TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – The Florida Senate has passed a compromised version of a comprehensive election reform bill that would require voters to prove legal citizenship with a photo ID, sending it to the House for consideration in the final days of this year’s legislative session.
The measure passed mostly along party lines.
Under the proposal, acceptable forms of photo ID proving citizenship would include REAL IDs and passports. The state would also be required to add immigration status to driver’s licenses, and local election supervisors would gain access to state databases to verify a voter’s immigration status.
Student IDs and retirement community IDs would no longer be accepted as valid voter identification.
Sen. Erin Grall, R-Fort Pierce, said the bill is designed to protect election integrity.
“What is our tolerance for fraud and lack of integrity?” Grall said.
Grall added that voters who have already verified their citizenship status through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles would not need to do so again.
“In this situation, if you have done it once, with DHSMV, that is presumptive. That is done. That counts. It’s finished. You don’t have to do it again,” Grall said.
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Voting advocates say obtaining the required documents could cost hundreds of dollars and have characterized the requirement as a modern-day poll tax.
Amy Keith of Common Ground said the bill provides no exemption for voters who cannot afford the required documents.
“There is no out in the bill to enable somebody who can’t afford to get certain documents to be able to vote,” Keith said.
Keith said she is concerned about the cumulative effect of ongoing changes to Florida’s election laws.
“Every year, voters have new rules that they have to follow just to make their voices heard in our elections. Those rules are getting stricter and harder and harder,” Keith said. “It is becoming harder to become and remain a registered voter in Florida year after year.”
The changes would take effect after the November election, giving election supervisors additional time to implement the new requirements.
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