What You Can Do About Voter Suppression in Florida
- rootedinhopevolusi
- May 11
- 5 min read
What You Can Do About Voter Suppression in Florida
“Voter suppression is the effort to limit the capacity of a group to register, vote, or cast an effective ballot.”
---Fraga, Ramírez, Fraga (2023). "American Democracy and Voter Suppression"
The Florida SAVE Act
On April 1, 2026, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 991, Florida's version of the federal SAVE Act, which will require proof of citizenship from people registering to vote for the first time or making changes to their existing voter registration.
The act takes effect January 1, 2027. New, replacement or renewed driver's licenses or state ID cards must include their owner's legal status. (Florida's constitution already allows only U.S. citizens to vote in state elections, thanks to an amendment adopted in 2020.) Candidates will have to disclose any dual citizenship they possess. Several forms of ID that had previously been acceptable for voting and registration, including college IDs, no longer will be sufficient to vote. People registering to vote have to provide specific proof of citizenship if it is not automatically verified by the state. And if that person's name was legally changed, they also have to provide that proof.
This is clearly voter suppression.
What is the impact on the voter?
This act will disenfranchise students, the poor, the homeless, eligible Puerto Ricans, elderly Black voters, and others. Virtually no one has this type of documentation on hand.
Florida Congressional Maps
Amplifying the impact of this legislation on voter suppression, Governor Desantis took a further step. On Monday. May 4, he signed into law a new congressional map that could help Republicans pick up four more seats in the House.
This is clearly voter suppression.
What is the impact on the voter?
Florida Republicans currently hold a 20-8 edge in the state thanks to a map muscled into law four years ago by DeSantis. The new map could boost that total to 24 due to redrawn districts affecting Democratic incumbents.
Florida voters now feel their votes carry no weight, since most will vote in districts heavily weighted to the entrenched party, giving a feeling of inevitability to that party. Demoralized voters will withdraw and turnout will decline. Ultimately, the new Florida maps distort the democratic process, contradicting the ideal of equal influence for every voter.
And yet.
The fight is not over.
What you can do: #1 Join the lawsuits.
Fighting the SAVE Act
Almost immediately after the proof of citizenship bill was signed, a coalition of 10 voting rights organizations sued the state in Miami federal court. 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. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, challenges the law as unconstitutional, and names Florida’s secretary of state and several county election supervisors as defendants.
The Florida NAACP and Florida Alliance for Retired Americans also sued.
“Florida’s new ‘show your papers’ law is a blatant attempt to add unnecessary barriers to the ballot box,” said Jonathan Topaz, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. One of the suits, filed by a coalition of groups including the League of Women Voters and Hispanic and immigrant advocacy groups, argues that the requirements that voters show documentation and proof of citizenship could prevent voting by the elderly, eligible Puerto Ricans, people who have been homeless and students.
Fighting the Congressional Maps
On May 4, 2026, The League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL), Common Cause, and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), and Democracy Defenders Fund, filed a lawsuit in the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County to stop the new Florida Congressional map.
The lawsuit argues the new map specifically violates the Fair Districts Amendments, which prohibit the state legislature from drawing maps that favor one political party. More than 60% of Florida voters approved the amendments in 2010.
Join the lawsuits.
If you agree with these efforts to fight voter suppression, you can support one of these organizations. Join the League of Women’s Voters. Join the ACLU. Make a donation to the Florida Immigrant Coalition, a non-profit 501c3. Or engage with other parties who have taken the discussion to our court system. Your voice becomes louder when you join with others.
What you can do: #2 Insist on Transparency
Although these measures have been signed into law, staying on top of the details regarding how the provisions are implemented is paramount. We need to see how our local election supervisors and state agencies (such as volusiaelections.gov) put the new requirements in place. Constituents need to make clear their expectations and the need for updates from state agencies regarding implementation timelines.
We need to follow the money. How will the implementation be budgeted? Will dollars be allocated to assist people registering to vote to overcome roadblocks?
We need to stay informed about public hearings or discussions related to the Act.
In summary, each of us needs to be an advocate for transparency and accountability in the Act's execution.
It is not too late to have a voice. Let your legislators know how you feel.
What you Can Do: #3 Make sure you, and everyone you know, is registered to vote and requests a mail in ballot.
According to Tommy Spaulding in his book, The Gift of Influence, “the average person will influence eighty thousand people in their lives, positively or negatively….that’s 1,025 people impacted per year, or 2.8 daily”. Imagine if each one of us could use some of that influence to get a vote, or two, or 2.8. Perhaps that vote is cast by your son or daughter, or your sibling, parent, or next door neighbor.
Conversations with your family and friends need to be detailed and actionable. Perhaps, start the conversation with, “Have you gotten a new driver’s license since you voted last time?” That means you got a new number. Encourage that person to either call the supervisor of elections office (386-736-5930) or go into the office and give them the new number. In order for it to be validated and updated the person will also need to have the last four digits of their social security number. There is no way to do this online. You must either call or go into the office.
Or ask, “Are you registered to vote?” Then ask, “Are you sure?” Then ask, “Have you checked?” Go to https://registertovoteflorida.gov/home. “Am I already registered?” and scroll down, and input your name and birthdate. “Have you requested your mail in ballot? Go to https://www.volusiaelections.gov/ and input your drivers license number. It’s that simple.
Every vote counts. You can help.
According to Alex Steffen, "Optimism is a political act. Entrenched interests use despair, confusion and apathy to prevent change." Join the lawsuits. Insist on transparency. Get people to register to vote. With these three actions, we can fight voter suppression at a grassroots level, and ensure that every voter has a vote.
Sources:
Spaulding, Tommy, 2022, The Gift of Influence, Currency, an imprint of Random House.
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