Related video above: Florida Supreme Court takes up recreational marijuana amendment
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A new poll from the University of North Florida indicates majority support for two proposed amendments that would enshrine abortion rights and recreational marijuana access in the Florida Constitution.
The citizen initiatives still have big hurdles to clear before appearing on the ballot in 2024, but the poll gives some insight on the decision Florida voters could make at the ballot box.
A survey of 716 registered voters released by UNF’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) on Thursday indicates support for both measures surpasses the 60% supermajority threshold needed to pass. The poll also gauged support for potential 2024 contenders like President Joe Biden, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.
As of Thursday, the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana initiative has over one million valid signatures – well over the 891,523 required to appear on the ballot – while the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion initiative has just 492,295 valid signatures.
Abortion rights and marijuana legalization are considered partisan issues, but the poll indicates majority support across the political spectrum – even among Republicans, who are currently arguing against both measures in the Florida Supreme Court.
According to the UNF poll, 62% of voters indicated they would vote “yes” on the abortion rights ballot measure. More than half of Republican respondents (53%) said they would vote affirmatively.
55% of Republicans also expressed support for the recreational marijuana initiative, which had 67% support overall.
Independent voters appear to support both measures. 69% of people with no party affiliation support the measure decriminalizing marijuana, while 58% favor the proposed abortion rights amendment.
“Unlike previous surveys when we simply asked if folks support or oppose legalization of recreational marijuana, this time we gave respondents the specifics of this proposed amendment,” PORL faculty director and political science professor Dr. Michael Binder said. “Yet again, it looks like it has a good chance of passing, if the measure makes it through the courts, and that is a very big ‘if’.”
The initiatives were recently taken up by Florida Supreme Court justices as part of the judicial review process. It’s a major hurdle the proposed amendments must clear before voters have the opportunity to weigh in.
Advocates worry the overwhelmingly conservative makeup of the court, with five of the seven justices appointed by DeSantis, means the citizen initiatives are effectively dead in the water. Florida’s Supreme Court justices also have strong ties to the pro-life movement and legislative advocacy.
DeSantis’ attorney general, Ashley Moody, aims to keep both measures off the ballot and has argued against them before the state’s highest court.
Attorneys for Moody’s office argued that the ballot summaries of both initiatives are misleading, violating one of the criteria justices use in their review. Another is the single-subject rule, which requires ballot measures to cover just one issue. The rule has been criticized as a catch-22 because, as an initiative’s sponsors preemptively shore up the summary to prevent claims of being misleading, they may inadvertently strengthen the argument that the initiative addresses multiple subjects.
Oral arguments were held on the recreational marijuana initiative on Nov. 8. In the courtroom, justices appeared open to the measure and pushed back on Moody’s argument that the ballot summary is misleading. At times, justices expressed confusion and pressed state attorneys for clarification.
Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group sponsoring the abortion rights measure, submitted a request for oral argument to the Florida Supreme Court on Nov. 21.
