Amendment 4 did not pass in the state of Florida, failing to reach the 60% threshold required of constitutional amendments in Florida. AP News announced that it would not pass at 9:06 p.m. trailing at 57% with 96% of the vote accounted for.
Florida is the first state to reject a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to abortion since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Nine states, in addition to Florida, also voted on the right to abortion in this election. So far all other states have voted in favor of access to abortion.
This result comes after a Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet USA poll in August found 56% of respondents in favor of Amendment 4 with 23% undecided. A month prior, a University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab poll showed 69% of respondents voting “Yes” on the amendment.
More people voted in favor of Amendment 4 than voted for Gov. Ron Desantis in 2022.
If passed, it would have prohibited restrictions against abortion access before fetal viability with exceptions for women’s health and overturn the six-week abortion ban in Florida.
“I personally am extremely excited,” said Abby Merdan, a senior studying geography and sustainable development. “Protecting the lives of the unborn is something that I’ve deemed very vital in order to empower women to know that they’re not reduced to the option of killing their unborn child.”
“Having the state take a more pro-life stance gives women options to pursue their unexpected pregnancy and hopefully empower them to have children — even in just unplanned circumstances,” she added.
The loss follows an aggressive effort to get Amendment 4 on the ballot by the Yes on 4 Floridians Protecting Freedom campaign that faced a wave of pushback from Florida Gov. Ron Desantis.
“Tonight, Floridians made their voices heard loud and clear, demanding an end to the state’s restrictive 6-week abortion ban,” @yes4florida posted on X. “While Amendment 4 fell just short of the 60%, a clear majority of voters have demanded lawmakers repeal the extreme abortion ban. Without immediate action from the legislature, Floridians will remain under a 6-week ban—one that impacts countless women before they may even realize they’re pregnant.”
Vote No on 4 encouraged Floridian voters to vote against the amendment, claiming it to be too extreme for allowing late-term abortions.
“Tonight, Florida set an example again for the rest of the nation, where voters resoundingly rejected Soros-backed, dark money, out-of-state abortionists with strong, vocal leadership willing to publicly stand for what’s right despite the arrows that come,” @votenoon4fl posted on X.
Daniella Krasney, a freshman at UM majoring in journalism, voted in favor of the amendment.
“I voted to protect my rights, because as a woman, I don’t feel like my rights are always protected like they should be,” said Krasney.
While some argue that women’s rights are at risk, others place emphasis on the life of the fetus.
“I believe that decisions on abortion should be a case-by-case analysis rather than setting a legal bar for what is and isn’t considered wrong,” said Sarai Henry, a senior student majoring in psychology. “There will always be exceptions to the abortion law and the government needs to understand that. A full term baby should never be aborted. There comes a point where a fetus is no longer a fetus and that is just straight up murder.”
Jenny Jacoby, Martina Pantaleon and Diana Moschetti contributed to the reporting in this story.