Florida examining abortion amendment petitions for potential fraud

An investigation by the state into ballot petition fraud throughout Florida is reaching right into Palm Beach County.

In an email sent to supervisor of elections Wendy Sartory Link, the Department of State is asking to gather and review more than 17,000 signatures of petition circulators suspected of committing fraud.

The signatures are for the petition to get Amendment 4 — the abortion amendment— on the November ballot.

The amendment would protect abortion access and undo the state’s six-week abortion ban.

Link said the state’s inquiry is highly unusual and would take a significant amount of time to go through, estimating more than 140 hours. But she said the state is working with her office and recognizing they are preparing for the general election.

"When we receive petitions, our staff — who have all taken a signature verification course — they go through and review the signatures to make sure that the voter is, in fact, a registered voter, they live in the district that it says they live in, and that the signature matches," Link said. "So they go through and look at a few different things."

Whether the amendment will remain on the ballot, Link said that, for now, it’s staying.

"It's possible if a judge determines that it shouldn’t be on the ballot, then we just wouldn’t count it," Link said. "Or it could be an entirely different attack that they’re looking, which is just trying to go after criminally those who are engaged in this fraud."

WPTV News contacted Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group leading the Amendment 4 effort. Lauren Brenzel, the campaign director for the "Yes On 4" campaign, sent our news team the following written statement:

"In February 2024, the state confirmed over 997,000 petitions, securing Amendment 4's place on the ballot. Any effort to undermine the validity of these petitions is political interference aimed at distracting from the real issue: Florida’s extreme abortion ban, which has no real exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the woman. Any attempt to undermine this vote is an attack on Floridians’ rights, their futures, and democracy at-large. This is nothing more than trickery by extreme politicians who fear the will of the people."

WPTV News also reached out to the state for more information on the purpose of the requests, but we haven't heard back.