A.G. Gancarski
Is Gov. Ron DeSantis going too far in trying to defeat an amendment to restore abortion access?
That’s what one group says.
“Gov. DeSantis is using his election police to intimidate voters who dare to have beliefs that differ from his. This opens the door towards making voters and all Floridians feel unsafe for voicing their constitutionally protected opinions on important issues like abortion,” says All Voting is Local Action’s Florida State Director Brad Ashwell.
“It’s been clear from day one that the purpose of the election police was to harass voters who don’t have the same viewpoints as the governor. By going after a petition for Amendment 4, which is already on the ballot, Gov. DeSantis is undermining the will of voters and stomping over their democratic freedoms for his own political gain,” Ashwell adds.
State officials are visiting people who signed the petition to get the measure on the ballot, per the Tampa Bay Times, in an effort to establish what reporters call “potential petition fraud.”
The DeSantis administration is already under fire for a so-called transparency webpage that combats “the lies and disinformation surrounding Florida’s abortion laws” to make the case that the amendment, which would end the current ban on the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, is not needed.
Prior to that, the administration waded into the debate about ballot language to ensure it reads that litigation would impact the state budget if the amendment should pass.
The Governor is investing what appears to be dwindling political capital into this push. New polling suggests legalized abortion, with 55% approval, is more popular than DeSantis, who is under 50%. However, the amendment would need 60% support to pass.
27 comments
Sundance
September 7, 2024 at 10:26 am
Between coverages and pay to play . Idk. But my electric better not go up..
Ocean Joe
September 7, 2024 at 10:37 am
“The Governor is investing what appears to be dwindling political capital into this push. New polling suggests legalized abortion… is more popular than DeSantis, who is under 50%.”
Impeach, our “wildly popular” governor is floundering. Same on the pot amendment. Our anachronistic legislature repeated forces the people of Florida to amend the constitution because they represent the few who bankroll them, not the public.
JustBabs
September 8, 2024 at 2:38 pm
DeSantis already won when he had legislature change the ballot initiative threshold to 60%, instead of a majority. That’s a hard number to, in any state, on most initiatives. Especially, when the MAGAt Party throws so many barriers and lies against the wall, instead of letting citizens read and decide. The good news is that his “Hunting and Fishing constitutional right”, Amend 2, is probably dead in the water, too.
Michael
September 7, 2024 at 10:40 am
Ron DeSantis was born 89 years too late and 4,781 miles too far to the southwest.
He cannot seem to beat out Trump, but maybe he could have beat out an earlier tyrant.
ELVIS PITTS AMERICAN
September 7, 2024 at 11:04 am
Good Morn ‘Ting Dook 4 Brains Leftys,
This is not about abortion. Its about Ron & Florida’s Sage Election Police arresting dirty rotton election cheaters.
Why do I, ELVIS PITTS AMERICAN, always have to give you Dooks Sage Correction & Direction????
ELVIS PITTS AMERICAN
JD
September 7, 2024 at 11:20 am
It is all about abortion and King DeSantis is trying to use force to stop the will of the people.
You know what America did Tryants like DeSantis? We revolted and kicked them out of the country. King DeSantis needs dethroned.
Don’t Tread On Me said We the People.
cassandra was right
September 7, 2024 at 12:56 pm
Time for We the People to remember our original American values. LIBERTY FOR ALL! FREEDOM from tyrants!
No more King DeSantis.
DON’T TREAD ON ME!
JD
September 7, 2024 at 11:21 am
We are not left – you are aligned with a Tyrant.
We the PEOPLE say DON’T TREAD ON WE!
DEMOCRATIC FREEDOM
It's1933
September 7, 2024 at 1:17 pm
Troll
Michael K
September 7, 2024 at 11:19 am
Voter intimidation is all the rage – look at what is happening in Texas. And, rest assured, the voter police are nowhere near The Villages where actual voter fraud occurred. Nope. Just look for a concentration of Black and Brown people.
Speaking of rage, our governor refused multiple requests from the Washington Post to explain his elimination of cultural funding, to the detriment of arts education, especially, in rural areas. What a mensch. (Not).
MH/Duuuval
September 9, 2024 at 4:46 pm
Deciders don’t need no stinking media telling them what they think. For example, the original decider W invading both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Costs of the 20-year war on terror: $8 trillion and 900,000 deaths.
Brown University
https://www.brown.edu › news › costsofwar
Sep 1, 2021
Richard Paula
September 7, 2024 at 11:34 am
DeSantis is a pimple on the ass of Florida. He is a pint sized would be Mussolini. Enough of his meddling into the lives of the people of Florida.
Cheesy Floridian
September 7, 2024 at 11:58 am
I love how you put this
Cheesy Floridian
September 7, 2024 at 12:00 pm
I really hope that a lot of people are paying attention to what DeSantis and his administration are doing to this state. This is wrong on so many levels. This is stuff you hear about and read about in countries like Russia, Cuba, China etc. and let’s look at the future, are people going to be willing to freely support amendments to get them on the ballot if they know that the police will show up to their door asking about it? Nope. This isn’t America.
Michael K
September 7, 2024 at 12:20 pm
The Heritage Foundation seems to be behind the spread of disinformation on this issue of “voter integrity.” Yes, the same people who developed Project 2025 for Trump. It’s been called out in Georgia. I hope people start paying attention.
My Take
September 7, 2024 at 12:42 pm
Reichsmarschall Deᛋᛋ antis
It's1933
September 7, 2024 at 1:16 pm
Is this the Florida State Guard, his personal army, intimidating voters?
MH/Duuuval
September 7, 2024 at 4:00 pm
No — Ron created his own elections police who last made headlines when they arrested elderly Blacks who are former felons and assumed they had the right to vote. And doing so by bringing in a half-dozen law enforcement officers and a warrant in the middle of the night. Gestapo!
Now, they are looking for folks who signed petitions to get abortion rights on the ballot. (I may have signed multiples of this since my memory is failing — come and arrest me.)
Dont Say FLA
September 9, 2024 at 11:29 am
Those folks assumed they had the right to vote because they went to register to vote and were
fraudulentlyaccidentally given voter registration cards, evidently just so Rhonda could later have them arrested for taking their voter registrations and going and voting.G0P types rail again gun registrations because G0P types know how they use other types of registrations, exactly like Rhonda is doing here.
MH/Duuuval
September 9, 2024 at 4:48 pm
Former felons had no rules or guidelines to go by and most were unable to get a figure on what they purportedly owed the state. As if jail time wasn’t enough…
Rona is a facist
September 7, 2024 at 3:33 pm
I wish Rona had been aborted.
freedom from unreasonable searches
September 8, 2024 at 9:38 am
Unless they have a warrant signed by a judge, if they show up asking questions then tell them to leave immediately and don’t come back!
MH/Duuuval
September 8, 2024 at 3:11 pm
The elections police have had no trouble procuring warrants for alleged abuses of the voting system. But, why was it necessary to serve these warrants in the middle of the night with a gang of six or eight law enforcement in tow? None of the alleged voter felonies has resulted in jail time, and some have been dismissed outright.
Long live the GOP
September 8, 2024 at 9:38 am
Long live the GOP in history books, then we can ban it and burn it!!! So long MAGAts, you have two months left use your time wisely, the blue wave is coming!
Recall Rhonda!
Don’t treat on me!
Sundance
September 8, 2024 at 12:24 pm
It like a contradiction. As the world is flat.. seems like I seen fights over my way or the highway Dems 0 tolerances and rules
Ron DeSantis hates America
September 9, 2024 at 9:14 am
Ron DeSantis is an UnAmerican POS and so are his supporters.
KathrynA
September 9, 2024 at 9:12 pm
I’m not voting for the abortion amendment, but they had every right to place it on the ballot and the people signing it were all verified. This is a like a police state with them trying to intimidate signers and cast doubt at the last moment if the amendment is legit. I see the Republicans are doing the same in Missouri too. Taking it to court before their is time to adequately appeal it. I might not support abortion, but having election integrity questioned and election fraud being touted is just a big stain on our country. I will never vote Republican again.
Comments are closed.