Florida’s Department of State is reportedly currently conducting an examination of thousands of petition signatures that were utilized to secure the abortion amendment on the November ballots.
The agency is seeking evidence of forgery and other kinds of fraud
In a move that supporters of the amendment fear could be “political interference,” the deputy secretary of state for Gov. Ron DeSantis has requested that supervisors in Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, and Osceola counties collect approximately 36,000 signatures for the state to review.
The signatures were among the nearly 1 million collected, which were verified by local supervisors as belonging to genuine Floridians.
This was necessary to enable Amendment 4 to be presented to electors in November.
The amendment would ensure abortion access and repeal the state’s six-week abortion prohibition, which DeSantis advocated for.
It is unclear whether the request could be employed to challenge the amendment or remove it from the ballot. The deadline under state law to contest the legitimacy of the signatures has expired.
DeSantis has prioritized the defeat of the amendment this autumn. One of the primary groups that is opposed to the initiative has been organized and supported by the governor.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in ballot petition fraud in the state. This occurs when an individual working on behalf of a campaign submits counterfeit or fraudulent signatures.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Announces Brand New Funding for Successful Nursing Initiative]
