Florida’s abortion-rights ballot initiative fell short of passing on Tuesday, leaving in place a six-week abortion ban that has helped restrict access across almost all of the Southern U.S.  T…

Summary

Florida voters narrowly defeated an abortion-rights ballot initiative on Tuesday, preserving the state’s six-week abortion ban.

The measure’s defeat is a significant victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis ®, whose administration actively opposed the amendment through legal challenges, public agency ads, and investigations. The measure required a 60% supermajority to pass—the highest threshold in the U.S.—and would have protected abortion rights up to 24 weeks.

Florida is now the first state to reject an abortion rights amendment since Roe v. Wade was overturned, limiting abortion access across the Southern U.S.

  • Rivalarrival@lemmy.todayEnglish
    38·
    13 days ago

    It’s such an outlier compared to even other conservative states with similar ballot measures.

    It’s not an outlier. The difference is:

    the measure required a 60% supermajority to pass

    • Florida got 57.4% in favor.
    • Kansas’s amendment passed with 59.16%
    • Ohio’s amendment passed with 56.6%. (And a couple months earlier, we rejected an “emergency” amendment in a special election to require a 60% majority for all future amendments)