Florida voters reject measures to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —  Florida voters rejected ballot measures Tuesday to protect abortion rights and legalize marijuana, handing victories to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who used state resources and campaigned heavily to defeat the issues.

The abortion measure would have prevented lawmakers from passing any law that penalized, prohibited, delayed or restricted abortion until fetal viability, which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks. The state’s restrictive six-week abortion law still stands. Florida is one of the first states to reject abortion rights in a ballot measure since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

The marijuana measure would have allowed people 21 years old and older to possess about 3 ounces of marijuana, and it would have allowed businesses already growing and selling medical marijuana to sell it to them. This vote came at a time when federal officials are moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

The ballot measures needed approval from at least 60% of voters. In other states, abortion rights helped drive turnout and were a leading issue that allowed Democrats to retain multiple Senate seats in 2022.

DeSantis and other state leaders spent months campaigning against the measures. Democrats heavily campaigned in support of both issues, hoping to inspire party supporters to the polls. Republicans have a 1-million-voter registration edge over Democrats.

Among DeSantis’ arguments against the marijuana initiative is that it would have hurt the state’s tourism because of a weed stench in the air. But other Republican leaders, including Florida resident Donald Trump and former state GOP Chairman Sen. Joe Gruters, supported legalizing recreational marijuana.

Trump went back and forth on how he would vote on the state’s abortion rights initiative before finally saying he would oppose it.

Matat writes for the Associated Press.