By Jovani Davis
(Source: CNW)
The Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Bill 991, a measure that would make significant changes to the state’s election laws, including new citizenship verification requirements and revisions to accepted forms of voter identification.
The bill passed 83–31 along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.
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Citizenship verification
Florida law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote. House Bill 991 would add a new layer of verification by requiring election officials to confirm the citizenship status of registered voters.
Under the proposal, citizenship checks would largely rely on cross-referencing voter registration records with data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Sponsors cited a 2025 state report identifying 198 “likely noncitizens” who illegally registered and/or voted in Florida.
The legislation does not create a new citizenship requirement but establishes additional procedures to verify compliance with existing law.
A similar provision is included in Senate Bill 1334. Before either measure can be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the House and Senate would need to reconcile differences between the two bills before the scheduled March 13 adjournment of the legislative session.
Changes to accepted voter identification
Florida already requires voters to present identification at the polls, most commonly a driver’s license or state-issued ID card.
House Bill 991 would narrow the list of acceptable alternative IDs. If enacted, the following forms of identification would no longer be accepted for voting:
- Student identification cards, including those issued by state colleges and universities
- Debit or credit cards
- Identification issued by retirement centers
- Neighborhood association IDs
- Public assistance identification cards
The bill does not eliminate the requirement to show ID but reduces the range of documents that can be used by voters who do not have a driver’s license or state-issued ID.
In addition to voter eligibility and identification changes, House Bill 991 includes provisions to revise the state’s election recount procedures in close races. The measure would also require audits of all elections.
Specific details on how recount thresholds would change were not adopted through amendments; Democratic proposals to modify the bill were rejected.
During debate, lawmakers considered — but ultimately rejected — an amendment that would have prohibited firearms inside polling places, within the 150-foot no-solicitation zone surrounding polling sites, and at mail ballot drop-off locations.
The amendment did not receive enough support to be added to the bill.