Florida has a new voter ID law, and leftists are in an uproar. “Governor DeSantis just signed one of the worst voter suppression laws in modern American history,” Abha Khanna, a partner with Elias Law Proup, said in a statement on Wednesday, April 1. But this was no April Fool’s prank. DeSantis said that voters “should be comforted in the fact that Florida is yet again ahead of the curve.” Following along the same lines as the SAVE America Act, the Sunshine State will require people to provide identification to prove their citizenship before casting a ballot.
New Voter ID Requirements
Requiring voter ID is not new to the state, but now some verification documents won’t be accepted. Student IDs and retirement-center identification will no longer be allowed, and voting-rights advocates are up in arms about the change, claiming the new law will prevent thousands of people from voting.
Voting rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the bill. Some of the plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, include Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of Florida. Elias Law Group, a Democratic election law firm, filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of the NAACP and the Alliance for Retired Americans.
House Bill 991, which some refer to as the “Show Your Papers” law, requires citizens to prove their identity and right to vote by showing proper identification, such as a driver’s license, state ID, passport, military ID, or even a license to carry a concealed weapon. Critics claim this new move will make it harder for some people to vote, “especially constituencies that lean Democratic,” the Orlando Sentinel reported.
“If this law goes into effect, the number of eligible Florida citizens who will be disenfranchised will be far, far greater than the number of ineligible voters who will be prevented from casting a ballot,” Khanna said.
Supporters argue that the new voter ID restrictions are necessary, partly because of illegal immigrants finding ways to vote. While opponents argue this isn’t happening, at least not enough to make a difference, Florida state Senator Erin Grall (R) said that noncitizen voting “absolutely is happening.” Grall sponsored the measure and argued, “Illegal aliens have admitted to voting in our elections.”
During a House debate, state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-FL) referred to a report about the 2025 election investigations that found 198 “likely noncitizens who illegally registered and/or voted in Florida.”
Caren Short, the national league’s director of legal and research, said the law is “based on xenophobic lies and disinformation. The Legislature’s failure to look out for constituents instead of legislators’ own political interests will harm married women, naturalized citizens, young people, and many other eligible voters who do not have ready access to documents like passports or birth certificates.”
And Jessica Lowe-Minor, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, said the existing law already makes people prove their citizenship. “The Governor signed a bill tying the right to vote to the possession of costly documents that many U.S. citizens don’t have easy access to. No eligible Floridian should be pushed out of the voter rolls simply because of red tape.”
Critics of the new voter ID law used similar legislation from 2016 in Kansas, where they said more than 35,000 people couldn’t vote. That law was later challenged and defeated.
Difficulties Getting Documents
Voting-rights advocates keep saying that too many people will be prevented from being able to register to vote or cast a ballot. They have been saying this since the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) was first mentioned, focusing on women who just got married and claiming they would not be able to provide proof of name change to be able to vote. Students are another group the left argues don’t have driver’s licenses and will be kept from voting. Then there are the older retirement communities that haven’t renewed their driver’s license since they don’t drive, which could prevent them from being able to vote.
Although under the Sunshine State’s new voting restrictions, student IDs and retirement center IDs won’t be valid forms of identification after this year, that doesn’t mean they can’t provide other means to qualify them. According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ website, a Class E driver’s license, which includes a learner’s permit, costs $48, and a state ID card costs $25.
Citizens can also request a copy of their birth certificates. According to Vital Records Online’s website, the cost for a Florida birth certificate is $10, or $20 for a rushed copy. These documents are actually pretty cheap to obtain, with California having the highest cost at $31 per copy.
As Liberty Nation News Editor-in-Chief Mark Angelides wrote, citing a CBS poll: “The fact that 80% of Americans support requiring a valid ID to submit a ballot signifies clearly that, whether people think fraud is taking place or illegal votes are being cast, they at least want further measures to ensure it doesn’t.” However, just 28% support the SAVE America Act. It’s clear that people want stricter voter ID laws, but finding the balance is the biggest challenge.
