Lawsuit seeks to invalidate Florida’s abortion rights ballot measure

A group of anti-abortion advocates is asking the courts to invalidate a proposed abortion rights amendment on Florida’s November ballot, seizing on a state report that accuses the measure’s backers of engaging in “widespread petition fraud.”

The plaintiffs, represented by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson, filed suit Wednesday in state court alleging Amendment 4 sponsor Floridians Protecting Freedom failed to meet signature requirements to place the amendment on the ballot when the suspected fraud is considered.

Floridians Protecting Freedom has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations “dishonest distractions and desperate attempts to silence voters.”

The group submitted nearly 1 million validated signatures from across the state, surpassing the qualifying requirement by about 100,000 signatures. The Department of State certified the measure earlier this year.

If approved by at least 60% of voters, Amendment 4 would protect abortion access until viability or when deemed medically necessary by a patient’s health care provider. Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed to defeat Amendment 4, and state agencies have moved to combat it through videos and websites.

Last week, the state’s Office of Election Crimes & Security issued an unprecedented report that accused election supervisors of approving petitions with signatures that investigators said did not match those in voter files, determining that on average 16.4% of petitions shouldn’t have been validated.

Using that rate, the Wednesday lawsuit contends organizers only secured 833,521 validated signatures, short of the 891,523 needed to qualify. The suit also argues organizers failed to get the legally required number of petitions in at least half of the state’s congressional districts.

Election supervisors “failed to conduct a sufficient review before verifying Amendment 4’s petition forms and signatures,” the suit alleges. It asks that the amendment be removed from the ballot — which is likely impossible given that mail ballots have already been sent to voters — or that votes cast for it be voided.

The lawsuit comes as hundreds of thousands of Floridians have already voted on Amendment 4 by mail.

Lawson, the lawyer representing the group of anti-abortion Florida voters behind the suit, played a role in DeSantis’ battle with The Walt Disney Co., serving on the legal team of a DeSantis-appointed oversight district at the center of the dispute.

In early 2023, Lawson co-founded the Lawson Huck Gonzalez law firm. Other founders include Paul Huck Jr., once called the “godfather of the Federalist Society in Miami,” and Jason Gonzalez, who’s advised DeSantis on judicial picks.

State officials have not responded to questions about why the abortion measure has received more scrutiny than other ballot initiatives. Investigators said Amendment 4 received “an unusually high volume of complaints,” but they didn’t provide context on how it compares with other proposals.