DeSantis’ election police question and ‘intimidate’ Florida voters who signed abortion petitions

The DeSantis administration’s investigation of signatures that were previously deemed valid “is what state-authorized election interference looks like,” say pro-choice activists. 

Florida voters who signed a petition to place an abortion rights measure on the ballot this November found themselves face to face with police officers who visited them last week at home, claiming to be investigating possible petition fraud. 

Driven by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, the police investigation seeks to inspect thousands of already validated signatures for Amendment 4, the referendum that would overturn the six-week abortion ban signed into law by DeSantis last year, and restore reproductive rights in the state until fetal viability, which is generally understood to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The action began last week, when DeSantis’ deputy secretary of state asked supervisors in Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, and Osceola counties to investigate nearly 36,000 signatures that were already deemed valid earlier this year in order to find petition fraud, a move that was quickly rebuked by pro-choice advocates in the state.

“This is nothing more than trickery by extreme politicians who fear the will of the people,” said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Floridians Protecting Freedom, the organization leading the Amendment 4 effort.

RELATED: DeSantis’ administration uses taxpayer dollars in “desperate attempt” to sabotage Amendment 4

Despite the protests, later that week, a number of petition signers were visited by police officers who repeated the state government’s claim that they were investigating fraud. 

Florida voter Becky Castellanos told the Tampa Bay Times that the incident felt “intimidating.”

“It didn’t surprise me that they were doing something like this to try to debunk these petitions to get it taken off of the ballot,” she told the outlet.

A political stunt

This so-called investigation is the work of the state Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS), which was created in 2022 by DeSantis and funded to the tune of $1.4 million dollars. According to its website, the OECS seeks to “proactively identify and thwart those who seek to violate Florida election laws.”

But critics call the OECS’ action nothing more than a political stunt, noting that voter and petition fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States. 

“This is what state-authorized election interference looks like,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida said in a statement.

Pamela Castellana, chair of the Brevard Democratic Executive Committee, said on X: “This is pure voter intimidation, just like with the ‘election police’ in 2022. It’s Gestapo tactics,” a reference to the official secret police of Nazi Germany. 

Democratic Rep. Anna V. Eskamani also issued a statement to Floricua, accusing DeSantis of “using state power to interfere in our most personal and private decisions.”

“This is the clearest example of why Amendment 4 is so crucial: it’s about protecting our right to make choices about our own bodies without political manipulation or government intrusion,” Eskamani said.

During a news conference in Miami Lakes on Monday, when questioned about the investigations into so-called petition fraud, DeSantis doubled down on his position. The election police officers, he said, “are doing what they’re supposed to do.”

Repeated efforts to derail Amendment 4

This is not the first time DeSantis has tried to derail Amendment 4, the grassroots initiative that has supporters on both sides of the political aisle.  

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration last week launched a taxpayer-funded political website that claims that Amendment 4 “threatens women’s safety,” even though it would merely restore the previous standard of Roe v. Wade, which required abortion to be legal until fetal viability, which is usually around 24 weeks (or when necessary, after that, in order to protect the patient’s health as determined by their healthcare provider). 

“DeSantis’ administration using taxpayer money to spread misinformation about Amendment 4 is a blatantly illegal attempt to intimidate and confuse voters. This is a federal crime, and we cannot allow it to continue in our state,” Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the former Democratic Florida representative who is running for the Senate against Rick Scott in November, told Floricua.

She added that “it’s not enough to overturn the abortion ban – we have to fire the politicians pushing them.”

DeSantis pressures his party to oppose Amendment 4

But on Saturday Sept. 7, speaking to hundreds of activists, donors, and elected officials at a Republican Party of Florida fundraising dinner at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, DeSantis demanded that his party’s elected officials publicly oppose Amendment 4. 

“Every one of our elected representatives needs to say where they stand on this. And obviously it would be a ‘no,’” DeSantis told his audience as he directed them to “stand up and do what’s right… even when it’s not easy.”

Surveys show abortion rights are broadly popular with Florida voters. A recent survey from KFF revealed that approximately 7 in 10 women in Florida say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 

And a survey released Sept. 6 by Emerson College Polling/The Hill found the abortion rights amendment was supported by 55% of the state’s voters, with 26% opposed and 20% unsure. Roughly 30% of surveyed Republicans support the referendum.

Amendment 4 requires 60% of voters to vote “Yes” in order to pass and enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution.

If Amendment 4 is defeated, Florida’s abortion ban will stay in effect, requiring most pregnant women to carry pregnancies to term or to travel out of state to obtain an abortion. Pro-choice advocates say this will disproportionally impact low-income women, including Latinas and other women of color.

RELATED: Just the facts: What you need to know about Florida’s Amendment 4