Florida Voters Defeat Pro-Abortion, Marijuana Ballot Amendments

Florida voters are projected to defeat two constitutional amendment proposals seeking to enshrine abortion and marijuana legalization into the state’s constitution.

As of this article’s publication, preliminary election results show both initiatives below the 60 percent threshold required for passage. The Florida Constitution requires proposed constitutional amendments to be approved by at least 60 percent of eligible voters to go into effect.

As The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd previously reported, Amendment 4 sought to “effectively enshrine abortion through birth in the Sunshine State’s constitution and eliminate safeguards designed to protect women and children.”

“The amendment itself is laced with vague terminology like ‘viability,’ which can easily be exploited to ensure abortion at any point in gestation, and includes language that gets rid of parental consent,” Boyd wrote. “It also includes provisions for medical professionals to deem abortion at any stage of pregnancy necessary for a woman’s “health,” physical, emotional, or mental.”

The initiative was also marred by concerns of deception and signature fraud in the months leading up to Election Day.

According to Ballotpedia, the pro-abortion sponsor of the measure dumped more than $118 million into the campaign backing the amendment’s passage. Meanwhile, organizations opposing the proposal raised roughly $12 million.

Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigned against Amendment 4 throughout the 2024 cycle. During an interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro last week, the Florida Republican noted how the “very opaque” initiative ultimately includes “no limits on when an abortion can be performed,” effectively allowing the murder of an unborn child “for no reason at all.”

“If this passes in Florida, we will be the epicenter of abortion nationwide, and we would have one of the most radical pro-abortion regimes, not just in the United States, but in the world,” he said.

The governor also campaigned against Amendment 3, which sought to legalize marijuana use throughout the Sunshine State. In a recent tweet, DeSantis wrote, “Amendment 3 is bankrolled by one Big Weed company that has buried special privileges for itself in the text of the amendment. It’s not about freedom, it’s about corporate greed.”