It appears all but certain that Florida voters will have a chance to vote on abortion rights.

The group working to get the issue on the ballot next year announced Wednesday that tens of thousands of republican voters helped push the measure across the finish line.

The group that is collecting these petitions says that they need just over 100,000 more signatures to be verified by the state as they expect to have submitted 1.4 million petitions by the February deadline.

The state has verified 753,000 signatures, and 895,000 are needed to get it on the ballot.

Voter Albert Kobel of Bonita Springs is one of those who signed the petition and said he believes it’s a woman’s right to choose and began to break down after revealing he lost someone special as a result of not being able to obtain an abortion.

He is among thousands of voters in Southwest Florida who want a say on the issue.

“I don’t think the government should be in control of anybody’s body, especially a woman,” said voter Keith Shaw.

The groups collecting the petitions said so far, 150,000 Republican voters have agreed to the ballot amendment, which bars the state from restricting abortion before viability, which is typically 24 weeks.

Activist and former Planned Parenthood CEO Stephanie Fraim said the groups collecting signatures could not have collected as many as they did without bipartisan support for the amendment.

Florida’s 15-week abortion ban is being challenged, and if the State Supreme Court upholds it, a six-week ban approved earlier this year will go into effect.

Fraim believes Florida voters will oppose the state law if given the chance.

“It’s my greatest hope that our Florida legislators and the governor will listen to the will of the people,” Fraim stated.

Volunteers like Rita DiSalvo are rushing to get their petitions submitted and verified by the Feb. 1, 2024 deadline.

“The people that are signing these petitions are all in for freedom of choice,” DiSalvo said.

Anyone interested in signing the petition can download it, sign it, and mail it to the state.

Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed a brief urging the State Supreme Court to keep the question from appearing on the ballot, regardless of how many signatures are collected.

Florida is one of nine states where groups are pushing to get measures on the ballot following a streak of wins for similar measures in Kansas and Ohio.