Florida Amendments 2024: How to vote on Amendment 4, according to 6 Florida newspapers

Do you know about the 2024 Florida Amendments?

Florida voters will be faced with six constitutional amendment proposals on the Nov. 5 ballot. Each needs at least 60% of votes to be enshrined in the Florida Constitution.

Are you still unsure about what each amendment means and whether you're going to cast a "yes" or "no" vote? In this story, we highlight Amendment 4 to help you prepare for Election Day, which is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.

If you wanted to vote on the candidates and the six Florida Amendments ahead of time, early voting runs through Sunday, Nov. 3, with times and days varying by county.

Early voting: Here's when it starts in Florida, including time, date and by county

With less than two weeks until the election, if you’re still unsure about what Amendment 4 — the abortion amendment — means and whether you're going to cast a "yes" or "no" vote, we'll break it down for you.

In this story, we're highlighting Amendment 4, and we're offering the recommendations (when available) of the editorial boards of two Florida newspapers in the USA TODAY NETWORK and four other newspapers in the Sunshine State. Though Florida is home to almost two dozen newspapers, with 16 sites that are part of the USA TODAY Network, a small fraction of newspapers provide editorial board recommendations during U.S. general elections. However, each newspaper has covered the Florida amendments in the 2024 election with stories that explain what it means to their readers. Below is a list of newspapers here with links to their sites if you want to do further research on Amendment 4.

How many newspapers are in Florida?

Below is a list of Florida newspapers:

Which Florida newspapers offer editorial board recommendations or Florida amendment endorsements?

For the 2024 general election, the editorial boards of six Florida newspapers offered recommendations — endorsements on how to vote — on the six Florida amendments on the ballot.

  • Miami Herald, miamiherald.com

  • Orlando Sentinel, orlandosentinel.com

  • Palm Beach Post, palmbeachpost.com

  • South Florida Sun-Sentinel, sun-sentinel.com

  • Tampa Bay Times/Tampa Tribune, tampabay.com

  • TCPalm or Treasure Coast Newspapers, which covers Martin County, St. Lucie County and Indian River County, tcpalm.com

2024 Florida Amendments: Amendment 4, amendment to limit government interference with abortion or 'abortion amendment'

Sponsor: Floridians Protecting Freedom Inc.

Summary: 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. This amendment does not change the Legislature's constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.

Florida Amendment 4 in simple terms. What are Florida’s abortion laws?

Florida Amendment 4: TCPalm Editorial Board recommendation

TCPalm, also known as Treasure Coast newspapers, is part of the USA TODAY Network, covering Indian River County, Martin County and St. Lucie County in Florida.

TCPalm: NO RECOMMENDATION

The TCPalm Editorial Board has no recommendation on how to vote on Amendment 4.

Why: “Historically, it has been this news organization’s policy not to opine on abortion issues. No recommendation.”

Florida Amendment 4: Palm Beach Post Editorial Board recommendation

The Palm Beach Post is part of the USA TODAY Network.

The Palm Beach Post: YES

The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board recommends a Yes vote on Amendment 4.

Why: “Support reproductive freedom: When it comes to something as personal and complicated as pregnancy, politicians are never more qualified to make healthcare decisions than women and their doctors. And doctors should not have to risk going to prison just to treat the patient in front of them. … We understand that many Americans hold sincere beliefs that abortion under any circumstance is wrong. That's understandable. But a vast majority, in Florida and nationwide, feels otherwise and should not have its rights and health abridged by the few, and certainly not by a paternalistic state legislature that thinks it knows best.”

Florida Amendment 4: Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board recommendation

Tampa Bay Times: YES

The Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board recommends a Yes vote on Amendment 4.

Why: “In 2022, the Florida Legislature banned most abortions after 15 weeks. In 2023, the state moved further, with Gov. Ron DeSantis signing legislation banning abortion after six weeks with limited exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. That six-week ban — one of the strictest in the nation — took effect in May (2024). Florida’s rush to curtail a right that existed for decades shows the danger of politicizing health care decisions and the extent the state’s Republican-led government is out of touch with public sentiment. … Women deserve the time and discretion to make informed medical choices, and Amendment 4 would provide that space and autonomy. It also would give doctors the certainty they need to care for their patients and the medical profession the protection to serve a growing state. The measure is also in sync with public attitudes on abortion, where Americans have long balanced the issues of privacy and life.”

Florida Amendment 4: Miami Herald Editorial Board recommendation

Miami Herald: YES

The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends a Yes vote on Amendment 4.

Why: “The ban is cruelest to women who need an abortion to protect their own health but cannot get one because — even though the ban has such health exceptions — doctors are afraid the state will second-guess their medical judgment.”

Florida Amendment 4: Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board recommendation, South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board recommendation

The editorial boards of the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel combined their recommendations for the 2024 Florida Amendments. Below is what both newspapers’ editorial boards have to say about Amendment 4, the abortion amendment.

Orlando Sentinel: YES

South Florida Sun Sentinel: YES

The Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards recommend a Yes vote on Amendment 4.

Why: “Amendment 4 goes beyond abortion. It’s about freedom: In requiring a near total-ban on childbirth choice, Florida lawmakers not only told women what they are expected to do with their bodies. They put barriers on the kind of lives they expect women to lead. They had no right to do so.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida Amendment 4 endorsements: Newspaper editorial boards on abortion