‘Just state the facts': Some Florida voters experiencing ballot confusion

Greg Govia, who lives in Kendall, reached out to NBC6 over concerns about the language on his ballot.

"Just state the facts," said Govia, 67, who retired from information technology and is getting ready to cast his ballot. 

Govia was concerned about some of the text on the ballot, particularly the amendments.

“How can I find out more information about that to really make an informed decision,” Govia wondered during his interview with NBC 6. 

On Amendment 4, for example, he said the impact statement could mislead voters. Amendment 4 would provide a constitutional right to an abortion before viability or when needed to protect the woman’s health. 

“The proposed amendment would result in significantly more abortions,” he read from his ballot, then asked “Well how would they know that? And why we actually put something like that in our constitution?”    

The impact statement does not end up in the state’s constitution. It is supposed to provide voters with added information on the financial impacts it may have if approved by voters. 

“They seem to be more than impact statements. They seem to actually be trying to sway opinion rather than just state the facts,” Govia said. 

The impact statement attached to Amendment 4 did create quite the controversy. Proponents of the amendment wanted it scrubbed because they thought it was inaccurate and rather than describe budgetary consequences it advocated against the amendment. 

Lack of understanding when it comes to the ballot seems to be common. 

“We are getting phone calls almost weekly,” said Leah Blumenfeld, interim president of the Miami-Dade League of Women Voters. 

Blumenfeld said this is the easiest way to think about Amendment 4: “People who support the six week abortion ban need to know that they should vote no and people and those who are opposed to the six week abortion ban then would want to vote yes.”

Florida International University Law Professor Howard Wasserman gave extra insight into the ballot and what actually makes it into the constitution. 

“Look for the language that is right at the top,” Wasserman said. 

That’s exactly what will be added to the constitution: “Except as provided in Article X, Section 22, no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

Govia doesn’t think it has to be this hard. 

“I just wish I was given the facts, plainly and as vanilla as possible and let me make my own decisions based on those facts rather than having information that seems to be tending to one side or other other,” Govia said.