Click to expand Image A voter picks up an "I Voted" sticker after casting their ballot in the US midterm elections on November 3, 2026. © 2026 AP Photo/George Walker IV Alongside the high-profile congressional and gubernatorial races decided during the United States midterm elections on November 3, human rights were at issue in several state and local ballot measures across the country. In Virginia, voters adopted a measure to automatically restore voting rights to people with felony convictions upon release from prison, ending a lifetime ban that had been in place since the Jim Crow era.Arizona voters rejected and Wisconsin voters approved measures to end diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in education, employment, contracts, and administration, mirroring Trump administration initiatives to dismantle programs to address ongoing impacts of historical discrimination based on race and ethnicity. Vermont voters approved an amendment providing equal protection to individuals regardless of their race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or national origin.Meanwhile, Missouri voters rejected an effort to restrict the right to abortion care and measures to safeguard abortion rights were successful in Nevada and Virginia but failed in Idaho.Ballot measures on transgender rights also showed mixed results. In Colorado, voters adopted a measure to ban gender-affirming surgeries for youth under 18. In Missouri, one of 27 US states to have a ban on gender-affirming care for youth, voters opted to keep the ban out of the state’s constitution.Virginia voters approved an amendment formally lifting the state’s obsolete ban on same-sex marriage and affirming that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, and race.Immigration-related measures were also on several ballots. Colorado voters rejected a measure that would have required state and local law enforcement to coordinate with federal immigration authorities in some circumstances. Voters in Honolulu, Hawaii were consulted on a measure requiring their police department to ensure the constitutional rights of all persons regardless of immigration or citizenship status, and work with federal agents only when required by statute or a court order, though the results are still to be decided. And voters in Chicago, Illinois, said they agreed that the city should seek financial compensation from the federal government for harm caused by immigration enforcement operations.The US Congressional elections may be the biggest story of the week, but voters took up some important human rights issues directly in these initiatives and the impacts will be felt for years to come.