In Florida, a Historic Victory for Voting Rights

MIAMI — Voting rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit today challenging Florida House Bill 991, a new law requiring documentary proof of citizenship, warning that the measure will disenfranchise eligible voters and create unnecessary barriers to the freedom to vote. The law requires prospective voters to have “evidence of citizenship” on file, such as a passport or birth certificate to register to vote or remain on the voter rolls. Thousands of Floridians don’t have ready access to these documents. The lawsuit, filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Rising, Common Cause, Hispanic Federation and UnidosUS seeks to block enforcement of the law before it goes into effect in 2027. Plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Advancement Project. Plaintiffs argue that Florida’s additional documentation requirement will make it significantly harder for eligible voters — especially naturalized citizens, low-income voters, married women who’ve changed their name, voters of color, students, voters with disabilities, transgender people, and seniors — to register and participate in elections. The complaint argues that the requirement violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by imposing unlawful burdens on the fundamental right to vote, including restrictive voter registration requirements. Unlike some other documentary proof-of-citizenship laws, this one applies retroactively to currently registered voters, making it even likelier that eligible voters will be both wrongly prevented from registering and/or erroneously removed from the rolls. Courts have repeatedly found that documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements disenfranchise eligible voters while doing little to address the virtually nonexistent problem of non-citizen voting. In 2016, Kansas enacted a similar law, which blocked more than 35,000 Kansans from registering to vote. It was struck down in 2018 for violating the National Voter Registration Act and the U.S. Constitution. Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the law unlawful and block Florida officials from enforcing the documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement. “Florida voters already confirm their citizenship when they register to vote. Instead of securing elections, HB 991 causes eligible voters to be disenfranchised,” said Jessica Lowe-Minor, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida. “Despite strong opposition from our state’s voting rights coalition, the Governor signed a bill tying the right to vote to the possession of costly documents that many U.S. citizens don’t have easy access to. No eligible Floridian should be pushed out of the voter rolls simply because of red tape." “New barriers to voting too often fall hardest on the communities that have long fought to be heard in our democracy,” said Caren Short, director of legal and research at the League of Women Voters of the United States. “Sadly, but unsurprisingly, Florida’s new documentary proof of citizenship law requirement is based on xenophobic lies and disinformation. The legislature’s failure to look out for constituents instead of legislators' own political interests will harm married women, naturalized citizens, young people, and many other eligible voters who do not have ready access to documents like passports or birth certificates. The League of Women Voters is committed to defending a democracy where every eligible voter has a fair opportunity to make their voice heard.” "We are taking a stand against H.B. 991," said Tessa Petit, Executive Director of Florida Immigrant Coalition. "This bill, under false pretenses, creates roadblocks meant to hinder our ability to vote, and silences the voices of Black and brown communities, naturalized citizens, young people, and low-income voters. Our right to vote and determine our future is the very essence of what makes us United States citizens. Our communities are ready to fight back and to protect the rights of voters in Florida." “If this law stands, thousands of U.S. citizens will be removed from Florida's voter rolls, blocking them from voting in the next Presidential election if they can't afford specific documents,” said Amy Keith, Common Cause Florida Executive Director. “Life is getting increasingly harder and more expensive in Florida, but with this bill legislators are purging the very voters who are suffering most from Florida’s affordability crisis. I don't think that's a coincidence.” “Florida’s House Bill 991 silences the voices of voters and naturalized citizens who deserve to have a say in the policies that impact our communities. For decades, we fought to make sure all eligible voters have the ability to vote, and we will not allow false claims about election fraud to be used as a weapon against us. Millions of voters lack these costly documents, and requiring them will result in significant voter suppression. We stand with Floridians and will fight to ensure that unnecessary barriers do not block us from our fundamental right to vote,” said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation. “Common Cause has engaged in lawsuits all over the United States to defend voters' access to the ballot box and we’re doing so again in Florida,” Maryam Jazini Dorcheh, Senior Director of Litigation at Common Cause. “This law makes it harder for eligible voters to vote plain and simple.” “Florida families are struggling with rising costs, but instead of addressing the affordability crisis, the controlling party in the state legislature spent last legislative session creating new barriers to the ballot box,” said UnidosUS Florida State Director Jared Nordlund. “They know their agenda is unpopular, and when they cannot win by persuading voters, they try to win by making it harder for people to vote. HB 991 is another solution in search of a problem, and Florida is once again the testing ground for a voter suppression playbook that could spread nationwide. These laws target the voices they fear most, especially women, communities of color, and working-class voters.” Legal groups representing the voting rights advocacy organizations added the following: “Florida’s new ‘show your papers’ law is a blatant attempt to add unnecessary barriers to the ballot box,” said Jonathan Topaz, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “This law targets Florida’s most vulnerable voters—older Black voters who grew up in the Jim Crow South, naturalized citizens, transgender people, low-income voters, voters with disabilities—all in service of perpetuating the fact-free myth of widespread non-citizen registration and voting. We bring this lawsuit to ensure that Florida cannot block its eligible voters from exercising their fundamental right to vote because of missing or mismatched paperwork.” “Florida has a long and troubling history of suppressing the right to vote by placing barriers between voters and the ballot box,” said Carrie McNamara, staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “Over the past several years, state leaders have systematically rewritten the rules of democracy – from restricting the citizen-led amendment process, to undermining community-based voter registration efforts; from sending formerly incarcerated citizens back to jail because they dared to vote, to delaying special elections and leaving thousands without representation. This anti-voter law is the latest entry in that playbook. It reflects a continued effort to create new barriers between eligible voters and the ballot box, making it harder for people to have their voices heard. Protecting the freedom to vote is fundamental to our democracy, and we will fight to defend it.” "Florida House Bill 991 is a sweeping attack on the ballot box, one that will hit Black, brown, low-income, and student voters the hardest. This is not about election integrity. It’s about who gets to hold onto power and who gets pushed out,” said Hani Mirza, Director of the Power and Democracy Program at Advancement Project. "The documentary proof of citizenship provisions in particular will disproportionately purge new citizens from the voter rolls, creating an insurmountable barrier for some of those voters. Advancement Project stands with communities of color in refusing to accept legislation that dismantles civic participation and strips away hard-won opportunities to build power.” “The approval of this Voter Purge Bill is a calculated attack on our democracy, " pointed out Moné Holder, Chief Advocacy & Political Officer at Florida Rising. “Instead of solving real problems, the Florida Legislature is manufacturing a crisis to justify mass disenfranchisement. This isn’t about election integrity; it’s about making it harder for millions of eligible Floridians to vote. This law creates a bureaucratic minefield for everyday people. By restricting student IDs and requiring costly documentation that many voters don’t have, the state is effectively putting a price tag on the right to vote. Name-match requirements could disproportionately impact married women and trans voters. We need legislation that protects, rather than targets, every eligible Floridian’s fundamental right to vote. We will not be intimidated, and we will not allow our communities to be erased from our democracy.” “Florida law already adequately verifies a voter's eligibility to vote, making this latest Florida voter suppression effort wholly unnecessary and unduly burdensome, said Cesar Ruiz, Associate Counsel, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “Many voters simply do not have immediate access to the new mandatory identity documents that will be required to register to vote, and these burdens will fall especially hard on communities of color, Puerto Rican voters, women who changed their names after marriage, and others with complex documentation histories. Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can participate without facing needless barriers to exercising that fundamental right!” A copy of the complaint can be found here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/04/FL-DPOC-Complaint.pdf

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemns President Trump’s new unlawful executive order attempting to restrict mail-in voting nationwide, continuing a pattern of unconstitutional attacks on our freedom to vote. The executive order comes after a separate case blocking President Trump’s first anti-voter executive order attempting to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, in which the court affirmed that the president does not have the authority to change election laws. The executive order directs the federal government to compile “citizenship lists” based on incomplete federal data and seeks to improperly insert the United States Postal Service into state election administration by prohibiting it from transmitting ballots from individuals not on these lists. These actions would create chaos in election administration and lead to the disenfranchisement of many eligible voters who depend on mail voting. The order also threatens state and local officials with criminal prosecution and seeks to withhold federal funding from states that do not comply. Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, released the following statement: “Once again, President Trump is attempting to seize power he does not have. The President’s order is not about protecting elections — it’s about trying to control them and using that control to make it harder to vote for his perceived enemies. The Constitution is very clear: only Congress and the states can make laws regarding our elections. The ability to vote by mail is crucial to our democracy. It ensures that voters with disabilities, those without transportation access, working families, those who are deployed or otherwise abroad, and many others who rely on its flexibility can exercise their right to vote. President Trump's attempts to undermine a safe, proven, and reliable method of voting is just another part of his strategy to sow distrust in our elections. As always, we are prepared to protect our democracy and our right to vote in court against these continued unconstitutional attacks.”

Representing the ACLU of New Hampshire and League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, the ACLU Voting Rights Project, ACLU of New Hampshire, Campaign Legal Center, and Brennan Center filed an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit over the federal government’s demand that Oregon turn over its entire voter registration rolls, including with voters’ sensitive personal data such as drivers’ license numbers and partial social security numbers.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Today, a Jackson County Circuit Court judge ruled that a new gerrymandered congressional map passed by the Missouri General Assembly as House Bill 1 can stay in place, after a lawsuit by Campaign Legal Center (CLC), the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Missouri — on behalf of individual Missouri voters — was filed challenging the state’s unlawful and unprecedented mid-decade redistricting effort following pressure from President Donald Trump. The organizations together issued the following statement: “We respectfully disagree with the trial court’s ruling, which misapplied the law and overlooked overwhelming evidence that the state’s unprecedented mid-decade congressional map violates the Missouri Constitution’s compactness requirement. Drawn under direct pressure from the Trump administration, the map divides the Kansas City area across multiple sprawling districts in clear violation of that constitutional mandate. If allowed to stand, it would represent a significant setback for fair representation in Missouri. “Moreover, the General Assembly’s recent effort to redraw congressional district lines was unconstitutional from the start. That is because the Missouri Constitution also forbids mid-decade redistricting. A separate challenge to the map on this basis is currently before the Missouri Supreme Court, and we have submitted an amicus brief urging the high court to rule in accordance with the state constitution and find the map invalid. “Voters have the right to choose their elected officials under fair maps. Campaign Legal Center, the ACLU Voting Rights Project, and the ACLU of Missouri will continue to fight on behalf of voters in Missouri to ensure that they have an equal say on which elected officials represent them and the issues that matter most to their communities.” BACKGROUND: Missouri’s state Constitution requires redistricting be done only once a decade following the U.S. decennial census, and that maps must be drawn in a “compact” manner — rather than have far-flung, unconnected communities in one district — to prevent partisan gerrymandering. In September 2025, the Missouri General Assembly responded to President Trump’s redistricting push in numerous states by passing a congressional map that broke Kansas City’s metropolitan area into three parts to drown out the urban residents’ political voice. Campaign Legal Center, the ACLU Voting Rights Project, and the ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit on behalf of individual voters on the grounds that this map violated the Missouri state Constitution and its compactness requirement. The state trial court misapplied the law to rule that Kansas City’s metropolitan area under this redrawn map met the state’s compactness requirement, and declined to strike down the map. If the new map is allowed to stand, hundreds of thousands of Missouri voters will lose fair representation. A link to today's ruling is here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2026/03/Wise-et-al-and-Healey-et-al-v.-State-Order-and-Judgment.pdf