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The Ballot Measure:
On November 5, Floridians will be able to vote on whether or not the right to an abortion should be enshrined in the state’s constitution.
Ballot measure 4, brought forth by pro-abortion group Floridians Protecting Freedom, states “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
A “yes” vote for the measure would make it unconstitutional in the state to pass a law that restricts abortion before a pregnancy is viable; a “no” vote would do the opposite.
The Backlash:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is against the ballot measure, which was made possible by a petition signed by almost one million Floridians who are in support of it. And last week, DeSantis’s administration posited that the large number of signatures were a result of fraud.
“Most of the circulators listed represent known or suspected fraudsters, several others have very concerning invalidity rates,” Florida State Department Brad McVay said in an email, according to Fox 13, a local Florida outlet. “We would like to review the petitions that were verified as valid submitted by these individuals.”
And by reviewing the petitions, McVay seems to mean visiting the residences of the signatories to verify their signatures.
But many see such an act as voter intimidation.
“The experience left me shaken,” Florida voter and petition signer Isaac Menasche posted on Facebook about a detective who visited his home with a folder containing Menasche’s personal information to verify his signature. “It was obvious to me that a significant effort was exerted to determine if indeed I had signed the petition. Troubling that so much resources were devoted to this.”
Many online consider experiences like that of Menasche to be very frightening.
“Florida department of state is claiming fraud and are visiting those who signed to prove their signatures are legitimate,” one X user posted. “This is Handmaids Tale shit.”
“The police have nothing better to do than try to intimidate voters?” a Redditor commented on a post about the situation. “Fuck DeSantis. This is textbook fascism. Vote the way we tell you or we will be violent to you…”
The Background:
Alongside Florida, ten other states will have abortion on the ballot this November. Plus, thus far, ballot measures that aim to secure a right to abortion in states haven’t failed.
And progressive activists are hoping to do more than just get the right to an abortion in Florida: They want to turn it blue in the presidential election, too.
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