Florida Legislature Passes Citizen Verification for Voters, Restricts IDs at Polls

Florida lawmakers passed a bill requiring citizenship verification for voter registration and removing student and retirement center IDs as acceptable forms of identification at polling places.

Florida lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to elections bill that requires voters to verify their citizenship when registering and limits what identification they can present at the polls. The legislation passed the House 77-28 hours after clearing the Senate 27-12, with votes falling along party lines.

The measure makes Florida the most populous state to impose proof-of-citizenship requirements on voters, a top priority for President Donald Trump as he pushes Congress to pass similar federal legislation. But unlike the federal proposal, Florida's requirements would not take effect until next year, after the 2026 midterm elections.

Under the bill, people registering to vote must provide documentation proving U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers. The state will verify existing voters' citizenship against government databases including Real ID records maintained by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. If no citizenship document surfaces, elections supervisors would notify voters by mail, and those voters would need to bring proof to their county elections office to stay registered.

The legislation also removes student identification cards and retirement facility identification cards from the list of IDs voters can use at polling places. Acceptable forms moving forward include Florida driver licenses, U.S. passports, military IDs, concealed weapon licenses and government employee IDs.

Supporters said the changes standardize identification requirements and ensure IDs used at polls are harder to counterfeit. Sen. Erin Grall, a Vero Beach Republican who sponsored the bill, pointed to two criminal cases involving noncitizen voting as evidence the state needs to address what she described as "large gaps.” A state report on 2025 election investigations identified 198 people described as "likely noncitizens" that may have illegally registered or voted in Florida roughly less than one potential case for every 70,000 registered voters.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled support in a social media post Thursday, saying the legislation "will further fortify our state as the leader in election integrity."