Editor’s Note: Operation Save America is raising funds for mass texts to oppose abortion amendments in South Dakota and Missouri. You can contribute here.

As early voting draws to a close in Florida, candidates and campaigns are making their final pitches to voters, especially over a measure that could enshrine abortion in the Sunshine State.

Amendment 4 would indeed embed blanket protections for the murder of preborn babies into the Florida state constitution, claiming to limit the measure “before viability” and yet leaving such determinations to the abortionist or other “healthcare provider.” The measure would therefore nix current abortion regulations and bar the state legislature from abolishing abortion.

But since Amendment 4 would need a 60% supermajority of votes to pass, the battle over the measure has become one of the most heated in the nation. The organizations and donors in support of Amendment 4 have now dumped well over $100 million into the state, an order of magnitude higher than the collective $10 million spent by those in opposition.

The small handful of anti-abortion groups which have mounted a ground game to oppose the measure report that most Republican voters appear to be informed on Amendment 4, but they caution that some have been confused over materials promoted by the pro-abortion coalition.

Derin Stidd, an assistant national director at Christian anti-abortion ministry Operation Save America, spent last week in Orlando knocking doors and conducting outreaches alongside over one hundred volunteers with the organization and affiliated anti-abortion groups. Stidd told The Sentinel that most of the Republican voters he met were opposed to Amendment 4 but that some remain undecided.

“The overwhelming majority of voters were familiar with Amendment 4, though I did run into a few that weren’t. I did talk to several undecided voters,” Stidd described. “I know several people from our canvassing teams were excited to report that they had several really good opportunities to help Floridians who were on the fence to make the decision that they should vote no on Amendment 4. I had several voters mention liberal commercials at the door that were confusing to them, especially one asserting that if Amendment 4 passes women would not be able to get care if they have a miscarriage. Addressing the lies in this commercial was probably my number one opportunity to change the minds of voters regarding Amendment 4.”

Marek Kizer, an executive assistant at Operation Save America, informed The Sentinel that the group knocked over 10,000 doors during the outreaches, which came as part of their national conference. They also placed over 1,000 phone calls, sent teams with graphic posters of abortion victims to polling places, and still have multiple local volunteers reaching voters. They have distributed an overall 100,000 literature pieces in Florida through door knocking and literature drops.

Stidd nevertheless said that he learned amid the battle over Amendment 4 that many pro-life establishment organizations are simply “not very good at politics,” prompting his group to create their own custom literature and craft their own outreach strategies to mount a more effective campaign.

“The messaging in their literature was both unprincipled and confusing. One of their literature pieces provides commentary critiquing the entire amendment line by line on a door hanger,” he remarked. “When I shared their piece with several professional political activists that I work with, they all told me, ‘I’m an activist who actually cares about this issue, and I’m just not going to read all of that.’ Our literature piece was very simple. It had a picture of a baby with a brief message that let people know that this amendment is aimed at making it easier to kill babies.”

Stidd added to The Sentinel that one significant “bright spot” in the battle against Amendment 4 has been the “really strong leadership” from Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis to oppose the measure, as well as Amendment 3, which would legalize marijuana for recreational use in the state. Several volunteers with Operation Save America encountered voters who were aware of the measures due to press conferences and other public comments from DeSantis.

Those statements came even as other Republican officials in Florida hesitated for months to make statements against Amendment 4 since many candidates increasingly believe that taking stances against abortion would be politically costly, a trend that comes after the Republican Party removed most anti-abortion priorities from their national platform over the summer.

Jason Storms, the national director of Operation Save America, meanwhile noted to The Sentinel that another major plank of their strategy was to engage local churches in the fight against Amendment 4, relying on regional coordinators to activate the churches in their areas.

“We were able to recruit a strong coalition of churches throughout the state who are helping to mobilize their members to get engaged in opposing Amendment 4,” Storms remarked. “One of the tasks of the coordinator is to mobilize churches, tell their people about Amendment 4, and make sure they know where to point their people to volunteer for the campaign if they want to become more involved. The churches have taken well to this strategy, and I’m glad to say that there is way more church involvement in Florida than there has been in other states.”

Storms added that many churches nevertheless lacked “sound political theology” and said they did not want to “engage in politics” by encouraging their members to oppose Amendment 4. Some of the churches which did become involved were meanwhile passive in that involvement.

“Other pastors are just afraid to speak boldly and properly educate and disciple their congregations on child sacrifice. Fear in the pulpit leads to apathy in the pew and the spread of evil in the culture,” Storms commented. “Of the good churches that did speak up, we were disappointed with the low active engagement in their community. We were calling on churches to simply commit to one Saturday before the election to get folks out knocking doors in their own neighborhood. Very few did this. Just voting no is not enough. We need Christians to actively engage their neighbors and seek to change minds on the issue. That’s how we win.”

Amendment 4 in Florida is one of several abortion measures across the country that will be presented to voters. Operation Save America also campaigned against Amendment 3 in Missouri, which would establish that the state cannot deny or infringe upon “the right to make and carry out decisions about all matters relating to reproductive healthcare” such as abortion. That measure would need only a 50% majority of votes to amend the Missouri state constitution.

Polls in the state of Florida presently show a competitive contest over Amendment 4. One recent survey of registered voters from Florida Atlantic University found that 58% are in favor of the measure as 32% are opposed and 11% are undecided, while a somewhat earlier survey from the University of North Florida shows that the 60% supermajority required to pass the measure has been reached among likely voters even as 32% are opposed and 8% are undecided.