, abortion access, public education and more. 

Voting rights 

Voters in North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky will decide on ballot measures that would require citizenship to vote. At first, these measures may seem a bit redundant, as American citizenship is already required to vote in all federal and state elections. 

On one hand, such requirements are a performative stand against an imagined threat of widespread voter fraud, said David Niven, a University of Cincinnati professor who researches political campaigns, gerrymandering and political communication. 

But on the other hand, if states pass these measures, they can later move to require certain identification as proof of citizenship which could make it much harder for marginalized voters to cast ballots. Niven cited as an example Ohio’s existing photo ID requirements for voting — some of the country’s strictest. 

“If you’re in Appalachian Ohio, and you’re old enough that you don’t have a driver’s license anymore, you’re in serious trouble if you want to vote,” Niven said.

And although the courts require states to issue free identification, the process of obtaining an ID can still be quite burdensome. 

“The practical reality is every part of that process is difficult, including whether they have their original birth certificate, the paperwork necessary to prove who they are, and the effort of getting there,” Niven said. “So it’s free on paper, but it’s not free in reality.” 

Ohio voters will also decide on an election-related ballot measure this November, potentially creating a Citizens Redistricting Commission. The commission would consist entirely of non-politicians: 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 5 independents or members of other parties. 

Ohio currently has some of the country’s most gerrymandered congressional districts, meaning they are drawn in a non-uniform way to give one party a political advantage. In Ohio’s case, congressional districts are gerrymandered to favor the Republican Party.

These gerrymandered maps disenfranchise both urban and rural voters, including those in Appalachian Ohio, said Niven. He cited the example of Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, which meanders all the way from wealthy suburbs north of Columbus into Appalachian Ohio.

“How would you represent a place that has a county with one of the highest rates of health care access in the country and the county that has the second lowest access to health insurance in the country?” Niven said. “You would almost have to do the impossible to represent the district well because it has such heights of wealth and poverty.” 

Abortion and discrimination

Voters in New York and Maryland will decide on ballot measures that could impact abortion rights. 

In New York, voters will consider an equal rights amendment to the state constitution. The amendment would prohibit discrimination based on a variety of categories including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. This would protect residents from any government action to restrict reproductive health care, including abortion. 

In Maryland, voters could pass an amendment to the state’s constitution guaranteeing a right to reproductive freedom. 

Although Maryland already protects abortion rights in several different ways, the ballot measure’s passage would make a difference, said Kimya Forouzan, Principal State Policy Advisor at the Guttmacher Institute. 

“This is a protection that can be codified into the state constitution,” Forouzan said. “Statutes can be repealed. They can be amended if there is a legislature that has the votes and the will to do that, but a constitutional amendment is a lot harder to change. And codifying that into their state constitution is a really important and protective step that a state can take.” 

Adding abortion rights to the state constitution will also impact Appalachian communities outside of Maryland. Many residents of neighboring states with more severe restrictions traveled to Maryland to receive abortions in 2023, according to research from the Guttmacher Institute. This includes 800 people from West Virginia, which has a near-total abortion ban. 

Public education funding

Voters in Kentucky will decide on a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would allow public funding to go to private schools. 

If passed, the amendment would likely divert at least hundreds of millions of dollars away from public schools, according to research from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. 

Kentucky and New York are currently the only Appalachian states that do not already allow public funding for private schools. 

Tax reform

Finally, voters in Georgia will decide on multiple tax-related ballot measures. Come November, they could increase the state’s personal property tax exemption and approve the creation of a statewide tax court that has broader authority than the state’s existing tax tribunal. 

Most notably, voters could pass a ballot measure to cap annual increases in property taxes — limiting them to the rate of inflation. Although intended to bring relief to cash-strapped homeowners, this measure could also lead to the underfunding of key public services, as 100 Days in Appalachia has reported. But even if this measure passes, city or county governments and school boards can still “opt out” before March 1, 2025, and decide not to limit property taxes.