UnidosUS v. Byrd

On April 1, 2026, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law H.B. 991, which subjects every Florida voter—currently registered or prospective—to a citizenship verification regime tied to the records of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Under the bill, county election officials may not accept a voter registration application if the applicant has not provided DPOC. Additionally, H.B. 991 imposes an ongoing obligation to conduct retroactive checks of the citizenship status of already registered voters, even if they have been on the rolls for decades. This law disproportionately threatens the voting rights of several groups of voters in particular—including Black voters born without birth certificates in the Jim Crow South, naturalized citizens who are often improperly flagged as non-citizens, trans people and married women who have changed their names, voters with disabilities, and low-income voters.

On the same morning the Governor signed H.B. 991, the ACLU, ACLU of Florida, and our partners brought suit in federal court on behalf of nonprofit organizations UnidosUS, the League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Rising Together, Hispanic Federation, Florida Immigrant Coalition, FLIC Votes, and Common Cause, seeking to enjoin H.B. 991, which goes into effect on January 1, 2027.