Midterms 2026: What America’s health battles reveal about the country

State ballot measures on contentious health care issues like transgender rights and abortion access will provide a concrete view of how voters across the U.S. regard these matters, two years into the Trump administration.

In some ways, the volume of initiatives is a step down from 2024, when a record number of states held votes on abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn national protections for the procedure. And surprisingly, there are relatively few measures on issues central to the Make America Healthy Again movement, which has taken something of a backseat in the midterms. (A small number of states will vote on issues like Medicaid and school meals.)

Four states will consider measures that would prohibit transgender youth from participating on school athletics teams aligned with their gender identity, including two with existing bans that the latest proposals would bolster.