State appeals court decision requiring redraft of inaccurate and misleading financial impact statement shown to voters alongside Amendment 4

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2024

State appeals court decision requiring redraft of inaccurate and misleading financial impact statement shown to voters alongside Amendment 4

TALLAHASSEE – Last night, the State of Florida appealed Judge Cooper’s decision requiring the Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC) to redraft the misleading financial impact statement (FIS) in the Yes On 4 lawsuit. The state’s current FIS is inaccurate and misleading and, if the state has its way, could appear below Amendment 4’s summary on the November ballot. The judge ordered the FIEC to redraft the FIS to reflect the state’s current abortion ban.

The court found that the current FIS as drafted by the FIEC is unlawfully inaccurate, ambiguous, misleading, unclear, and confusing, in part because it was written before Florida enacted an extreme abortion ban. Voters deserve precise information on Florida’s current abortion ban to make informed choices regarding Amendment 4, and the appeal instead is an attempt by the State to keep the current confusing and outdated financial summary that will appear below the amendment on November’s ballot.

Attorney Margaret Good, representing Floridians Protecting Freedom in the lawsuit, issued the following statement in response to the State’s appeal:

“The trial court found the Financial Impact Statement to be ‘inaccurate, ambiguous, misleading, unclear, and confusing.’ We agree. And, in fact, the defendants themselves, including all the members of the group that drafted the statement, did not defend the statement at the hearing. But instead of complying with the judge’s order, the State appealed, arguing the court did not have the authority to rule on the case.

“The Yes On 4 campaign took pains to ensure its language was clear and accurate, and now it is petitioning the courts to require the same of the State’s Financial Impact Statement. The Financial Impact Statement will appear directly below Amendment 4 on the ballot and because it is confusing and implies the 6 week ban is not in effect, unless it is rewritten, it is destined to mislead voters.”

Natasha Sutherland, Communications Director for the Yes On 4 Campaign, added:

“At Yes On 4, we believe that Florida voters have a right to accurate election information in order to make informed decisions that impact them, their families, and their communities, including when it comes to ballot initiatives. Unfortunately, the State seeks to maintain the misleading financial impact statement, which will confuse voters.

“Florida voters have two clear choices this November– to maintain the current extreme ban on abortions or vote Yes on Amendment 4 to limit government interference with abortion. We know Florida’s abortion ban is unpopular and harming families, and our campaign will be laser focused on ensuring that voters know that the power is in their hands to change that.”

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Yes On 4 is a citizen-led ballot initiative campaign to give Florida voters the chance to ensure the government doesn’t interfere in Floridians’ personal medical decisions. Learn more about the coalition and its work at: https://floridiansprotectingfreedom.com/