LDF Denounces Passage of Florida Anti-Voter Bill that Could Disenfranchise Millions of Floridians in 2027 and Beyond

Read a PDF of our statement here.

Yesterday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping anti-voter elections bill into law that will go into effect as soon as January 2027. The bill will not affect any voters trying to register or vote during the 2026 elections. It is similar to the federal version of the SAVE Act and was passed by the Florida state legislature on March 12.

This bill will require all Floridians to present documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and would also force many Florida voters who are already registered to vote to show up in person to provide proof of citizenship documents if they are not currently in the voter database.

Additionally, the bill outlawed use of student IDs or retirement home IDs at the polls - both forms that were previously accepted. These changes run the risk of disproportionately disenfranchising Black voters, other voters of color, married voters who have changed their name, young voters, voters with disabilities, senior citizens, and rural voters.

These changes will not apply to the 2026 midterm elections and will instead take effect in January 2027.

In response, Legal Defense Fund Director of Policy Demetria McCain issued the following statement:

"While using the false narrative about voter fraud, Florida legislators and its governor are moving our democracy back to Jim Crows days at the expense of millions of voters. Bills like Florida's SAVE Act - that saddle voters with expensive and burdensome document requirements in order to access our elections - are poll taxes in disguise, strategically designed to disenfranchise people who have already faced historical discrimination at the ballot."

To learn more about the disastrous effects of the federal version of the SAVE Act, visit here.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF's archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.