Campaigns For Citizen-Led Amendments To ‘Surge' Petition Gathering This Weekend

By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix

June 27, 2025

Among the new laws that will go into effect in Florida on July 1 is one of the most controversial of the just completed legislative session — HB 1205, which will make it much more challenging for citizen-led constitutional amendments to get on the ballot.

That’s why there’s an effort taking place this weekend for a petition signature “surge” for the various campaigns working to get initiatives on the 2026 ballot.

Although the effort is statewide, it’s focusing on seven of the biggest counties in the state — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Lee, Orange, Hillsborough and Duval — because they touch the 14 congressional districts being prioritized by a new campaign for a proposed amendment to overturn the new law.

There will also be an intense focus on collecting signatures this weekend in St. Petersburg, where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to participate on both Saturday and Sunday at the St. Pete Pride Festival.

Sponsors of citizen-led initiatives need to get approval from the Florida Supreme Court on the clarity of any amendment summary, gather 880,062 valid signatures from at least half of the state’s 28 congressional districts to appear on the ballot, and win at least 60% voter approval to pass. Those efforts are expected to become much more challenging once the new law takes effect next Tuesday.

“We’re obviously urging them to sign the petitions, help us get to the threshold that we need for the total number of petitions across the state, but it also sends a message that in every corner of this state folks are waking up to the fact that [Gov. Ron] DeSantis is trying to crush our constitutional amendment petition rights — and we the voters, across party lines, Democratic, Republican and independent, are not going to allow him to crush those rights without a fight,” said Chris Wills, with the Florida Constitutional Amendment Network.

That particular group is working to get three separate constitutional amendments on the 2026 ballot: one that would overturn the new legislation on citizen-led constitutional amendments; another that would provide constitutional protections for any individuals or businesses that purchase an insurance policy in the state; and a third that would allow all voters to sign petitions electronically.

Among the active campaigns to qualify for the 2026 statewide ballot are proposals to:

The latter two groups are involved in a federal lawsuit aimed at overturning the petition-gathering restrictions. They have claimed in court documents that the new law is “legislative gaslighting” not designed to block fraud in the initiative process as claimed by DeSantis and members of the Legislature, but to “effectively destroy the people’s right to invoke the citizen initiative.”

The Republican Party of Florida has since joined the lawsuit, defending the state law.

The Miami-based Wills has worked with both Republicans and Democrats for nearly three decades. He was former district secretary for Miami-Dade County Republican state Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera before joining with him as a staffer when he was appointed by Rick Scott to serve as lieutenant governor.

But he quit the GOP in 2016 after Donald Trump won the party’s presidential nomination and now works with Democrats. He says voters of all political affiliations should be outraged by the decision of DeSantis and the Legislature to restrict the power of the citizenry to effect change at the state level.

“As we talk to folks in a nonpartisan way, we have lots of folks that are realizing that no governor or legislator, whether they’re a Democrat, Republican, or independent, should be empowered to rip away the constitutional rights of the citizens’ initiative process,” he said. “It’s our process. It’s protected by our Constitution. It’s enshrined in our Constitution, and no politician should be able to rip it away no matter what party they are. And so we’re getting lots of support across the entire state.”

Starting on July 1, the state will require people collecting signatures and petitions to register with the Secretary of State. People convicted of felonies who haven’t had their voting rights restored, non-U.S. citizens, and non-Florida residents could no longer collect signatures or petitions. The law will require signed petitions to be returned to the supervisor of elections office within 10 days after the voter signs them, a much quicker turnaround than the existing 30 days allowed. Fines will accrue by $100 for each day those petitions are returned after 10 days.

Other new restrictions target people who collect, deliver, or otherwise physically possess more than 25 signed petition forms in addition to his or her own signed petition form or a signed petition form belonging to an immediate family member, and who is not registered as a petition circulator. They’d be liable for a third-degree felony.

The Florida Phoenix, a nonprofit news site that’s free of advertising and free to readers, covers state government and politics through a mix of in-depth stories, briefs, and social media updates on the latest events, editorial cartoons, and progressive commentary. The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.