Amendment 4: Florida voters to weigh abortion ballot measure

The issue is divisive in the Republican-leaning state.

Nancy Collins, 88, had voted no on Amendment 4 due to her Catholic faith.

“I’ve always been anti-abortion,” she said. “It’s against my religion.”

Ms Collins supported Trump’s current position that abortion policy should be left to individual states, and she hoped Florida would reject any expansion beyond its current six-week ban.

Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has also marshalled the powers of his state government to beat back the measure.

He says the measure would allow children to get abortions without parental consent, something Amendment 4’s backers reject.

Last month he said the amendment would make “make Florida one of the most radical abortion jurisdictions not just in the United States but anywhere in the world”.

The state’s health department also launched a website opposing Amendment 4. And in October, a judge overturned the health department’s attempts to block a television station from airing an ad in support of Amendment 4.

Abortion measures are not guaranteed to deliver Harris, or other Democratic politicians, the boost they hope to see this year in contested races.

In Florida, which Trump won handily in 2016 and 2020, he is widely expected to win another victory.

A New York Times/Siena College poll suggested that 12% of voters in Arizona and Florida would vote for Trump as well as an abortion rights measure.

Jonel Jones, 37, is a former Democrat who decided to vote for Trump this year. She had been looking for a job for months, and felt the former president had a stronger handle on the economy and could potentially improve her prospects.

She personally did not believe in abortion, she said. But she had read stories from other states like Georgia and Texas about pregnant women who became sick or died after being denied abortion or miscarriage treatment, and did not want a similar situation in Florida.

“I don’t think it’s right,” Ms Jones said.

After ticking the box for Donald Trump, she voted “yes” on Amendment 4.