An early voting site in Duval County. l Steven Ponson, Jacksonville Today.
Published on April 1, 2026 at 4:42 pm
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Voting rights advocates are suing over a new Florida voting law, and one group plans a campaign to assist voters facing difficulties in Duval and eight other counties.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, challenging a Florida law that requires proof of citizenship to cast a ballot.
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The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of six groups: the League of Women Voters of Florida, Common Cause, Florida Rising, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Hispanic Federation and UnidosUS.
The lawsuit came the same day that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 991, which he said will protect the integrity of elections in Florida. The bill represents Floridaʼs version of a proposed federal law, the SAVE Act — short for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility.
The Florida bill requires citizenship paperwork and a photo ID, such as a Florida driverʼs license, U.S. Passport or concealed carry permit, when someone registers to vote and before they cast a ballot.
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DeSantis signed the bill during an event at The Villages. He said the U.S. Constitution allows only American citizens to vote in elections and Florida needs a law to enforce the requirement.
The lawsuit says the bill will disenfranchise eligible voters and create unnecessary barriers to the freedom to vote. It seeks to block enforcement of the law before it goes into effect in 2027.
The law violates two amendments of the U.S. Constitution by imposing unlawful burdens on the fundamental right to vote, the suit says.
Florida Rising Together said it is ready to work in Duval and eight other Florida counties to help mobilize applicants and voters and educate voters “to navigate the requirements and counteract the harms of HB 991.”
The bill is a “calculated attack” on Florida’s democracy, Moné Holder, Florida Rising’s chief advocacy and political officer, said in a news release.
“Instead of solving real problems, the Florida Legislature is manufacturing a crisis to justify mass disenfranchisement,” the Jacksonville resident said. “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.”
DeSantis said he expected the lawsuit. He called efforts to fight the law “song and dance.”
“They go to a liberal judge. The liberal judge sides with them. Then we appeal and we win,” DeSantis said, according to the News Service Florida.
The suit says many voters do not have the documents required by the new law. Some voters cannot obtain them for reasons that include being born without a birth certificate in the segregated South, destruction in a hurricane, or because they cannot afford to replace them, the suit says.
Part of the bill specifies the types of documents that qualify as proof. People who have changed their name due to marriage, gender identity or another reason will have to provide more legal documentation providing proof of that name change or what the bill called “acceptable evidence of United States citizenship.”
