MIAMI, FL — Voting rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit today challenging Florida House Bill 991, a new law requiring documentary proof of citizenship to vote.
The law requires prospective voters to have evidence of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, on file to register to vote or remain on the voter rolls. The lawsuit seeks to block enforcement of the law before it goes into effect in 2027.
According to a release, Plaintiffs argue the additional documentation requirement will make it significantly harder for eligible voters to register and participate in elections. The coalition warns the law will specifically impact naturalized citizens, low-income voters, married women who have changed their names, voters of color, students, voters with disabilities, transgender people, and seniors.
The release also says advocates argue the law creates a bureaucratic minefield and ties the right to vote to costly documents that many U.S. citizens do not have easy access to. They also note that name-match requirements could disproportionately impact married women and transgender voters, while restricting student IDs harms young people.
Legal representatives argue the law targets vulnerable voters, including older Black voters who grew up in the Jim Crow South, to perpetuate a myth of widespread non-citizen voting.
The complaint argues the requirement violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by imposing unlawful burdens on the fundamental right to vote. Unlike some other documentary proof-of-citizenship laws, HB 991 applies retroactively to currently registered voters. Advocates argue this makes it likely that eligible voters will be wrongly prevented from registering or erroneously removed from the rolls.
Courts have previously found that documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements disenfranchise eligible voters while doing little to address non-citizen voting.
The lawsuit notes that Kansas enacted a similar law in 2016, which blocked more than 35,000 Kansans from registering to vote before it was struck down in 2018 for violating the National Voter Registration Act and the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit was filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Rising, Common Cause, Hispanic Federation, and UnidosUS. The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Advancement Project.
"Florida voters already confirm their citizenship when they register to vote. Instead of securing elections, HB 991 causes eligible voters to be disenfranchised," Jessica Lowe-Minor said.
"This bill, under false pretenses, creates roadblocks meant to hinder our ability to vote, and silences the voices of Black and brown communities, naturalized citizens, young people, and low-income voters," Tessa Petit said.
"Florida’s new ‘show your papers’ law is a blatant attempt to add unnecessary barriers to the ballot box," Jonathan Topaz said.
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