A pro-voting lawsuit challenging a Florida law requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register or remain eligible to vote.<\/p>\n
Background<\/p>\n
Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP and Florida Alliance for Retired Americans filed a lawsuit against Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) and local election officials over HB 991, a new law that requires both prospective and some existing voters to submit documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register or remain eligible to vote. Under the new law, unless the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV) can verify a voter\u2019s citizenship, otherwise qualified Floridians will be barred from registering or voting if they cannot provide a form of DPOC that the law deems acceptable. If Florida DMV records do not affirmatively confirm a voter\u2019s citizenship, the Department will notify the voter\u2019s local supervisor of elections, who must then notify the voter and initiate proceedings to purge them from the rolls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, even if Florida could deny registration and eligibility to voters in state elections for lacking proof of citizenship \u2014 which is itself unclear \u2014 it cannot treat voters differently based solely on which registration form they use. Under the new law, voters registering using the federal form without DPOC would be entitled to vote in federal elections, while the same voters using a state form would have their registration rejected entirely. Plaintiffs argue that this violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and unduly burdens the right to vote under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. They are seeking a court order declaring the DPOC requirement unconstitutional and blocking its enforcement.<\/p>\n
Why It Matters<\/p>\n
Florida is following a troubling pattern seen in other states that imposed DPOC requirements based on unfounded fears of widespread noncitizen voting. These laws have consistently disenfranchised eligible voters, particularly minority, low-income, young and elderly citizens who often face greater barriers to obtaining acceptable documentation. For example, Kansas\u2019s 2011 law blocked over 30,000 qualified citizens from voting, and New Hampshire\u2019s 2024 law similarly prevented large numbers of new registrants \u2014 up to 25-30% in some towns \u2014 from casting ballots. Florida\u2019s HB 991 is even stricter, applying DPOC rules to both new and existing voters, making it likely to produce the same, or worse, effects.<\/p>\n
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