Secretary of State alleges fraud by group behind abortion rights ballot measure

The Secretary of State’s office claims that fraudulent signatures helped put an abortion rights measure on Florida’s ballot, in the latest example of the state of Florida using official resources to fight the citizens’ initiative that could reverse current bans in the state.

That 348-page report, released late Friday, accuses Floridians Protecting Freedom, the committee behind Amendment 4, of paying out-of-state petition circulators known for submitting forged signatures of dead voters. That prompted Florida’s election crimes unit to open more than 100 criminal investigations.

“All should agree that there is no room for fraud when it comes to changing the Florida Constitution,” wrote Deputy Secretary of State Brad McVay. “We look forward to constructive dialogue on the adequacy of current law in addressing initiative petition fraud.”

The report on the ongoing investigation comes over a month after Gov. Ron DeSantis publicly asserted many of the petitions submitted to get Amendment 4 on the ballot were fraudulent. When asked in a press conference about reports the state’s election police unit was demanding information from local election supervisors about petitions, DeSantis on Sept. 10 defended the action.




https://floridapolitics.com/archives/701241-secretary-of-state-alleges-fraud-by-group-behind-abortion-rights-ballot-measure/