Florida voters who oppose the state’s six-week abortion ban say they’re getting visits from police

Florida voters who signed a petition calling for a pro-choice abortion referendum to be put on the ballot in November say they have been visited by police investigating fraud at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, the Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday.

Last year, DeSantis, a Republican, signed a bill banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In response, pro-choice campaigners gathered and filed nearly a million signatures to put Amendment 4 on the ballot, a referendum that would lift the ban and restore reproductive rights in the state.

Now, the Florida Department of State claims it suspects fraud in the signature gathering process. In an email to county election officials, the department’s Brad McVay asked them to turn over their already verified petitions so the signatures could be reexamined. He claimed without evidence that those distributing the petitions “represent known or suspected fraudsters,” Tampa Bay television station WTVT reported.

Isaac Menasche, a voter who signed a petition to get the abortion referendum on the ballot, told the Times that he was also approached by people working for the Florida governor’s office. According to Menasche, a plainclothes police officer came to his home to question him, apparently to verify that the signature on the petition was indeed his.

“I’m not someone who’s going to go out there and protest abortion,” Menasche told the newspaper. “I just felt strong and I took the opportunity when the person asked me to say, ‘Yes, I’m going to sign that petition.'”

Another voter, Becky Castellanos, told the Times she was visited by a state trooper who questioned her about a family member’s signature on the petition. She said the incident felt intimidating.

“It didn’t surprise me that they would do something like this in an attempt to debunk these petitions and get it off the ballot,” she told the newspaper.

In 2022, after false claims of voter fraud in the previous presidential election, DeSantis signed a law creating a state Office of Election Crimes and Security. According to its website, the office claims to “proactively identify and stop those who attempt to violate Florida’s election laws.” Last year, Florida Republicans appropriated $1.4 million for the office.

Critics argue 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 are further evidence that the DeSantis administration is trying to intimidate voters under the guise of cracking down on election fraud.

“Any attempt to undermine the validity of these petitions is a form of political interference aimed at distracting from the real issue: Florida’s extreme abortion ban, which has no real exceptions for rape, incest or women’s health,” Lauren Brenzel, campaign manager for Yes on 4, said in a statement obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.