Nearly half of Florida voters oppose the state’s current abortion law, according to a new poll released on Wednesday by MediaLab@FAU. Just over a third support it and the rest don’t know what to think.
Forty-nine percent of people polled said they were opposed to Florida’s new law that makes it illegal to obtain an abortion past the sixth week of pregnancy, with few exceptions. Thirty-five percent said they support the six-week law, and another 16 percent said they were unsure.
Working in collaboration with Florida Atlantic’s PolCom Lab, MediaLab@FAU launched its first poll this month to get a sense of where Floridians stand on a variety of controversial issues, including abortion. The poll was conducted by Mainstreet Research, which polled 961 Florida voters between April 4 and 9.
The Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade nearly three years ago triggered abortion bans and strict new limits on abortion across the United States. Twelve states now have a total abortion ban, while 29 states have abortion bans based on gestational duration, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization committed to advancing sexual and reproductive health.
The MediaLab poll also included a question about Florida’s hurdles for a citizen-proposed amendment to be added to the state constitution. Amendment 4, which would have enshrined abortion rights through viability – generally considered as 24 weeks of gestation – was given a thumbs up last November by 57% of Florida voters. However, it needed 60% to pass, frustrating advocates of that measure as well as a proposal to legalize recreational marijuana, which garnered nearly 56% of the vote.
Florida has among the nation’s most stringent requirements to make changes to its constitution. This threshold was deemed appropriate by 57% of MediaLab poll participants, while only 26% said it was too high. The rest had no opinion or said it was “too low.”
Dr. Kevin Wagner, co-executive director of the PolCom Lab and a professor of political science at Florida Atlantic, said the question about the threshold might have needed more explanation for voters who aren’t necessarily tuned into the intricacies of ballot initiatives.
“The vast majority of people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how bills become law and how constitutional amendments get passed,” said Wagner. “The problem with this question is that we’re asking for an analysis that maybe many voters did not make, and that can be tricky sometimes.”
Pollsters working on a campaign, he noted, would probably spend time educating voters about the system before asking the question, though this was beyond the scope of the MediaLab project.
In addition to the poll, whose findings are being released towards the end of Florida’s legislative session (May 2) and Americans marking the first 100 days of the second Trump administration (April 30), MediaLab reporters also asked individual voters for their opinions on issues addressed in the poll.
“I don’t support the current Florida abortion law, but it is better than straight-up banning it,” said Nick Joseph, 23, a Delray Beach resident. “I just believe that the decision of abortion should be left to the woman and not the government.”
Malik Booth, a retail manager who lives in Boynton Beach, offered a similar viewpoint.
“I believe women should have the right to make whatever decision is best for them and their situation,” said Boothe, 29. “Considering most people don’t find out they’re pregnant until about six weeks, I don’t think that’s enough time to decide.”
Jacqueline Romano, a student at the State College of Florida in Bradenton, said that the abortion issue was more complex for her. Her religious views make her personally opposed to abortion, but she draws the line on the state’s severe limitations.
“Being raised Catholic I'd say yes [to the six-week ban] but as a woman, I don’t think I can agree with it being a law,” said Romano, 24. “Six weeks is just too soon. Some women wouldn't even know by that time. I think there should be a little more room allowing for decision-making. Having a child is a big deal, a lot of responsibility.”
Kelvin Nguyen, a resident of Orlando, said he found the 60% threshold to be a reasonable barrier for public consensus on a given issue.
“If people want to get stuff changed, they’ve got to have a majority vote,” said Nguyen, 23. “I think 60% is a good number.”
The poll also revealed differences in opinion based on 2024 presidential preferences. Just 11 percent of those who favored former Vice President Kamala Harris supported the six-week ban, while 78.6% were against it. However, 53.3% of President Donald Trump's voters approve of the measure, compared to 27.9% who oppose it.
The poll for MediaLab was conducted with text messaging and an online panel. The survey gave respondents the option to complete the survey in English and Spanish. The estimated margin of error for the poll is +/- 3.2% at the 95% confidence level. For more information, please download the full from Mainstreet Research.
MediaLab@FAU reporters Andrew Assisi, Christian Gangan and Madeline Koll contributed to this report.
This story was produced by MediaLab@FAU, a project of Florida Atlantic University School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. The reporter can be reached here.
MediaLab is supported by a grant from Press Forward, a national movement to strengthen democracy by revitalizing local news and information. News organizations are welcome to republish our work, as long as they credit MediaLab and the writers.
