New Florida Department of State report alleges petition fraud related to abortion amendment

FLORIDA — A new 348-page report published by the Florida Department of State alleges significant petition fraud related to the effort to get Amendment 4 on the ballot.

That amendment aims to restore abortion rights in Florida back to levels seen under Roe v. Wade.

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The report claims there were several instances of petition gatherers being illegally paid per petition, fraudulent petitions submitted on behalf of dead people and mismatched signatures.

The report claims more than 100 preliminary criminal investigations have been opened by the state’s elections crime unit related to the alleged petition fraud.

Back in September, Action News Jax asked Governor Ron DeSantis if the investigation could put Amendment 4′s ballot placement at risk.

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“I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t know what the rules are about that. I think it was- this was that we had reports about this one group that was getting the petitions. They had submitted petitions on behalf of dead voters that has been substantiated. We now know that there are signatures that have been accepted by some of the supervisors that don’t match the voter file,” DeSantis said.

We reached out to Floridians Protecting Freedom, the campaign backing Amendment 4, for comment.

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Campaign Laura Brenzel sent us the following:

The State of Florida’s latest attempt to undermine Floridians’ right to vote on Amendment 4 is desperate. Ask yourself, why is this happening now, over half a year after over 997,000 petitions were verified by the state of Florida and now with less than a month until the election they want to revisit the petition collection process? Simply put, it’s because our campaign is winning and the government is trying to do everything it can to stop Floridians from having the rights they deserve. ... This campaign has been run above board and followed state law at every turn. What we are seeing now is nothing more than dishonest distractions and desperate attempts to silence voters. It is time for Floridians to decide what side they are on. The choice this November is to either keep a near total abortion ban with no real exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the woman OR to vote YES on Amendment 4 and limit the government from intervening with private medical decisions.

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