More than six in ten registered Florida voters would support a ballot measure codifying the “right” to abortion into the state Constitution, a new poll found.
Floridians Protecting Freedom — a coalition of left-wing groups, including Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida — is sponsoring an abortion ballot initiative for 2024. The language of the initiative states: “Except as provided in Article X, Section 22, no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” The cited provision allows the state legislature to require parental notification before a minor has an abortion, with the option of a child asking a judge to grant permission.
A poll conducted by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) between November 6 and November 26 with 716 registered voters and a margin of sampling error of ±4.37 percentage points found that 62 percent of respondents support the proposed amendment. Twenty-nine percent say they would vote against the measure, and nine percent either do not know or refuse to answer.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) notably signed a six-week abortion limit in April 2023, replacing the state’s previous 15-week limit. The law makes exceptions for the woman’s life or health and in cases of rape and incest under certain conditions.
Interestingly, a majority of Florida Republicans (53 percent) say they would vote “yes” on the proposed amendment, the poll found. Unsurprisingly, 77 percent of Democrats also support the measure, as do 58 percent of unaffiliated voters.
“If this amendment does make it on the ballot, initiatives like this one need a supermajority of 60 percent in order to pass, and it looks like the proposed abortion amendment is right at that threshold among these respondents,” said PORL faculty director and professor of political science Dr. Michael Binder. “Even among registered Republicans, 53 percent would vote to protect abortion rights in Florida, with just 39 percent voting no.”
By sex, 55 percent of men and 68 percent of women say they would vote “yes” on the measure. Hispanic voters are less supportive of the amendment (52 percent) than black and white voters (both 65 percent).
Support varies significantly by age group, although every category expresses majority support, the poll found.
Seventy-seven percent of 18 to 24-year-olds support the measure, as do 71 percent of people ages 55 to 64. Sixty-three percent of people ages 25 to 34 answered the same, along with 60 percent of people ages 45 to 54. People ages 35 to 44 and voters over 65 years old expressed the least amount of support at 57 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) and various groups have asked the state’s Supreme Court to prevent the measure from being placed on the ballot in 2024. So far, pro-abortion activists have collected at least 621,000 valid signatures. They must submit at least 891,523 valid signatures and meet signature requirements in at least half of Florida’s congressional districts to make it on the November ballot.