Source: Tallahassee Democrat
“Gov. Ron DeSantis'[s] latest attempt to defeat the abortion rights ballot measure, known as Amendment 4, emerged in a report from the office of his elections chief, alleging a host of violations involving the campaign’s petition signature-gathering. The 348-page report comes from the office of Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, a Republican former state House member appointed by DeSantis to the elections post two years ago. It includes allegations of fraudulent signatures and petition-gatherers being paid illegally per signature. Floridians Protecting Freedom, the Amendment 4 campaign, was recently fined $328,000 for the alleged election law violations. The civil fine hasn’t been paid, the document says. While the report, labeled ‘preliminary,’ urges legislative leaders to consider steps during next year’s session to better regulate the state’s citizens’ initiative ballot process, it raises concerns that DeSantis may still attempt to invalidate Amendment 4, either before or after it goes before voters Nov. 5.” (10/14/24)