Florida voters who signed a petition to place a pro-choice abortion referendum on the ballot this November say they have been visited by police who are investigating claims of fraud at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration, the Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday.
Last year, DeSantis, a Republican, signed into a law a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. In response, pro-choice campaigners gathered and submitted nearly one million signatures to place on the ballot Amendment 4, a referendum that would overturn the ban and restore reproductive rights in the state.
Now Florida's Department of State is claiming it suspects fraud in the signature-gathering process. In an email to county election officials, the department's Brad McVay requested that they hand over their already-verified petitions so that the signatures can be reexamined, claiming without evidence that those who circulated the petitions "represent known or suspected fraudsters," Tampa Bay television station WTVT reported.
Isaac Menasche, a voter who signed a petition to place the abortion referendum on the ballot, told the Times that he too was contacted by people working for the Florida governor's office. According to Menasche, a plainclothes police officer came to his home to question him, apparently seeking to verify that the signature on the petition was indeed his.
“I’m not a person who is going out there protesting for abortion,” Menasche told the newspaper. “I just felt strongly and I took the opportunity when the person asked me, to say yeah, I’ll sign that petition.”
Another voter, Becky Castellanos, told the Times that she was visited by a state police officer who interrogated her about a family member's petition signature. She said 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.
In 2022, following false claims of voter fraud in the previous presidential election, DeSantis signed into law a measure creating a state Office of Election Crimes and Security. According to its website, the office claims to "proactively identify and thwart those who seek to violate Florida election laws." Last year, Florida Republicans set aside $1.4 million for the office.
Critics charge that the creation of the office was a political stunt, noting that voter fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States. They say the police visits reported by voters like Menasche is further evidence that the DeSantis administration is seeking to intimidate voters under the guise of addressing electoral fraud.
"Any effort to undermine the validity of these petitions is political interference aimed at distracting from the real issue: Florida’s extreme abortion ban, which has no real exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the woman," Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Yes on 4, said in a statement obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.
