After successful citizen-led efforts to expand abortion rights via voting measures, some state legislatures have made it even more difficult for citizen members to put such measures in front of voters.
Later last week, Florida became the latest state to enact stricter rules on the process, and is already facing lawsuits over whether it is constitutional to impose more restrictions on the voting initiative process. The lawsuit comes from the group, and Florida decides healthcare. It seeks to get a proposal for next year's vote to expand Medicaid in the state.
The group faces a February deadline for collecting around 900,000 signatures from residents supporting the plan, but said the new law has strained signature collectors.
The law imposes a possible criminal penalty if someone is circulating the petition and does not register with the state. The number of signatures that are not limited to 25 can be collected by unregistered canbusters. A canvas is required to collect more identification information and the time frame for petition filing 10 days after receiving your signature should be reduced.
“This is not about transparency or accountability, it's about control,” said Holly Bullard, co-chair of the organization that appealed. The citizen-led process “is not perfect, but it's powerful, and that's exactly why they're trying to undermine it,” she added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a social media post that the bill he signed on Friday would “fight petition fraud and prevent the special abuse of interests in the constitutional reform process.” A report compiled by the state's Office of Elections and Crimes accused some of the organizers and petitioners behind the abortion voting questions last year of the year, committed “wide-spread petition fraud.” However, the state did not try to sign the signing at the beginning of the year when the opportunity came.
In less than half of the country's 50 states, citizens can collect signatures and make suggestions for votes. State legislatures can also ask questions about the vote, and usually write an overwhelming majority of constitutional amendments.
However, in 2022, Roev. After Wade collapsed, and after the state allowed states to restrict access to abortion, abortion rights groups relied on the voting initiative process as a way to avoid conservative legislatures and place the issue of abortion access just before voters.
Florida's new restrictions are similar to some that were approved in Arkansas last month, with petitioners successfully obtaining abortion rights amendments in last year's vote. Republican-led states have recently requested that at least 50 of their 75 counties obtain a certain minimum signature.
Some new Arkansas requirements include organisers request photo identification from future signers and the canvas must be a permanent resident of the state. Both already face legal challenges.
Other states that have tried to tighten rules include North Dakota, where resolutions passed last month raise voter support thresholds to 60% for voter initiatives to pass, and South Dakota, which will determine whether voters will resolve the same changes in the next general election.
But in South Dakota, Republican Gov. Larry Roden rejected a bill that imposes stricter geographical requirements for signing collection.
In Florida, despite more than half of voters backed them, it narrowly failed last fall, proposing to expand abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana measures. The state is asking for 60% of voters to approve such measures for them to become law.
Citizen-led abortion rights proposals have been successful in more than half a dozen states, including more conservative states such as Ohio and Kansas. Some states have increased signature collection thresholds and added requirements on where to collect at least some signatures to ensure fair geographical representation. At least one Nevada state requires the majority of voters to approve amendments proposed in the second consecutive election to become law.
The Civic Initiative Process was repeatedly used in Florida to win the initiative despite strong opposition from the state's conservative leaders. Voters in 2016 approved a proposal to create a medical marijuana program. It also approved another proposal to restore the right to vote for as many as 1.5 million people convicted of a felony. (After the voting rights measures were passed in 2018, Congress cut it significantly.)
“These are not completely new, but the magnitude of the attack has definitely grown,” said Aliskrapman, a senior adviser to the Brennan Center's voting rights and election program, about his legislative efforts to strengthen parameters regarding the revision process.
She questioned why there was a need to add more rules in Florida. There, the 60% passage threshold remained a barrier to many initiatives.
Mitch Smith Reports of contributions.
