In the aftermath of a vigorous opposition campaign led by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the attempt to constitutionally protect the right to a pre-viability abortion in the state fell short on Tuesday. Despite strong support from a majority of voters, the effort, known as Amendment 4, did not reach the required 60 percent threshold for passage.
Following the announcement of the results, organizers from the Yes on 4! coalition expressed pride in the 57 percent backing the measure received. This outcome conveyed a clear message to lawmakers that the current abortion ban in the state is considered too extreme by the electorate.
The proposed amendment, which garnered support from 1 million Floridians to be included on the ballot, aimed to invalidate the existing six-week abortion ban in the state. This ban, championed by DeSantis, effectively prohibits all abortions as many individuals may not be aware of their pregnancy at the six-week mark.
Additionally, Florida voters rejected Amendment 3, which sought to legalize marijuana and faced similar opposition from DeSantis.
Shortly after the results were revealed, Governor DeSantis took to social media to announce the outcomes. In a tweet, he stated, “With polls now closed in Florida — Amendment 3 has failed. Amendment 4 has failed.”
Former President Donald Trump secured a resounding victory in the state for the third consecutive presidential election. Trump, a Florida resident, declined to respond to reporters’ inquiries about his stance on the amendment. While he had initially criticized the state’s six-week ban and hinted at supporting the measure, he later reversed his position.
Meanwhile, across the United States, voters in 10 states participated in decisions concerning reproductive rights, including Missouri, which became the first state to ban abortion following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
As previously reported by The Intercept, DeSantis’s actions to thwart Amendment 4 underscored a troubling escalation in his broader efforts to undermine the democratic process in Florida and exploit the administrative apparatus for his agenda.
The governor utilized various tools, including the legal system, state agencies, the financial impact statement process, and the election authorities, to uphold the state’s near-total abortion ban, allocating millions of dollars towards this effort. It was reported that the state diverted approximately $4 million, originally intended for combating the opioid crisis, to fund advertisements against the two citizen-led amendments.
In a notable development, even high-ranking members of DeSantis’s administration expressed discontent with his tactics. In October, John Wilson, the general counsel for Florida’s Department of Health, resigned in protest after allegedly being instructed by DeSantis to send cease-and-desist letters to television stations airing pro-Amendment 4 commercials.
Prior to Wilson’s resignation, advocates had raised concerns about DeSantis’s authoritarian methods. In an interview before the election, Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, who successfully defended her seat, cautioned that DeSantis’s success would establish a dangerous precedent for other “extremists” to exploit the administrative system against the electoral process.
