Amendment 4 fell short of the 60% threshold for citizen-led ballot initiatives to pass in Florida, securing 57% of the vote. In response, the Florida Democratic Party issued the following statement:

“This is a heartbreaking loss,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. “Republicans treated this like a political game — but women will die because of their efforts to end access to reproductive healthcare in the south. Many doctors will lose their licenses, face lawsuits or flee the state entirely, affecting access to quality care for all Floridians.

“Florida is the only state with abortion on the ballot this year to require a 60% threshold to pass and Ron DeSantis broke every law in the book to run a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to knock off just enough votes to defeat the amendment. The Amendment 4 campaign faced unprecedented attacks from the state at every turn.

“Ron used the full weight of the government to spread doubt and undermine confidence in the amendment, holding daily press conferences, spending millions to run illegal, taxpayer-funded attack ads and deploying the state’s elections police to knock on people’s doors and intimidate voters. It was a full-fledged assault against the truth and a brazen misuse of state power and resources.

“Though the amendment did not meet the high threshold to pass, the majority of Floridians are still opposed to Florida’s extreme abortion ban and the legislature has an obligation to respect the will of the people and act — repeal this extreme ban. If they don’t, it is up to Congress to restore reproductive freedom nationwide.”