DeSantis defends abortion amendment probe as police question voters' signatures
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Activists participate in an April rally supporting abortion rights. Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending his administration's investigation into an abortion rights referendum amid reports that state investigators paid house visits to Florida voters who signed petitions supporting it.
Why it matters: The unusual visits mark another escalation in the DeSantis Administration's use of public resources to sow doubt over the validity of Amendment 4, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Zoom in: A law enforcement officer last week visited Isaac Menasche at his home in Fort Myers and said he was investigating petition fraud, Menasche, 71, told Axios.
- The officer twice asked Menasche whether he signed a petition to help get Amendment 4 on the ballot. Menasche said he did, some months ago at a farmers market in Cape Coral.
- The officer had a copy of Menasche's driver's license and said the signature there differed from what was on the petition. Menasche acknowledged the distinction but said his signature varies from document to document.
- The officer left shortly after, Menasche said, adding he couldn't remember which agency he worked for.
What they're saying: "It just disturbed me a little bit," Menasche told Axios. "I just felt that this was an overreach."
- Menasche doesn't consider himself an advocate for abortion, he said. He signed the petition because he believes "that decision should be by the people."
- "It gives people a voice," he said.
Meanwhile, Becky Castellanos, who also lives in Lee County, told the Tampa Bay Times she got a similar visit from a Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer investigating a petition her relative had signed.
- She called the relative, who confirmed over the phone it was his signature, the Times reported. The officer accepted that and left.
- "It didn't surprise me that they were doing something like this to try to debunk these petitions to get it taken off of the ballot," Castellanos told the Times.
The other side: At a Monday news conference, DeSantis defended the investigation, which he said had already uncovered "fraudulent activity."
- The investigation was launched based on complaints to Florida's State Department, DeSantis said.
- Spokespeople for that agency, the governor's office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement did not respond to Axios' request seeking documentation of the alleged fraud.
Between the lines: Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF), the coalition backing Amendment 4, hasn't heard from the state regarding the investigation, spokesperson Keisha Mulfort told Axios.
- The group hired PCI Consultants to collect signatures. The California-based firm was previously used in Florida for campaigns to legalize medical marijuana and restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies.
- The firm has safeguards to ensure that petitions are submitted accurately and in good faith, Mulfort said. FPF also paid local supervisors of elections offices to verify signatures, she said.
- And the petitions went through the Department of State's verification process. "They're supposed to let us know if there are any issues, but these are petitions that were accepted," Mulfort said.
Catch up quick: The Times first reported last week that the agency had begun reviewing petition signatures — months after the Feb. 1 deadline to challenge their validity.
- Also last week, the Agency for Health Care Administration, which is in charge of licensing health facilities and administering Medicaid, launched a website that evoked debunked criticism of Amendment 4.