Governor Ron DeSantis

Medicaid expansion advocates, who want to trigger a review of ballot wording by the Florida Supreme Court, had collected more than 63,000 petition signatures as of press time.

Florida Decides Healthcare had submitted 63,714 valid petition signatures to the state as of May 13, nearing a 76,632-signature threshold that would lead to a review by the Florida Supreme Court, according to the state Division of Elections.

At stake is a Medicaid coverage proposal that would cover low-income adults who are currently not eligible. 

If justices approve the wording, the committee has to submit 766,200 signatures to appear on the November 2020 ballot.

Florida lawmakers, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have repeatedly rejected Medicaid expansion. The proposed constitutional amendment would widen eligibility to people whose incomes are up to 138% of the federal poverty level. But DeSantis said in March that Florida does not need to expand Medicaid to allow additional Floridians access to healthcare.