JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida Democrats are calling for investigations into two state agencies, alleging they are attempting to interfere with a ballot measure aimed at expanding abortion access that is set to appear on the November ballot.
Posted on the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s website, you’ll now find this lengthy information page, warning voters, “Amendment 4 threatens women’s safety.”
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The page claims the amendment that seeks to expand abortion access in the state would lead to unregulated and unsafe abortions, and that it fails to define terms like “patient health,” “health care provider,” and “viability.”
Monday, the agency went a step further, posting this video on social media, defending Florida’s current abortion laws.
“We’re going to be looking at every legal and legislative means possible to make sure the people of this state have an opportunity to vote for Amendment 4 without intimidation and government intrusion,” Nikki Fried, Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said.
Fried decried the use of taxpayer dollars to fund what she views as political propaganda during a virtual press conference Monday.
“This should really shock everybody. That we are using government money, our taxpayer dollars, is not only illegal, but again this goes way above anything that we have even seen under a DeSantis administration,” Fried said.
AHCA sent Action News Jax a statement defending the new page.
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“Our new transparency page serves to educate Floridians on the state’s current abortion laws and provide information on a proposed policy change that would impact care across the state,” an AHCA spokesperson said.
But Democrats are calling for state and federal investigations to find out how the campaign was approved and whether it violates any laws.
Democrats during the press conference suggested because AHCA receives federal dollars, an argument could be made the apparent anti-Amendment 4 information campaign violates the federal Hatch Act.
Additionally, they pointed to this state law, which prohibits government employees from using their official authority for “coercing or influencing another person’s vote.”
“There are some of the best attorneys in the state and across the country that have been brought to action under this moment and so, we are ready for the fight,” Fried said.
We did ask AHCA how much it had spent on the anti-Amendment 4 campaign and who gave the directive to create it, but those questions went unanswered.
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Democrats are also looking at the Florida Department of State after it confirmed it’s investigating alleged petition fraud related to Amendment 4.
It comes after several reports from Floridians, who had signed a petition to help get Amendment 4 on the ballot and recently got a visit from state investigators attempting to confirm whether they actually did sign the petition.
“The Department of State has uncovered evidence of illegal conduct with fraudulent petitions. We have a duty to seek justice for Florida citizens who were victimized by fraud and safeguard the integrity of Florida’s elections,” FL DOS External Affairs Director Mark Ard told Action News Jax in an emailed statement.
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But State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) argued the investigation is simply an effort to intimidate voters, and a possible attempt to have the amendment that would expand abortion access in Florida blocked from the ballot.
“We collected hundreds and thousands of verified petitions and there were no reports of fraud, no indications of that before Governor Ron DeSantis created the political theater that we’re seeing today,” Eskamani said. “And it’s sad. It’s embarrassing to see how far anti-abortion extremists will go, but we are not stopping when it comes to restoring our freedoms.”
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We did ask the department to further clarify the type and the scope of the fraud it claims to have uncovered, but did not get a response.
However, Governor Ron DeSantis during a Monday routable described it as “dozens” of petitions signed on behalf of dead people.
“There are other petitions that have actually been validated where the signatures do not match the voter file,” DeSantis said. “Our tolerance in the State of Florida for any type of election-related fraud is zero.”
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Florida Democrats, including House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa), are also calling for state and federal investigations into the Department of State probe.
“Because simply, we can’t trust them. We can’t trust them to do right by us, to do right by the state government or its people, to do right by the taxpayer dollars and we certainly can’t trust them to make these medical decisions for us,” said Driskell.
The Department of State said it will refer any potential criminal cases to FDLE as appropriate.
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