Idaho Supreme Court rules that state officials must provide clearer language for ballot initiative
Idaho’s highest court ordered ruled state officials failed to meet legal standards for clarity in writing 2026 ballot initiative that will protect abortion rights.
On Monday, the Idaho Supreme Court partially sided with a pro-choice advocacy group in a case over the official language proposed for a 2026 voter ballot initiative.
The initiative had been submitted to the Idaho Secretary of State in August 2024. Known as the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act, Idahoans United for Women and Families, a pro-choice advocacy group in the state, brought the petition against several state officials, including Attorney General Raúl Labrador and the Division of Financial Management (DFM). The AG and DFM had misleadingly written the initiative, and the plaintiffs sought to revise it to reflect its actual impact better.
In January, lawyers for Idahoans United for Women and Families filed a lawsuit against Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, Labrador, and DFM administrator Lori Wolff. They made oral arguments in April, saying that the ballot initiative title and description had to be clear and concise.
Justice Colleen Zahn found the summary to be confusing, overly technical, and contradictory, citing conflicting statements and unnecessary references to state statutes and the $850 million Medicaid budget.
The AG had written the following title for the initiative:
Measure establishing a right to abortion up to fetus viability and to make reproductive decisions regarding one’s own body.
The court upheld the use of the term “fetus viability”—rejecting the petitioners’ argument that it was prejudicial. It ruled that the title omitted key elements of the initiative, including legal protections for healthcare providers and expanded abortion access in cases of medical emergency after fetal viability. They upheld the long ballot title.
The court ordered DFM and the Attorney General’s office to submit revised versions of the fiscal summary and short ballot title by the beginning of next week, along with a sworn declaration explaining the methodology behind the new fiscal statement.