Wandering Monk
Well-Known Member
Florida Police Showing Up at the Homes of Voters Who Signed Abortion Rights Petition
Florida law enforcement agencies have reportedly been going to homes of residents who signed a petition to get an abortion rights initiative on the November ballot in that state. The police involvement comes as part of a larger investigation launched by Governor Ron DeSantis after the Department of State claimed the signature gathering process for Amendment 4 was fraudulent.
A Fort Meyers resident named Isaac Menache posted on Facebook that he was visited by a detective investigating "petition fraud." Menache said the plained clothes detective had a file on him that was ten pages long, that included a copy of his drivers' license, and a copy of the petition he signed.
Menache said the experience left him "shaken."
Another Lee County resident, Becky Castellanos had a similar experience. Castellanos said the officer showed his badge and left his card after interrogating her on a family member's signature on the petition.
"This is unhinged and undemocratic behavior being pushed by Governor Ron DeSantis in an effort to continue our state’s near total abortion ban,” Florida state Representative Anna Eskamani wrote in a post. "It’s clear voter intimidation and plain corruption—continue to call it out and fight back."
The law enforcement presence is part of a larger effort by the DeSantis administration to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the abortion referendum petition, which received a million signatures, more than enough to qualify for the November ballot.
First reported by the Tampa Bay Times, the Supervisors of Elections in the major urban areas of Tampa, Orlando, Kissimmee and Palm Beach have been ordered to closely scrutinize tens of thousands of signatures on petitions to get the abortion amendment on ballot.
Two Supervisors told the Times that they had never been asked to do anything like this before by the state.
"I have never in my tenure had a request like this one," said Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington, a Democrat who has been in the job for 16 years.
Recent polling showed the abortion rights referendum, Amendment 4, has 70% support, which would enshrine abortion access in the state constitution after DeSantis passed a near-total abortion ban earlier this year.
The Amendment 4 campaign has also petitioned to strike state-written language on Amendment 4 from voter information materials, after the DeSantis administration included deceptive language that made it sound like the abortion rights amendment would negatively impact the state budget.
