TALLAHASSEE --- A proposal to tighten voter eligibility rules was approved by the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday over the objections of Democrats who contend seniors and students will be among those blocked from casting a ballot.
The House voted 83-31 on the bill (HB 991), which contains wide-ranging changes to the state election code, including new proof-of-citizenship requirements when registering to vote, reductions to the kind of photo identification cards that can be used at polling locations, and requiring an individual’s legal citizenship status to be posted on drivers’ licenses and ID cards issued by the state.
Fort Myers Republican Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka said her proposal aligns with the will of Florida voters in 2020 that supported a citizens initiative to require Florida statutes declare “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida.
“Election integrity is key and we won't have integrity in our government or in the laws that we passed, unless we have integrity in our elections,” Persons-Mulicka said. “And it's what the people of Florida want.”
State statutes previously stated that voting was for “every citizen” that was at least 18 years of age.
The bill also imposes new penalties on foreign interference with elections and revises the list of valid photo ID required at the polls or when voting-by-mail for the first time.
“At the time that somebody goes to register, they're not going to be required to submit any type of documented proof of citizenship,” Persons-Mulicka said. “They're going to be required now to sign an updated oath that's very clear and says, ‘I know I'm a U.S. citizen. And if that's not true, then I could be subject to perjury and so forth’.”
But Democrats, who tried unsuccessfully to amend the proposal, warned the changes will create additional hurdles for married women who have changed their last name and people born when records weren’t as digitally maintained as today.
Orlando Democratic Rep. RaShon Young called the proposal “poll tax by paperwork.”
“I see the senior on a fixed income that now has to chase down documents from another state she left 50 years ago or doesn't have them,” Young said. “I see the working father who cannot afford to miss a shift just to stand in the line at an agency office. I see the married woman whose name change requires paperwork buried in the courthouse archives.”
A state drivers license, U.S. passport, military cards, a license to carry a concealed firearm, or a local, state or federal government employee card will continue to be valid when signing in at a polling location. But the bill removes the use of a photo identification on a debit or credit card, a student identification, retirement center identification, neighborhood association identification or public assistance identification.
Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, said she’s been working with South Carolina for a year to help her aunt, a retired federal employee with a Social Security card, renew her drivers’ license.
Gantt said the issue is that her aunt was born in the 1950s and never issued a birth certificate.
“This is what a lot of Black folks who were born during Jim Crow have to contend with,” Gantt said. “This is not conjecture. It’s real life.”
Under the bill, individuals registering to vote or updating their name, address or party affiliation would need to provide proof of U.S. citizenship through a valid U.S. passport, U.S. birth certificate, report provided by the U.S. Department of State, a drivers’ license that indicates U.S. citizenship, a naturalization certificate, a certificate of citizenship, a certificate number, or an alien registration number issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a valid state or federal government photo identification that indicates citizenship, or a federal court order granting U.S. citizenship.
If the voter's legal name is different from the name that appears on one of the documents used for proof of citizenship, then the applicant must also provide official paperwork on the name change.
The bill also requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, starting in 2027, to include the legal status on any new or renewed drivers’ license or identification card.
The Senate version (SB 1334) awaits action on the floor.
