The ballot summary of the proposed constitutional amendment reads, in part: “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.”
In order to qualify for placement on the ballot, the initiative needs a minimum 891,523 signatures of support from Floridians statewide and must meet signature requirements in at least half of the state's congressional districts. According to the Florida Phoenix news website, the campaign is currently targeting six districts: Congressional District 9 in Orange, Osceola and Polk counties; Congressional District 16 in Hillsborough and Manatee counties; Congressional District 22 in Palm Beach County, and Congressional District 23 covering Palm Beach and Broward County.
As of publication, the state has verified 753,771 submitted petitions in support of the ballot measure, representing nearly 85% of the total needed. The state Division of Elections Office has until Feb. 1, 2024, to validate petitions in support of the measure that have been submitted by the group. If placed on the ballot, the measure would need to be approved by at least 60% of voters in order to pass.
Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, said in a statement, “Floridians have shown that they want to see this initiative on the ballot.”
Brenzel added that the group, made up of a coalition of allied organizations in support of abortion rights, is doing a final push for more signatures from Floridians, and is asking anyone in support who has not yet signed and submitted their petition to get them into the campaign by Dec. 22. Petitions for the initiative, along with the full text of the proposed ballot measure, can be found online. Registered voters can submit their signatures to P.O. Box 4068, Sarasota, FL 34230.At least 150,000 signatures submitted in support of the abortion measure in Florida have come from registered Republicans.
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In the state of Florida, abortion is currently legal up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. A six-week limit was approved by Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis in April, but the effective date of that ban depends on the outcome of a legal challenge still pending over the 15-week limit, which is being considered by the Florida Supreme Court. If the high court, packed with conservative justices, determines the 15-week limit is constitutional (plaintiffs argue it's not), a six-week ban would go into effect 30 days later. This gutting of abortion access in the state will affect not only Floridians, but also residents of neighboring states with even stricter abortion bans, who had been able to seek care here.
Abortion rights advocates are hoping to allow Floridians themselves the chance to decide the future of abortion access in the state, which has long served as a critical access point for Southern states with more restrictive abortion laws. The multimillion-dollar campaign to get abortion rights onto the statewide ballot was first launched in May, backed by groups like Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, the 1199 SEIU labor union and Florida Rising.
The campaign has contended that the initiative has bipartisan support, and that Florida residents have a clearer understanding of what's at stake when abortion rights are under attack — more so than some of the Republican legislators elected to represent their interests. Although strict abortion limits in Florida and elsewhere across the country have largely been pushed by anti-abortion Republican lawmakers, abortion bans appear to be less popular among Republican voters.
At least 150,000 signatures submitted for the abortion measure in Florida have come from registered Republicans, NBC News reported last week. A recent poll from the University of North Florida similarly found over 60% support for the proposed abortion rights amendment among registered Florida voters. According to the UNF poll, 62% of voters indicated they would vote “yes” on the abortion rights ballot measure, including a majority (53%) of Republican respondents.
When Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who describes herself as "pro-life," filed a brief with the state Supreme Court arguing that the language of the ballot summary was unclear and would "hoodwink" voters, a group of former Republican elected officials filed their own brief in support of placing the measure on the ballot. So did the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
In addition to collecting the minimum number of signatures, the language of the proposed constitutional amendment must also be approved by the Florida Supreme Court by April 1. Under state law, ballot language must contain "clear and unambiguous language."
If approved by voters, Florida would join over half a dozen other states in the U.S. — including other Republican-controlled states — that have voted to affirm abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling last year.
"Initiatives to protect reproductive rights have won on every ballot since the fall of Roe v. Wade — and Florida is next," Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said in a statement.
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