Thu. Dec 5th, 2024

Florida groups warn abortion rights amendment won’t pass without money to sway undecided voters

By 37ci3 May10,2024


HIALEAH, Fla. – Some Florida groups that support abortion rights are concerned about the ballot measure enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution and the recently passed six-week abortion ban may not pass in November unless more donor money is given to these organizations to raise awareness and voter turnout.

“Passing this bill is by no means a slam-dunk deal,” said Alex Berrios, co-founder of Mi Vecino, a progressive group focused on voter education and mobilization. “While there is general support for the ballot measure, there are not enough votes to convince undecided voters.”

Florida recently banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy – before many women even know they are pregnant – this worried many women and health professionals adapt to limitations. Until the ban takes effect, Florida was one of the last states Abortion was still largely available in the Southeast. Now, the closest state to abortion after six weeks is North Carolina, where it is allowed up to 12 weeks.

The proposed amendment would repeal the six-week ban by banning restrictions on abortion until fetal viability, which is considered to be about the 24th week of pregnancy. It will also include exclusions past this point for “the patient’s health as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, voters have favored expanding abortion rights in all states that have adopted abortion ballot measures.

But in Florida, the amendment needs 60% or more approval to pass — a high threshold that worries activists here.

in swing states like Michigan and Ohio, voters supported abortion rights on the ballot by less than 57%. Berrios and other activists note that Florida, a larger state with twice the population, needs more volunteers and resources to educate voters about the ballot and convince them to come out to vote.

Some activists say the state has also tilted to the right in recent years and is no longer considered a swing state, making it harder to convince voters who see it as a supporter rather than a health issue.

Andrea Mercado, executive director of Florida Rising, a progressive voting rights group, said the state has seen an increase in funding and donor funds to nonprofit groups since the ballot initiative was approved, but “the budget is not exactly increased by any stretch. imagination yet,” he said.

“Florida is the third largest state in the nation, so all hands must be on deck to reach our population and win 60% of the vote,” Mercado said. “And making sure 60% of voters vote yes on Amendment 4 in November will cost a fortune.”

Mi Vecino, a West Palm Beach-based group with offices in Central Florida, typically focuses on Latino voters, but has been reaching out and knocking on doors to all voter groups in Central Florida since December.

Co-founder Berrios said they are currently looking into South Florida but do not have the funds to do so. So far, they’ve knocked on nearly 77,000 doors and made a quarter of a million phone calls to voters in Central and South Florida to talk about the ballot measure.

“What we’ve consistently found is that voters are very open to supporting this initiative,” Berrios said. “But a lot of work needs to be done around it. Voters are not necessarily motivated to support it.”

Among Florida Democrats contacted, about 20% said they opposed the amendment, while 13% were undecided — almost a third of Democrats who don’t say they currently support the measure. Among Republicans they spoke to, 28% said they supported Amendment 4, and 25% said they were undecided — nearly half of the Republicans who could potentially support the measure, according to Berrios.

This suggests that support for Amendment 4 needs to be split between Democrats, Republicans and independents to get 60% of the vote, he said.

Knocking on doors in Hialeah

Days after Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect, Gina Romero, an organizer with Florida Rising, a progressive voting rights group, began researching Hialeah, a working-class city in Miami-Dade County that is 95% Latino. The majority voted for Trump in 2020.

Armed with fliers and a hat to ward off the punishing sun, Romero knocked on doors and spoke to voters, about half of whom supported the measure and the other half who did not. Many people were not home, and Romero left a flyer with information on their door.

“We are Catholics. We don’t believe in abortion,” Maria Luisa Benitez, a retired agricultural engineer, discussed the 4th amendment with Romero on her doorstep, dogs barking in the background. Benitez agreed that there are certain exceptions to abortion restrictions when the woman’s health is at risk.

Down the block, Doris Salda, 68, said she supports the 4th Amendment and called the abortion ban “an attack on my body.”

Gina Romero talks to Doris Salda as she talks to him
Gina Romero, Florida Rising organizer, with Doris Salda outside her home in Hialeah, Fla., on May 9.Carmen Sesin / NBC News

“I pay taxes and follow the law. I should have the freedom to do what I want with my body,” Salda said.

The Biden campaign often cites Democratic victories in the 2022 midterm elections as an issue that will compel voters to vote. President Joe Biden issued a ruling after the Florida Supreme Court upheld the state’s six-week abortion ban. Campaign stoppage in Tampawhere he blamed Donald Trump for “this nightmare” – Trump Roe v. He has repeatedly taken credit for appointing the three conservative Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of overturning Wade.

Biden read a list of states where voters supported abortion rights measures and said, “You can add Florida to that list this November.”

On the day the six-week ban went into effect, Vice President Kamala Harris a Performance in Jacksonvillecalled the measure “another Trump abortion ban.”

But now that the key swing state has moved further to the right in recent years, some abortion rights advocates are stressing the importance of viewing abortion as a health care issue rather than a Democratic issue in order to secure support among all voters.

Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Yes on the 4th, which supports the amendment, said Floridians are used to the 60% threshold, noting that other ballot measures like the one on the 2020 ballot to raise the minimum wage to $15. the hour passed with 60% vote.

“Floridians understand that politics can exist outside of the candidate space,” Brenzel said. “It’s very important for abortion because, unfortunately, when normal people think it’s a health issue, it’s the political actors on both sides who really take this issue and politicize it.”

Berrios said that in a state like Florida, “it’s going to be decided who’s going to deliver the most effective message and then their support will come out… There’s a lot of opportunity, but it takes work.”




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By 37ci3

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