When Florida residents signed a petition to get an abortion rights amendment on the November ballot, they likely did not expect a knock at their door from the police. Yet, in recent weeks, state law enforcement officers have been visiting the homes of voters involved in the petition process as part of a state probe into alleged petition fraud.
The investigation, launched under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, has quickly stirred controversy, with critics arguing that it is an attempt to intimidate voters from exercising their rights in the nation’s third-largest state.
DeSantis, however, has staunchly defended the move, emphasizing the need to investigate any potential wrongdoing in the electoral process. He maintains that there is evidence pointing to fraudulent petition signatures, including those purportedly signed by deceased individuals. “They’re investigating this, as they should,” DeSantis remarked. “Our tolerance for voter fraud in the state of Florida is zero.”
Yet, for many, this explanation fails to quell concerns. Critics of the investigation, including legal experts and abortion rights advocates, contend that the state’s probe is not only ill-timed but also legally questionable. The petition signatures in question were submitted well before the April 2024 deadline, after which the Florida Supreme Court cleared the proposed amendment for the ballot. The initiative, if passed by 60% of voters, would ensure legal access to abortions until the point of fetal viability, effectively countering Florida’s current six-week abortion ban.
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor of constitutional and election law at Stetson University College of Law, expressed her doubts regarding the state’s actions. “The Florida Supreme Court already allowed the abortion question to go on the ballot in April of 2024,” she said. “Thus this effort to question signatures at this point seems far too late.”
As the probe unfolds, it has drawn the attention of local officials and voters alike, many of whom feel that the investigation is politically motivated. In April, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against state Attorney General Ashley Moody’s argument that the abortion rights amendment was misleading. The decision was a victory for supporters of the initiative, but the recent wave of police visits has rekindled fears of political interference.
Florida’s abortion laws are currently among the strictest in the country, with the state banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—often before women even realize they are pregnant. Amendment 4, as the proposed measure is known, seeks to change this by preventing the state from imposing any laws that would “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability.” Supporters of the amendment have been working tirelessly to gather more than 891,000 petition signatures needed to secure its place on the November ballot. By January, the campaign had not only reached that number but surpassed it, submitting nearly 100,000 additional signatures. This large buffer of signatures initially reassured advocates, who felt confident that the measure had gained widespread support.
Now, with the state probing 36,000 of those signatures, the sense of security has been shaken. The investigation, overseen by the Office of Election Crimes and Security, is tasked with reviewing allegations of petition fraud. According to Deputy Secretary of State Brad McVay, there is “concern” over the possibility of forged signatures being verified as valid by local election officials. In response, county supervisors have been asked to collect thousands of petition signatures for further review.
While election fraud is rare, it has become a prominent talking point in Florida and across the nation, particularly in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen. In 2022, DeSantis signed a law creating a police force specifically dedicated to investigating voter fraud and other election-related crimes. Since then, the unit has made headlines, including when it brought charges against 20 individuals who had illegally voted in the 2020 election. However, as critics have pointed out, the instances of fraud that have been uncovered are often isolated and do not indicate widespread wrongdoing.
For supporters of Amendment 4, the timing of the investigation feels suspect. With just months to go before the November election, they argue that the probe is intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the amendment, potentially derailing it before voters even have a chance to weigh in. Some, like Torres-Spelliscy, question whether the investigation could be used as a last-minute attempt to pull the amendment from the ballot. She points to a 2016 decision by the Florida Supreme Court to keep a solar energy ballot initiative in place despite reports that the measure was misleading. If the court were to follow its previous rulings, Torres-Spelliscy argues, it should allow Amendment 4 to remain on the ballot this time as well.
