Organizers say they have enough signatures for Florida abortion ballot initiative

SARASOTA, Fla. – The group behind a Florida ballot initiative enshrining a right to an abortion said it will likely have enough signatures to be placed on the 2024 ballot.

Under Florida rules, at least 891,523 valid signatures are needed to appear on the ballot. As of late-December, the official approved signatures stand at over 753,000.

Floridians Protecting Freedom said it will deliver a total of 1.4 million signatures to supervisor of elections offices by the end of December.

“Floridians have shown that they want to see this initiative on the ballot,” Campaign Director Lauren Brenzel said.

In a press release, the group pushed those who have not signed and submitted a petition to get the initiative on the 2024 ballot do so before Dec. 22.

“The state has until February 1st, 2024 to validate petitions and we’re confident we’re going to submit enough petitions to get on the ballot,” Brenzel said.

Until the validation deadline of Feb. 1, the Florida Division of Elections will be updating their website weekly with the number of verified signatures.

The abortion measure that would be on the 2024 ballot if the group acquires enough signatures states:

No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.

In October, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody requested the Florida Supreme Court issue an advisory opinion as to whether this ballot initiative complies with legal requirements for ballot placement.

Per the state’s constitution, ballot initiatives “shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith.”

Moody also requested the court examine if the initiative’s title and summary align with technical and substantive requirements under Florida law.

In her request, the attorney general argued that the initiative “does not satisfy the legal requirements for ballot placement.”

In an opinion piece for Florida’s Voice, Moody expanded on her rationale for opposing the amendment not out of her beliefs against abortion, but for legal reasons.

“As I have done throughout my two terms, I have objected to initiatives when the language of the summary will mislead voters,” she said. “Floridians Protecting Freedom’s initiative is one of the worst I have seen.”

Florida lawmakers passed, and DeSantis signed into law, two major abortion restriction laws since 2022.

In 2022, Florida codified banning abortion in most cases after 15 weeks. This year, DeSantis signed a law banning the practice in most cases after six weeks. The six week ban would take effect once an ongoing Florida Supreme Court case resolves a dispute over the 15 week ban.