Pro-abortion group pays over $186K to settle campaign fraud claims
The group behind the unsuccessful effort to enshrine a right to abortion in the Florida Constitution has paid more than $186,000 in fines in connection with fraudulent signature-gathering activity as investigations into alleged wrongdoing continue.
In a Dec. 20, 2024, memo, Florida Deputy Secretary of State for Legal Affairs and Election Integrity Brad McVay informed state leaders about ongoing investigations into "initiative petition fraud."
Attached to the memo is a Supplemental Interim Report discussing findings of fraud committed by Floridians Protecting Freedom. This organization spearheaded the effort to establish a constitutional right to abortion in the state by putting the issue before voters in 2024.
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So far, Floridians Protecting Freedom has paid over $186,000 for violating Florida election law, including a $164,000 fine last month.
Although 57% of voters supported Amendment 4, the referendum failed to pass because state law requires that proposed amendments to the state constitution receive at least 60% of the vote. Supporters of proposed constitutional amendments are required to secure signatures from Florida voters expressing support for their initiative.
Several paid circulators who submitted petitions on behalf of FPF were arrested in early 2024, and at least three were convicted and sentenced to prison terms. The report added that a much larger number of individuals have been referred for criminal investigation for fraudulent activity.
The Supplemental Interim Report stated that the Office of Election Crimes & Security received an "unusually high volume of complaints from Supervisors of Elections and individual Florida electors concerning Initiative Petition 23-07, 'Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion.'"
"The allegations included reports of paid FPF petition circulators signing petition forms on behalf of deceased individuals, forging or misrepresenting elector signatures on petition forms, using electors' personal identifying information without consent, and perjury/false swearing," the report added.
These allegations prompted the state's OECS to open "hundreds of preliminary investigations into individual paid FPF circulators and several business entities involved in the collection of petitions on behalf of FPF."
While the investigative efforts initially focused on "non-verified petition forms — those that are invalid due to omissions, mismatching information, or other noncompliance with Florida Statutes," the investigation expanded to verified petitions submitted by "known or suspected fraudsters." Investigators examined verified petitions and used signature matching to determine whether or not they were valid or not. So far, the investigation has focused on three large counties in the state: Orange, Osceola and Palm Beach.
In Orange County, 1,214 of 2,216 verified petitions examined were classified as valid, while 715 were deemed invalid. The remaining 287 were viewed as "indeterminate" and in need of further review. This yielded an invalidity rate of 32.3%.
In Osceola County, 1,153 of the 1,378 verified petitions examined were found to be valid, while 102 were determined to be invalid. The remaining 123 petitions were classified as "indeterminate." The invalidity rate was measured at 7.4%.
In Palm Beach County, OECS examined 41 verified petitions submitted by circulators who have been referred for criminal investigation. Of these petitions, 21 were determined to be invalid, while 15 were determined to be invalid. This amounts to an invalidity rate of 36.6%. The remaining five petitions were classified as "indeterminate."
After its initial review of Orange County petitions submitted by "known or suspected fraudsters," investigators decided to review all verified petitions in the county. After reviewing 9,672 verified petitions, they concluded that 6,840 were valid while 2,017 were invalid, 845 were "indeterminate" and 341 were "missing." Invalid petitions account for 20.9% of the total.
"The fraud outlined in this report is unacceptable, and it is imperative that the state consider major reforms to the initiative petition process to prevent groups from doing this ever again in Florida," the report concluded.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
