“New barriers to voting often fall on the shoulders of communities whose voices have long fought to be heard in our democracy.” male Karen Short, Director of Legal and Research at the League of Women Voters of the United States. “Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, new documentary evidence of Florida’s citizenship law requirements is based on xenophobic lies and misinformation.”
It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote, and research has shown that voter fraud is extremely rare. “The Legislature’s failure to look out for voters rather than the political interests of legislators 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,” Short said.
“If this law remains in place, thousands of American citizens will be removed from Florida’s voter rolls, preventing them from voting in the upcoming presidential election if they cannot afford certain documents,” warned Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida.
“Life is becoming harder and more expensive in Florida, but with this bill, lawmakers are purging the voters who are suffering the most from Florida’s affordability crisis. I don’t think this is a coincidence,” Keith continued.
Likewise, Florida State Director Jared Nordlund said Republican policymakers in the state “know their agenda is unpopular, and when they can’t win by convincing voters, they try to win by making it harder for people to vote.”
“HB 991 is another solution in search of a problem, and Florida is once again a proving ground for a voter suppression playbook that could spread across the country,” Nordlund declared. “These laws target the voices they fear most, especially women, communities of color, and working-class voters.”
The groups behind the lawsuit — filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida — are represented by the state and national ACLU, as well as the Advancement Project and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.
“Florida’s new ‘show your papers’ law is a blatant attempt to add unnecessary barriers to the ballot box,” said Jonathan Topaz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project. “We filed this lawsuit to ensure that Florida cannot prevent its eligible voters from exercising their fundamental right to vote because of missing or mismatched ballots.”
DeSantis’ signing of HB 991 and the subsequent lawsuit came a day after Trump signed a voter suppression executive order that critics called a “blatant and unconstitutional abuse of power.” The measure would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to create a “citizenship list” of verified eligible voters in each state and direct the Postmaster General to establish new rules for voting by mail.
Sophia Lynn Lakin is director of the Voting Rights Project at the ACLU He said In a statement released Tuesday, “President Trump is once again trying to seize power he does not have. The President’s Order is not about protecting elections — it is about trying to control them and using that control to make it more difficult for his perceived enemies to vote. The Constitution is very clear: Only Congress and the states can make laws regarding our elections.”
“The ability to vote by mail is critical to our democracy,” she explained. “It ensures that voters with disabilities, those without transportation, working families, those deployed or overseas, and many others who rely on its flexibility can exercise their right to vote. President Trump’s attempts to undermine a safe, proven, and reliable way to vote is just another part of his strategy to sow distrust in our elections. As always, we stand ready to protect our democracy and our right to vote in court against these continued unconstitutional attacks.”
Trump signed the order while pressing the US Senate to pass anti-voter legislation that had already been approved by House Republicans. Hani Mirza is director of the Power and Democracy Program at the Advancement Project He said The president’s directives “cannot be separated from the broader legislative push for the Save America Act, which would impose burdensome requirements for proof of citizenship and photo ID that would create new barriers to voting for millions of Americans.”
“The authoritarian plan to reduce the number of people who can participate in the 2026 midterm elections is clear,” Mirza added, just over seven months before Election Day. “In our continued pursuit of a truly multiracial democracy, we refuse to remain silent and will continue to defend the right to vote until every community is heard and every eligible voter is able to cast their important vote.”
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