Advocates say DeSantis administration is interfering in abortion rights election fight

New controversies have Florida advocates and Democrats accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration of interfering in an election fight over abortion rights.

"In a series of unprecedented moves this week, Florida's government has escalated its efforts to sabotage Amendment 4, using state resources to attack the citizen-led ballot initiative aimed at restoring women's healthcare rights," said Keisha Mulfort, spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, in a statement.

Most recently, on Thursday afternoon, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration launched a webpage attacking Amendment 4 , which must be approved by 60% of Florida voters this November to become the law of the land.

Defending the move, an AHCA spokesperson wrote in an email that it published the page as a way to "educate Floridians on the state's current abortion laws and provide information on a proposed policy change that would impact care across the state."

It claims on the webpage that the abortion ballot measure "threatens women's safety."

But supporters of the amendment say that's untrue, and they are questioning the legality of the action.

"Using an official government agency for political campaigning is a clear violation of (state law)," said Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book in a social media post . "We are looking into appropriate legal action."

The Florida Democrat Party announced Friday evening that it had filed a public records request with the agency to get more information about the webpage's creation.

The webpage announcement came the same day as the Tampa Bay Times reported that the Florida Department of State is reviewing tens of thousands of citizen signatures from multiple counties that were used to get Amendment 4 on the ballot.

Two election supervisors told the Times the move was "highly unusual." The state has already OK'd the signatures.

"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," said Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Yes on 4 , which is leading the effort to get the measure approved.

"Any attempt to undermine this vote is an attack on Floridians' rights, their futures, and democracy at large," Brenzel continued in her statement.

Mark Ard, spokesperson for the Florida Department of State, said in an email that it "uncovered evidence of illegal conduct with fraudulent petitions."

"We have a duty to seek justice for Florida citizens who were victimized by fraud and safeguard the integrity of Florida's elections," Ard said. "Our office will continue this investigation and make referrals to (the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) as appropriate."

DeSantis' office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

"This is a full-scale assault on the democratic process and an egregious misuse of taxpayer dollars," Mulfort from the ACLU of Florida said. "The state is not just interfering in women's healthcare decisions — they're undermining the very foundation of democracy by weaponizing public funds to spread misinformation and fear."

The Tampa Bay Times and other news sources have also reported Friday evening that some people who signed the abortion petition had been visited by police officers who asked if they or a family member had actually signed the petition. Two quoted in the story said they felt "shaken" and "intimidated" by the interaction.

This isn't the first time amendment supporters have accused the state of overstepping. Florida changed the amendment's financial impact statement, which is seen on the ballot, earlier in the summer in a way that advocates say politicized the analysis process and could sway voters to vote no.

Meanwhile , DeSantis has launched a political spending committee, the Florida Freedom Fund, to in part raise money against the abortion amendment. It's chaired by James Uthmeier, his chief of staff.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at  DSoule@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Advocates: DeSantis admin interfering in abortion amendment vote