State police have been visiting Florida voters to ask them if they signed a petition for an abortion rights amendment to be on the November ballot. A state health agency has also launched a website with political language that targets the ballot initiative.

Some Democratic officials claim that the move could be a violation of state laws against voter harassment.

Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, told reporters Monday that Ron (DeSantis), has used state power repeatedly to interfere with citizen-led processes to put reproductive freedom on ballots. “This is the latest desperate effort before Election Day.”

Amendment 4 of the Florida ballot initiative would establish abortion rights. If 60% of voters approve the procedure, it will remain legal until the health care provider determines that the fetus has reached viability.

Isaac Menasche said that a law enforcer knocked at his door in Lee County, southwest Florida, last week to ask about the petition.

Tampa Bay Times reported that the officer told them the questions were part of an investigation regarding a petition fraud.

Menasche said to the newspaper, “I am not someone who goes out and protests for abortion.” “I felt strongly and took advantage of the moment when I was asked to sign the petition.

Critics claim the investigation is an attempt to intimidate voters of the third largest state in the nation from protecting abortion access — and that it’s the latest effort by the governor’s office to target Amendment 4.

Lauren Brenzel of the Yes on 4 Campaign said via email that “Amendment 4 has been placed on the ballot because nearly one million Floridians across the state, and from all parties, believe people deserve to be able to make their health care decisions, not politicians.” “But the State won’t stop at anything to maintain their nearly total abortion ban.”

Florida law bans the majority of abortions after six-weeks, even if many women are not aware they are pregnant.

DeSantis, speaking at a South Florida press conference on Monday, defended the police’s visit to the homes of signers and the move by the state health agency to create a web page focusing on the ballot amendment. He said both actions were taken in order to ensure that the November vote was fair.

DeSantis signed into law a 2022 law creating a state-wide police force that will investigate voter fraud and election crimes. Voter fraud occurs rarely, usually in isolated cases and is easily detected.

He says that the police have visited the homes of those who signed petitions to get Amendment 4 on the ballot, not because they want to intimidate the people but rather to check the validity of their signatures. He said that the police had found evidence that some signatures on the petitions were actually from dead people.

DeSantis stated that “anyone who has submitted a petition and is a valid elector, is completely within their rights to submit it.” “We do not investigate that.” They are looking into fraudulent petitions. “We know that the group submitted on behalf of deceased people.”

The deadline for challenging the validity of signatures in Florida has passed. However, county-level election administrators say that they are receiving requests from officials of the state to provide verified petition signatures to assist with a state investigation.

Mary Jane Arrington is a Democrat and has been the Supervisor of Elections for Osceola County, in central Florida, since 1996. She told The Associated Press that she had never before received a similar request.

Arrington stated that she did not know how to respond to the request of the State to review signatures that her office has already verified.

Arrington stated, “These are the ones we deemed valid the petitions both in terms of completeness and matching the signatures we had on record for the voter.” “They said that they were investigating… signature petition fraud.”

According to a letter sent by Deputy Secretary Brad McVay to Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections and shared with the AP, the state’s election crime unit opened over 40 investigations on paid petition gatherers working for the Amendment 4 Campaign.

The controversial Office of Election Crimes and Security has been thrown out of court for bringing criminal charges in the past.

A state health agency launched last week a website aimed at Amendment 4. The landing page declared that “Florida Protects Life” and warned “Don’t Let the Fearmongers Lie to You.”

DeSantis stated that the page created by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration was paid for through the budget allotted to the department for public service announcements. He said that the page was not political, but rather provided Floridians with “factual” information about the amendment.

“Everything we put out is true.” DeSantis added, “I’m glad they are doing this.”

Florida is one nine states that have measures protecting abortion access qualified to be voted on in 2024.

Florida Republicans are using a variety of other strategies to defeat the state’s abortion ballot measure. Ashley Moody, Republican Florida Attorney-General, tried to use the State Supreme Court to prevent abortion from being on the ballot. Abortion rights advocates later criticized the financial impact statement that was meant to appear on the ballot next to the proposed amendment. They said it was an attempt to confuse voters. In August, the state Supreme Court allowed the language on the ballot to remain.

Anti-abortion groups, along with their GOP allies in other parts of the country, are employing a variety of strategies to combat proposed ballot measures aimed at protecting reproductive rights. Some of these tactics include legislative pushes to create competing ballot measures, which could confuse voters, and lengthy delays due to lawsuits regarding ballot language.

Nebraskans are waiting for the rulings of the state Supreme Court in three lawsuits that aim to keep abortion off the ballot. The Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday regarding an appeal from a lower court decision that said an abortion rights campaign failed to meet the legal requirements for it to be included in the November ballot.