TALLAHASSEE — On Feb. 20, the federal trial in Florida Decides Healthcare v. Cord Byrd concluded in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, marking a pivotal moment in the fight to protect Florida’s citizen-led constitutional amendment process. Over two weeks of testimony, Florida Decides Healthcare (FDH) and its legal team presented extensive evidence demonstrating that HB 1205 imposes sweeping and barriers that interfere with Floridians’ First Amendment rights and undermine the ballot initiative process guaranteed in the Florida Constitution. 

Earlier today, the FDH team hosted a press availability which can be viewed here.

During the trial, a significant development involved the court’s evidentiary rulings on the state’s reliance on a report issued by the Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS). Judge Mark Walker excluded the report’s methodology, including the report’s attempt to project widespread alleged “irregularities” across the entire state.

During proceedings, the court characterized the report’s extrapolations as “junk science” and “absolute nonsense.” The court’s move to exclude was based on a rationale that the audit’s sweeping claims about systemic petition irregularities will not stand in place of reliable evidence.

“The state based this entire law on an audit that looked at just three counties and tried to turn it into a statewide crisis, and they used that to justify overhauling the entire ballot initiative process,” said Mitch Emerson, Executive Director of Florida Decides Healthcare. “The judge threw out the conclusion of the audit because it simply didn’t hold up. That tells you everything. You don’t get to rewrite the rules of democracy based on shaky math.”

With trial concluded, the court will issue a ruling in the coming months. Throughout the trial, witnesses testified that HB 1205:

• Increased financial costs to grassroots organizations

• Imposed criminal penalties for routine petition activity

• Altered longstanding rules midstream

• Created technical and bureaucratic hurdles that halted volunteer-driven efforts

Volunteer organizations described being forced to suspend petition circulation entirely. Longtime Florida residents testified that new technical restrictions prevent them from participating in the process at all. Despite the barriers erected, Florida Decides Healthcare will continue organizing across the state, gathering petitions, and working with coalition partners to ensure Floridians retain the power reserved to them under the Constitution.

Background: This month, FDH relaunched its statewide signature gathering campaign to place Medicaid expansion on the 2028 ballot and bring healthcare access to the more than one million Floridians currently stuck in the Medicaid coverage gap and millions more at risk of losing affordable coverage.

Last week, the campaign also announced that American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Heart Association have joined its Executive Committee. Their addition signals, despite the barriers of HB 1205, a strong momentum of support to an already broad coalition committed to ensuring Floridians have the opportunity to vote on expanding access to healthcare. The campaign’s coalition now includes leading patient advocacy organizations and over 50+ partner organizations working together to give Floridians a direct voice on Medicaid expansion.

The proposed amendment by FDH would expand Medicaid eligibility to adults aged 18 to 64 whose incomes fall at or below 138% of the federal poverty level — a group that includes up to 3.7 million Floridians who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance.