State officials have arrested two abortion advocates for submitting phony signatures for a radical abortion amendment that would make killing babies in abortions a state constitutional right.
Inspectors with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have arrested one paid petition circulator and issued an arrest warrant for a second individual for submitting fraudulent signatures in their drive to enshrine late-term abortion in the state.
“Florida’s Constitution is a sacred document and there is a lawful method by which voters can make amendments,” Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said in a press release. “However, when criminals seek to circumvent that process fraudulently, this is an affront to Floridians and the sanctity of our laws, and we will do everything within our power to ensure that Floridians and our Constitution are protected.”
Officers arrested George Edward Andrews III, 30, of Dade City, and activated an arrest warrant for Jamie Johnson, 47, also of Dade City, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announcedon Tuesday. The pair are accused of submitting 133 invalid constitutional amendment petitions in several counties, including Sumter, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas counties, according to the agency.
“In Florida, our elections will continue to be fair and honest,” FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass added. “Our FDLE inspectors will investigate every allegation of voter fraud because our elections must remain free from those willing to commit fraud at the expense of all voters.”
Andrews was booked into the Hernando County Jail and is facing ten felony counts, each of criminal use of personal identification information and signing another person’s name or a fictitious name to a petition. The arrest came after an investigation led by the FDLE’s Election Crime Unit (ECU) working with the Florida Department of State Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS) and with assistance from local elections supervisors.
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SBA Pro-Life America Southern Regional Director Caitlin Connors responded to the arrest in an email to LifeNews:
“Pro-abortion interest groups are attempting to lie and cheat their way to the ballot. With more than 60% of voters supporting Florida’s law protecting babies with a heartbeat, it’s not surprising abortion advocates used deceptive language in the amendment and engaged in illegal activity. The abortion industry will not succeed in disregarding the laws and deceiving Floridians into supporting an amendment to enshrine second- and third-trimester abortions when babies can feel pain.
“The ACLU is leading a national effort to erase protections for babies and moms using the same playbook of deceit and dark money to hide their extreme policy of legalizing painful late-term abortions and attacking the rights of parents. They were caught violating the law in Florida, but in every state the ACLU is running campaigns, they are misleading voters.”
Yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the abortion ballot measure for violating the state’s single-subject and truth-in-packaging requirements. Abortion activists in Montana and Arkansas have also been reprimanded with attorneys general Austin Knudsen and Tim Griffin sounding the alarm on deceptive language used in the measures.
Additionally, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has issued a warning for unlawful misconduct in deceiving voters to sign petitions. “Any suggestion that your proposed abortion amendment makes abortion legal only for the first trimester is contrary to the language of the proposed amendment,” said Jackley in a letter to Dakotans for Health.
Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Heartbeat Protection Act to save tens of thousands of lives of babies with beating hearts and provide $25 million to support moms during pregnancy and beyond. According to a poll conducted by Ragnar, 62% of likely Florida voters back heartbeat protections, including 76% of Hispanic voters, 61% of Independents and 58% of women. The state’s pro-life laws are currently being reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court.
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