The vote was widely seen as a test case for abortion rights across the country, as Republican-dominated legislatures rush to impose strict bans on the procedure after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision ‘overturn Roe v Wade in June.
When the polls closed at 19:00 (1:00 BST), local media reported that Scott Schwab, the Kansas secretary of state, said turnout had reached 50%, a figure that is usually ‘waited for a general election.
A total of 908,745 votes were cast, with 534,134 in favor of keeping the protections and 374,611 wanting them scrapped.
Other states, including California and Kentucky, will vote on the issue in November, coinciding with midterm congressional elections in which both Republicans and Democrats hope to mobilize supporters across the country.