Desantis Report Claims Signatures on Abortion Amendment Petition are Invalid

We knew this was coming.

Ron Desantis, who has done everything he possibly can using the power and resources of the state government to defeat the abortion rights amendment on the ballot next month in Florida, has now issued a "report" claiming that over 16% of the signatures used to get it on the ballot are fraudulent.

Desantis had his newly created Office of Election Crimes and Security force obtain the original petitions from largely Democratic metro areas so they can scrutinize the signatures. The Florida Secretary of State released a 348 page report today with their findings, which alleges that some petitions were forged. 

It is unclear exactly what Desantis plans to do with this report now being issued. He may use this to file a legal challenge now or may wait until after the vote to see how it goes, then file a challenge after the fact if it passes. It takes 60% of the vote to pass an Amendment in Florida. Nearly a million signatures were obtained to get it on the ballot, far more than the number required. 

Desantis has taken a number of steps to defeat this amendment:

1. He has threatened to criminally prosecute television stations who run an ad in favor of the Amendment.

2. He has used taxpayer funds to produce ads from a state health agency against the Amendment.

3. He got a bogus economic impact statement placed next to the Amendment on ballots.

4. He challenged the language of the ballot in the courts.

Desantis runs Florida like an authoritarian and uses the power and money of the state government to accomplish his aims. He knows this Amendment will pass easily if things are left purely up to the voters, so he is doing everything in his power to manipulate the system and abuse his power to defeat it.

Just like he has done so many times in the past with so many ofter things.