TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ballot amendments on abortion and recreational marijuana are breathing optimism into Florida Democrats ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election.

What You Need To Know

  • With abortion and marijuana on the ballot, Democrats are growing optimistic

  • The ballot additions will likely draw attention and resources into Florida

  • The Biden campaign hosted a call Tuesday with a leading Florida Democratic lawmaker

Though outnumbered and outspent in the Sunshine State, there is a growing belief among the party that Florida elections may get more attention and resources thanks to two high-profile ballot initiatives.

One would protect abortion access up to viability, roughly understood as 24 weeks of pregnancy. The other would allow Floridians to purchase and consume recreational marijuana.

Both, meanwhile, carry the potential to drive voter turnout, particularly among the disenchanted, disengaged and issue-focused. All ballot amendments require at least 60% voter approval.

“We definitely see Florida in play,” President Joe Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodrigues told reporters Tuesday in a press call.

Floridians are no stranger to high-profile ballot initiatives. In recent years, they’ve even raised questions about the state’s electorate. As Florida Republicans collected wins on the ballot, voters simultaneously raised the state minimum wage and restored voting rights to convicted felon via ballot amendments.

Both issues, notably, are associated with Democratic Party ideals.

“I do not think we are a red state,” said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, the top-ranking Democrat in the Florida House. “We have overwhelming numbers of the population who will cross party lines to vote for these ballot initiatives that folks would consider more center left in terms of ideology.”

The odds for Democrats, however, are still long, or at least they are on paper. As of March, Florida is home to roughly 855,000 more registered Republican voters. Moreover, Gov. Ron DeSantis won reelection in 2022 by a historic margin while Republicans secured a supermajority in the Florida Legislature.

The party also holds control of every statewide office.

“This amendment goes far, far beyond where most Floridians would land on the issue,” said House Speaker Paul Renner of the abortion initiative.

Meanwhile, if former President Donald Trump is worried about Florida in 2024, he isn’t showing it. A spokesperson told Spectrum News that Trump “supports preserving life,” but also believes in “voter’s rights to make the decision for themselves.”

“Florida is Trump Country,” said Republican National Committee Spokesperson Rachel Lee.

The high hopes for Florida Democrats come after the Florida Supreme Court approved the amendments, but as they also ruled that a six-week abortion ban may go into effect on May 1. The six-week ban, though, may be short-lived. If passed, the abortion initiative would nullify the state’s existing restrictions. It may also undo years of other anti-abortion policies that were established in recent years.

Fort Myers Republican Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka sponsored the looming six-week ban. She, among others, describes the amendments as harmful and misleading to voters.

“Extreme amendments like this one do not help women in the state of Florida,” she told reporters. “It’s important to have this conversation, and it’s important for Floridians to hear the truth. The future of Florida is at stake.”

The future of the southeast is also at stake, too. Florida has long been considered the abortion destination of the Southeast. Abortion is illegal in Alabama. Georgia, meanwhile, bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.