MIAMI, FL – In response to the federal election results, Bacardi Jackson, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida, issued the following statement:
“We will say this plainly: Over the next four years, we will face the greatest fight for civil rights and civil liberties of our generation. We should fully expect a second Trump presidency to endanger the integrity of our institutions and democratic norms. We will need to be ready to face the chaos and destruction that will ensue from his administration.
“Fortunately, our nation is stronger than any one man or political party – no matter the challenges, our commitment to making the promise of democracy real for all Floridians has not wavered.
“We have seen it firsthand here in Florida. Even after facing the full weight of the state’s opposition, 57% of Florida voters courageously stood up for reproductive freedom by voting yes on Amendment 4, enough to win in any other state that has had a ballot initiative on abortion. Amendment 4 received over six million “yes” votes—far more than any individual elected to state office in Florida’s history, including its current and past governors. Approximately 1.5 million more Floridians voted in favor of passing Amendment 4 than voted against it. Let that sink in.
"Florida’s excessively high 60% threshold for ballot initiatives means the amendment failed even though a clear majority of Floridians believe in protecting reproductive freedom and fundamentally reject Florida’s extreme abortion ban passed by the Florida legislature and signed into law by the governor.
“Throughout this election season, we saw the state grossly abuse its power by inviting the Heritage Foundation to write the fiscal impact statement for Amendment 4, sending election police to the houses of petition signers, threatening TV stations with criminal penalties for running political ads in favor of Amendment 4, and using taxpayer-funded state agencies to spend millions of dollars on a propaganda campaign against this citizen-led amendment. And yet, a majority of Floridians made their voice heard despite efforts to suppress and confuse them. We know our fight for women’s bodily autonomy is just and the movement ignited by Amendment 4 will continue.
“As we prepare to confront the threats of a second Trump presidency, we understand the harm it will cause to Black people, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ Floridians. We understand how unsafe women and families are feeling right now. He has been very clear about his plan to tear apart families and deport one million immigrants every year. His campaign shamelessly touted racist and sexist rhetoric that will surely be reflected in his policies and that will embolden the same kind of hate-fueled violence and repressive government policies that we saw emerge in his first presidency.
“We are clear about what the next four years will bring. It will be up to us to stand up for our neighbors, our friends, our families, and our communities here in Florida – to fight for the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. And we will. We are not going anywhere.”
