DeSantis signs law creating new hurdles for Florida's citizens' initiative process

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Source: Associated Press

DeSantis signs law creating new hurdles for Florida’s citizens’ initiative process

By KATE PAYNE
Updated 8:28 PM EDT, May 2, 2025

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida voters have long been able to use the citizens’ initiative process to bypass the Republican-dominated Legislature and advance progressive policies such as raising the minimum wage, legalizing medical marijuana and restoring the voting rights of people with felony convictions.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law Friday creating new hurdles for citizen-driven initiatives, changes critics say would make it prohibitively expensive and effectively impossible for grassroots campaigners to get them onto the ballot.

Legislatures in dozens of states have advanced bills recently to crack down on the public’s ability to put measures up for a vote, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center. Voting rights advocates say the trend betrays the promise of direct democracy.

Under Florida’s measure, voters could be charged with a felony if they collect more than 25 signed ballot petitions, other than their own or those of immediate family members, and don’t register with the state as a petition circulator.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/florida-citizens-ballot-initiative-constitutional-amendment-desantis-50a5ac0048825c0756c7b850d4b81fed