TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV\/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – It won\u2019t change much for this year\u2019s election, but your ID might not be good enough to vote in the future here in Florida. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s known as Florida\u2019s version of the SAVE Act, meant to ensure only citizens register to vote. But, the ACLU of Florida says it disenfranchises voters.<\/p>\n
Portions of House Bill 991 start on July 1, but the meat of the law takes effect on January 1, 2027, something an elections expert says gives supervisors of elections time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the Florida legislature passed this SAVE Act, which is going to require that every person on the voter roll is a citizen and there\u2019s going to be a check on that process, but that process is not in place for this particular elections season,\u201d Dr. Lonna Atkeson, Director of the LeRoy Collins Institute said.<\/p>\n
Florida Politics: <\/p>\n
When the law fully takes effect, student IDs, retirement center IDs and debit cards won\u2019t be good enough to vote. A passport would work, as would a birth certificate paired with an ID. <\/p>\n
Starting a year from July, new Florida driver\u2019s licenses will display citizenship status. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re already finding people who are perhaps not citizens and then they\u2019re pursuing that independently before they contact someone to see if they have to go through a more complicated process,\u201d Atkeson said.<\/p>\n
As for marriages, Atkeson said elections officers are still waiting for guidance from the Secretary of State, but as a practical matter, she said it\u2019s easiest to make sure your new married name is updated in the Social Security Administration system.<\/p>\n
For voters who are already registered, Atkeson said many of the checks will simply happen in the background. Florida law already requires ID to actually cast your vote once registered.<\/p>\n
However, disability rights groups and the ACLU\u2019s chapter in Florida are crying foul. According to the Disability Rights Florida Blog<\/a>, disabled Floridians can be disenfranchised by multiple in-person trips and physical paperwork.<\/p>\n \u201cSupporters describe the law as a way to strengthen election security. Disability rights advocates and voting access advocates have raised concerns about what happens when new administrative requirements are layered onto a system that already creates barriers for many voters,\u201d the group wrote on its website.<\/p>\n