The Florida secretary of state defended an investigation into petition fraud Sunday, as advocates gather signatures to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution through the proposed Amendment 4 - subject to a referendum on the November ballot.
Cord Byrd , a Republican from Jacksonville, assumed office in 2022, the same year Gov. Ron DeSantis created the Office of Election Crimes and Security , a police force that the legislature supported with funding. The police force is handling the signature petition fraud probe.
During This Week In South Florida, Byrd told Local 10 News Anchor Glenna Milberg that such fraud is a widespread problem.
"We have literally foreign billionaires, people from Europe, who are coming into the United States and funding these petition initiatives, and it's happening in Florida. What they do is they pay out-of-state petition gatherers," Byrd said adding that it is illegal in Florida to pay people per signature.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been critical of the Floridians Protecting Freedom , a political committee supporting a ballot initiative campaign on Amendment 4 . According to Open Secrets , the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is among the top five donors of the committee.
