Members of the anti-abortion group Florida Voice for the Unborn gathered in front of the Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 7, 2024. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)
Four anti-abortion advocates want a state trial court to remove from the ballot Amendment 4, which would protect abortion access in Florida, or to nullify votes cast in its favor.
The women from St. Lucie and Taylor counties claim the abortion amendment didn’t gather enough signatures to qualify for the Nov. 5 ballot. Their suit, filed Wednesday in the Ninth Judicial Circuit in Orange County, hinges on an Oct. 11 preliminary report from the Florida Department of State that accuses Floridians Protecting Freedom (PFF), the group behind the measure, of “widespread election fraud.”
The plaintiffs are not only suing the group behind the amendment — they’re also suing Secretary of State Cord Byrd and 21 supervisors of election across the state, arguing that the supervisors wrongfully verified petition signatures.
Former Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson represents the anti-abortion advocates.
“FPF’s failure to obtain the required number and distribution of valid initiative petition signatures constitutes a basis for the Court to decertify and strike Amendment 4 from the 2024 General Election Ballot or — if this case is not resolved before the election — to enjoin the State Defendants from counting the votes or, if passed, to enjoin the State Defendants from giving effect to votes cast in favor of Amendment 4 or posting the Amendment 4 election results,” the complaint states.
‘A tired trick’
Groups in support of the amendment and Florida Democrats criticized the timing of the report from the Office of Election Crimes and Security, saying the state could’ve raised any concerns about the signatures before sending out vote-by-mail ballots.
“Many Floridians have already voted on Amendment 4. Dropping these allegations now is an irresponsible and tired trick. The state knows these allegations cannot substantively alter its decision to certify Amendment 4 and the ability of voters to end Florida’s cruel and extreme abortion ban during this election,” wrote Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, in a statement on Tuesday.
In the complaint, the anti-abortion advocates argue that Floridians Protecting Freedom didn’t gather the 891,523 valid signatures needed to land on the ballot. Their argument is based on the Department of State’s review of 13,445 verified signatures. Supervisors of elections verified 997,035 signatures for Amendment 4 in January.
Related litigation
Floridians Protecting Freedom filed a suit in federal court Wednesday morning accusing the DeSantis administration of silencing unfavorable political speech after it threatened television stations with criminal charges for playing an ad from the Yes on 4 campaign.
The proposed amendment says 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.”
State law now bans abortions after six weeks’ gestation, before most people realize they are pregnant. The law provides exemptions for rape, incest, human trafficking, to protect the life of the pregnant person. However, doctors and hospitals have been reluctant to observe them in practice for fear of sanctions including criminal prosecution and loss of licenses to practice.
Floridians Protecting Freedom didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.