Ron DeSantis sent his thugs to intimidate pro-abortion voters in Florida

Whenever Republicans speak approvingly about cuts abortion At the federal level, they vow that the issue is not about eliminating reproductive rights but simply Submit issue back to the individual states so that residents can have a say. Of course, in reality, they don’t really care about the will of the people, who in the United States are largely donate abortion rights

Take Florida, for example: Last year, the governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning abortion after six weeks—late at night with little fanfareperhaps because he knew how unpopular the law, which essentially bans abortion in the state, would be. And now, after an abortion referendum was placed on Florida’s ballot in November, he’s doing everything in his power to make sure his voters do not be involved in this matter.

The Washington Post report that “the governor’s election police unit is investigating alleged fraud in signature collection for the state’s upcoming abortion referendum in a move that critics say is designed to intimidate voters.” According to Miami Herald, two people have reported was visited at home by Florida law enforcement officers and questioned about signing a petition to add Amendment 4—which would protect abortion rights in the state Constitution—to vote. One of those people, Isaac Menasche, The officer reportedly asked for his signature and produced a 10-page dossier of his personal information. “This experience left me shaken,” Menasche wrote, adding that he found it “disturbing that so many resources were devoted to this.”

Home visits follow news that the DeSantis administration asked supervisors in four Florida counties to compile about 36,000 signatures for the state to review for fraud—even though the signatures had been verified by local supervisors. Two of those supervisors told Tampa Bay Times that the request from the state is highly unusual, with the Osceola County elections supervisor Mary Jane Arrington “During my tenure, I have never received a request like this,” he told the news agency.

And that’s not all DeSantis and his associates are doing to ensure the abortion referendum is defeated. The Washington Post:

The investigation comes as Democrats and election experts have expressed concern that DeSantis is using his state powers to derail a referendum that would overturn a six-week abortion ban the Republican governor signed into law last year. The state’s health care agency recently launched a website claiming the amendment “threatens women’s safety.”

Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a declare “It is unprecedented for a state to publicly oppose a citizen-led initiative,” he added, “This type of propaganda produced by the state, using taxpayer money, and operating outside the political process sets a dangerous precedent. This is the kind of thing we expect to see from a dictatorship, not the so-called Free State of Florida.”

As for the home visits, DeSantis defended the move on Monday, saying the state had received “a lot of complaints” about a specific group that collected signatures, which he did not name. That same day, Democratic Rep. Fentrice Driskell criticized the DeSantis administration for what appear to be clear intimidation tactics. “They want people to stay home and not vote,” Driskell said. “They want people to read these articles and hear on social media that the police showed up at someone’s door and threatened them and made them feel bad for signing the Fourth Amendment petition.”

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