Ron DeSantis sent his henchmen to intimidate abortion supporters in Florida

When Republicans speak approvingly about the erosion of abortion at the federal level, they swear that they are not trying to eliminate reproductive rights, but are simply returning the issue to the individual states so that residents can have a say. In reality, of course, they do not care about the will of the people, who overwhelmingly support abortion rights in the United States.

Let’s take Florida as an example: Last year Ron DeSantis signed a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy – late at night and without much fanfare, probably because he knew how unpopular the law would be, effectively banning abortion in the state. And now, with an abortion referendum on Florida's November ballot, he is doing everything in his power to make sure his constituents not you can comment on the matter.

The Washington Post reports that the governor's “Election Enforcement Unit is investigating alleged fraud in the collection of signatures for the state's upcoming abortion referendum. Critics say the move is aimed at intimidating voters.” According to the Miami-Herald, Two people reported receiving visits to their homes from Florida police officers and being questioned about whether they had signed a petition to put Amendment 4 – which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution – on the ballot. One of these people, Isaac Menashe, wrote on Facebook that the officer asked him for his signature and showed him a 10-page dossier with his personal information. “This experience has shaken me,” Menasche wrote, adding that he found it “disturbing that so many resources were spent on this.”

The house calls follow news that the DeSantis administration has asked supervisors in four Florida counties to collect about 36,000 signatures for the state to audit for fraud – even though the signatures are already being reviewed by local supervisors. Two of those supervisors told the Tampa Bay Times that the state's request was highly unusual, since the Osceola County Election Commissioner Mary Jane Arrington He told the outlet: “I have never received a request like this in my entire tenure.”

And that's not all DeSantis and Co. are doing to ensure that the abortion referendum fails. The Washington Post:

The investigation comes as Democrats and election experts express concern that DeSantis is using the state's powers to block the referendum. The referendum would overturn a six-week abortion ban that the Republican governor enacted last year. The state's health department recently launched a website claiming the change in the law “threatens women's safety.”

Bacardi-Jackson, The executive director of the ACLU of Florida said in a statement that it was “unprecedented for the state to explicitly oppose a citizen-led initiative,” adding: “This type of propaganda, carried out by the state using taxpayer money and operating outside the political process, sets a dangerous precedent. This is the kind of thing we would expect from an authoritarian regime, not the so-called Free State of Florida.”

As for the home visits, DeSantis defended the move on Monday, claiming the state had received “many complaints” about a specific group that had been collecting signatures, but he did not reveal their names. The same day, Democratic state Rep. Fentrice Driskell called out the DeSantis administration for blatant intimidation tactics. “They want people to stay home and not vote,” Driskell said. “They want people to read these articles and find out on social media that the police showed up at someone's door, intimidating them and making them feel guilty about signing an Amendment 4 petition.”

Mitch McConnell miraculously continues to live without a spine