Petition fraud report could set stage for legal challenge, should FL abortion rights amendment pass

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Three weeks before the election, a new 348-page report published by the Florida Department of State alleges “significant” petition fraud related to the effort to get Amendment 4 on the ballot.

Florida voters are already casting ballots and weighing in on Amendment 4, which would restore abortion access in Florida to levels seen under Roe v. Wade, but the new allegations of petition fraud could put those votes at risk, should the measure pass.

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Those allegations, contained within this Florida Department of State report, suggest as many as 11.7 percent of petitions submitted to get Amendment 4 on the ballot could be fraudulent.

The estimate is based on an analysis of thousands of petitions submitted in three counties.

Last month, Gov. Ron DeSantis told Action News Jax he didn’t know if the investigation could threaten Amendment 4′s standing on the ballot.

RELATED: Gov. Ron DeSantis defends AHCA’s anti-Amendment 4 webpage, DOS investigation into petition fraud

But he did suggest there would be consequences.

“Our tolerance for voter fraud in the State of Florida is zero,” DeSantis said.

The report claims the petition fraud investigation has already led to at least eight arrests, two convictions, and more than 100 preliminary criminal investigations.

A spokesperson for Yes on 4 pushed back on the state report.

RELATED: FL Dems call for probe of 2 state agencies, accusing them of meddling in abortion amendment campaign

“Simply put, it’s because our campaign is winning and the government is trying to do everything it can to stop Floridians from having the rights they deserve,” Yes on 4 Campaign Director Lauren Brenzel said in an emailed statement.

The amendment currently has just shy of one million signatures that have been validated by state and local officials.

If the department’s estimation of the scope of fraud were proven true and the state managed to invalidate petitions retroactively, Amendment 4 would theoretically fall short of the nearly 900,000 valid signatures it needed to make the ballot.

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“It’s hard to make that argument when it was the various electors and divisions of elections, not only at the state level but also at all the county levels that approved all of this,” University of North Florida political science professor Dr. Michael Binder said.

Binder said he suspects the report could be setting the stage for an unprecedented post-election legal challenge.

“As we’ve seen, the Governor has used the full weight of the Florida government system to try to stop this amendment. It’s not something that we’ve seen before,” Binder said.

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In recent weeks, the state also published this page on a state agency website and attached this financial impact statement to Amendment 4 on the ballot, both of which read like Amendment 4 opposition ads.

Amendment 4 supporter and State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) argued the way the DeSantis Administration has gone about fighting Amendment 4 should alarm all Floridians.

“Regardless of what your position is on Amendment 4, everyone should be disturbed by this behavior because it is clearly undemocratic and it’s a usage of public dollars, of our tax dollars, for a political agenda,” Eskamani said.

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