Which FL Agencies are Blasting Amendment 4, and will it be struck from the ballot?

Just days before the November election, Gov. Ron DeSantis through three state agencies is ratcheting up the pressure on a proposed amendment overturning his six-week ban and cementing abortion access in the state constitution.

The state departments include the Secretary of State, the Department of Health, and the Agency of Health Care Administration—three powerful Florida agencies slamming the abortion initiative, called Amendment 4, and the Yes on 4 campaign that helped get the referendum on the ballot.

Some may be trying to strike the Amendment from the ballot altogether.

Just after midnight on Saturday, the Secretary of State dropped a 348-page report alleging that the Yes on 4 campaign is tied to "thousands" of fraudulent petitions that placed Amendment 4 on the ballot. The report reveals that the Office of Election Crimes and Security has opened "well more than 100" preliminary criminal investigations into signature forgery and "credible allegations" that Yes on 4 committed a third-degree felony by paying individual circulators per petition collected.

As the agency conducts its investigation, the Governor's office may be gearing up to challenge Amendment 4's existence on the ballot—again. This time, however, it would be under a state statute allowing the Secretary of State to refer a potential violation to Attorney General Ashley Moody, who may be able to block the amendment from the ballot.

"If the Secretary of State reasonably believes that a person or entity has committed a violation...the secretary may refer the matter to the Attorney General for enforcement," the statute reads. "The Attorney General may institute a civil action for a violation...An action for relief may include a permanent or temporary injunction, a restraining order, or any other appropriate order."

Because ballots have already been printed, and Floridians have already begun voting, what would happen if Moody strikes the Amendment remains to be seen.

Critics, meanwhile, have slammed Gov. DeSantis and his elections police for allegedly going door-to-door to search for fraud, "sabotaging" votes, and "abusing" his power. They believe the hunt for fake petitions is not a valid search but an attempt to stop Floridians from overturning the six-week ban DeSantis backed in 2023.

Last week, the Department of Health sent a slew of cease-and-desist letters to various TV stations running a pro-Amendment 4 ad that is "categorically false" and "dangerous", claimed general counsel John Wilson. He threatened criminal proceedings to news channels continuing to show the ad—which featured a woman with brain cancer alleging Florida has banned abortions in life-threatening circumstances—because he said it constitutes a "sanitary nuisance."

On Saturday, he left his post. The reason for his departure is "unclear", the Miami Herald reported.

The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has faced three separate court cases for creating a state-sponsored, anti-Amendment 4 website. Critics claimed that by using taxpayer resources to allegedly campaign against a ballot initiative, AHCA and its DeSantis-appointed head, Jason Weida, were violating Florida statute.

Two of the cases, one filed by the ACLU and another by a Lake Worth attorney, have been dismissed. A third by the Florida Democratic Party is still pending.

Of note in terms of Florida abortion laws, and the increased tensions surrounding the topic as the Nov. 5 election nears, Weida on Friday denied a license to a proposed Pensacola abortion clinic, despite an administrative law judge recommending the application be approved.

In a 49-page claim, Weida said that because there is a "pattern of deficient performance" at a now-closed, embattled Louisiana clinic tied to the Pensacola facility, he is rejecting the clinic's license request even though the judge found otherwise, CBS reported.

The state's efforts to quash the amendment are largely rooted in DeSantis, who in his efforts to push through a pro-life agenda for the Sunshine State spearheaded a six-week abortion ban through the Republican supermajority legislature. In response, critics gathered support for a constitutional amendment that would forever enshrine abortion access until "fetal viability"—around 24 weeks—in the state's governing document: Amendment 4.

If it receives 60% voter approval on Nov. 5, Amendment 4 will pass.