A dramatic pregnancy party in Florida is accused of fabricating petition signatures for a proposed abortion act. The Florida Department of State has launched an investigation.
” Our tolerance for any kind of election-related scams in the state of Florida is zero.” We wo n’t tolerate it, declared Republican Governor. Ron DeSantis speaking at a Monday summit. ” This party submitted dozens of appeals on behalf of deceased people.”
Citizens Protecting Freedom is pushing for an amendment to the state law to protect the rights of unborn youngsters before “viability.” The team is a partnership of pro-choice groups like Planned Parenthood and ACLU Florida, according to InfluenceWatch.  ,
The Department of State’s Office of Election Crimes and Security ( OECS) is looking into the matter, and FPF’s paid circulators are alleged to have forged signatures on the amendment petition.  ,
” The department of state has uncovered evidence of unlawful conduct with false requests”, said Mark Ard, the district’s director of external matters, in a statement to The Federalist. We have a duty to defend the integrity of Florida’s votes and bring justice to Floridans who have been victims of fraud.
ACLU Florida, a part of FPF, echoed left-wing press coverage on X.
” The DeSantis administration is not investigating voter fraud, it’s investigating people who support reproductive freedom, and that should be a violation of the First Amendment”, ACLU Florida posted, quoting a tale in The Nation.
Uncovering Possible Fraud
In a letter dated July 11 obtained by The Federalist, Brad McVay, the assistant secretary of state for constitutional matters and election integrity, addressed the alleged scams to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  ,
The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office has provided some alarming information over the past few months regarding false requests for democratic initiatives that were received from Citizens Protecting Freedom, according to the letter. ” Circulators appear to have forged the voters ‘ signatures and inserted the voters ‘ personal identifiable information into the petitions without getting their permission.”
According to the letter, FPF sent petition signatures to the Palm Beach County votes officer, who “identified people as never having actually signed the program requests.” The officer then obtained the people ‘ signed issues.
On September 10, McVay sent a product to that email that included more alleged complaint scams and complaints from qualified residents. The letter was also obtained by The Federalist. Names were included in the product from June 2023 to October 2023.  ,
” My title was forged on a plea ‘ limiting government intervention w/abortion.’ Fortunately the officer of votes caught it and sent me a text”, one resident wrote in a 2023 issue. ” The liable party may be prosecuted”.
Some said they had not signed appeals, claiming “fraud” and that their names were “forged”.
One unique dated Oct. 27, 2023, was flagged because the vote was “deceased” as of several months earlier — Oct. 1, 2023.  ,
The letter claims that” criticators also signed petitions on behalf of people who were deceased at the time the petition was reportedly signed.”
Leaders will continue the investigation, and when correct, refer circumstances to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to Field.  ,
He claimed that the Office of Election Crimes and Security provides police and prosecutors with” an office exclusively focused on combing information, receiving complaints, and sifting through thousands of complaints to find instances where there is a distinct showing of crimes” in elections.
According to a press release, four people have been charged with petition fraud related to the abortion initiative since February, and nine more have been.  ,
The OECS has opened 75 prior investigations into circulators for Floridians Protecting Freedom, the letter said, “nearly all” of which it referred to law enforcement.  ,
The Federalist contacted FPF, but it was unable to provide a response in time for publication.
Big Players, Dark Money
The FPF consists of organizations that promote abortion. Planned Parenthood and ACLU Florida are just two examples of the radical organizations Florida Rising and SEIU, a branch of the big-money, left-wing union.
Taylor Aguilera, the group’s organizing director, has worked for the state Democrat Party and Planned Parenthood, according to Linked In.  ,
FPF’s primary goal has been to pass the abortion amendment, and it has lapped the measure’s opponents by tens of millions in spending, according to InfluenceWatch.
Some of the most well-known political funding sources are supporting the organization.  , One of the FPF’s largest donors, InfluenceWatch reported, is the Tides Foundation which has given at least$ 3.2 million. The foundation is a behemoth, reporting revenues of$ 2.6 billion since 2007. It uses the” collective power” of numerous donors to support leftist causes. The Foundation supported anti-Israel demonstrations in the spring, according to a report from The Federalist.
Additionally, the FPF has benefited from the funds raised by George Soros ‘ Open Society Fund and Arabella Advisors ‘ Sixteen Thirty Fund, a leftist dark money powerhouse, and the Open Society Fund. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood are two of its other funders, as well as some of their local affiliates.
There is a lot of seedy activity going on with the petitions. These people come in from out of state”, DeSantis said in his Monday roundtable. ” I think there]were ] a lot of things going on that]weren’t ] right. So that is going to be investigated”.
Logan Washburn is a staff writer who writes about the integrity of elections. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan was born and raised in rural Michigan, but he now resides in Central Oregon.
