ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Election Integrity Bill, also known as Florida’s version of the “SAVE Act.” The governor said the measure helps strengthen the security, transparency and reliability of the state’s election system.
Voter registration groups like the League of Women Voters are working to educate voters on the changes. The organization says its main focus is making sure people understand the new requirements, which include proving U.S. citizenship using a REAL ID or a birth certificate. DeSantis has said these steps are intended to bring more integrity to the voting process and weed out fraud.
At a tabling event in St. Petersburg, the League of Women Voters of St. Pete shared information about the new law. Heidi Davis, the group’s voter services co-chair, said they receive many questions about what forms of identification will be sufficient.
“We get a lot of questions about is their driver’s license going to be sufficient — is their state ID OK, do I have to get a passport,” Davis said.
Davis represents the league at community events across the Bay area, where volunteers answer questions about the changes and help people ensure their voter registration is up to date. The deadline to update their registration is Jan. 1.
Davis expressed concern that the new requirements could discourage some people from voting, particularly those who may not have the financial resources to obtain identification.
“My biggest concern is that it will just discourage people from voting because people may not have the funds to buy the ID,” she said. “For instance, a state ID, which is the cheapest of the IDs, is $25. We don’t want people to not be able to vote because they don’t have the resources or they are confused.”
The Florida SAVE Act requires verification of U.S. citizenship using REAL ID data, although it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote. The law also establishes a process to identify and remove ineligible voters from voter rolls. Voters must provide documentation to confirm eligibility, such as an up-to-date driver’s license or birth certificate.
“This bill protects and expands integrity in our voter registration process by requiring the verification of U.S. citizenship when you are doing your voter registration,” DeSantis said. “Our constitution in the state of Florida says only American citizens are allowed to vote in our elections, and we need to make sure that is the law.”
Davis noted that some groups, including students and senior citizens, could be affected by the changes in ID requirements.
“Student ID will not count any longer as a photo ID to show up at the polls and vote, so they will be impacted,” Davis said. “Senior citizens who have given up their driver’s licenses are going to be impacted, so we want to make sure those people focus on getting the documentation, their birth certificate, and get to (the Florida Department of Highway Safety and) motor vehicles, get that taken care of. Get your paperwork; get it now; don’t wait.”
She added that confusion remains a concern but emphasized two key messages.
“We have two messages right now — one, it doesn’t affect this year, and two, do not panic. If we can just get those two messages across, it’s a win for us,” Davis said.
The changes brought by the law will not take effect until after this year’s midterm elections. The bill was signed April 1, and federal lawsuits were filed the same day challenging the legislation. Groups suing the state have raised concerns that the law could push out eligible voters and may violate multiple constitutional amendments.