TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has launched an unusual investigation into thousands of validated petition signatures that were used to get the abortion amendment on November ballots.
The effort, which one county elections supervisor called “unprecedented,” has included law enforcement knocking on doors and elections officials spending days pulling verified petitions. The amendment sponsor group, Floridians Protecting Freedom, has said any state effort to undermine petitions validated months ago would be viewed as “political interference.” Democratic members of Congress from Florida have called for a Department of Justice investigation .
DeSantis and his staff have defended the state’s effort, saying instances of fraud have been found. Here’s what we know about how the state’s investigation started and Florida’s petition process. What is Amendment 4? Amendment 4 is one of two petition-driven amendments on the November ballot this year.
To get on the ballot, the amendment sponsors got nearly one million validated signatures from Florida voters. The amendment says in part that “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.” If it passes, it would override Florida’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which DeSantis signed into law.
DeSantis is against the amendment and has organized a.