WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Citizenship verification for all registered voters in the Sunshine State is now required after Republicans in the Florida House and Senate passed legislation on Thursday, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The new measure would also restrict the kinds of IDs Florida voters can use to identify themselves at the polls, the Sun Sentinel reports. Under this new measure, student ID’s and retirement center IDS would no longer be valid. However, driver’s licenses, state ID cards, military IDs, and concealed carry licenses would be accepted as proof of voter identity.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that voting rights advocates and Democrats say House Bill 991 may appear to include common safeguards, but could create chaos for voters and election administrators and potentially prevent citizens from casting ballots.

The provisions won’t take effect until after this year’s midterm elections, rather than going into effect on July 1.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that state Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, pointed to two criminal cases involving non-citizen voting, arguing they show the need for changes rather than supporting critics who say the problem is minimal.

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“Some of you know people who have lost the election by a very small vote margin. So what is our tolerance for fraud and lack of integrity?” The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports Grall said. “And yes, we have safe elections in Florida, but they don’t stay safe and secure if we don’t pay attention to the large gaps that exist where we can address additional fraud.”

The Sentinel reports that during an earlier debate, the House sponsor, state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, pointed to a state report on 2025 election investigations that identified 198 people described as “likely noncitizens” who may have illegally registered or voted in Florida — roughly fewer than one potential case for every 70,000 registered voters.

On Thursday, Persons-Mulicka said passing the bill remains important, arguing Florida has set the national standard for election integrity and should continue strengthening safeguards.

But state Rep. Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach, urged lawmakers to reject the proposal, saying that while election integrity is important, efforts to secure elections should not come at the expense of constitutional voting rights.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that Florida’s voter registration database would be matched with the driver’s license database at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which has been verifying citizenship as part of bringing state driver’s licenses into compliance with federal REAL ID requirements.

Those against the bill, the Sentinel reports, said that more than 800,000 people with driver’s licenses and state ID cards don’t have a Real ID. Opponents continue that they could possibly be flagged and be required to give proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to stay registered.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel also reports that people who update their voter registrations — such as changing their political party affiliation or their name, often due to marriage or divorce — would be required to provide proof of citizenship.

The legislation would narrow the types of identification voters can use at polling places. Democrats objected to the removal of student IDs and retirement system IDs, which have been accepted forms of identification for Florida voters for decades, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Democratic lawmakers argued that many college students do not have driver’s licenses, and some older residents in retirement communities may not renew their licenses once they stop driving. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that Democratic lawmakers warned that removing those IDs could make it harder for those groups to vote. Supporters of the bill, including Sen. Erin Grall, said the change is intended to prevent the use of counterfeit identification, though critics argue the measure could disproportionately affect certain communities.

The push for stricter voting rules comes as President Donald Trump has urged Congress to adopt tighter election laws, including nationwide voter ID requirements and citizenship verification measures. Florida already requires voter identification, but the proposed legislation would further tighten those rules.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel says, lawmakers spent several hours debating House Bill 991 on Thursday before it passed the Senate on a 27–12 vote. All Republicans supported the measure except Sen. Alexis Calatayud of Miami-Dade County, while all Democrats voted against it.

The House later approved the bill in a 77–28 vote, sending it to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state’s top elections official, Secretary of State Cord Byrd, has supported verifying voter citizenship, though he has not publicly advocated for the legislation.