Florida Citizenship Requirement Challenge
Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP v. Byrd
A pro-voting lawsuit challenging a Florida law requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register or remain eligible to vote.
Background
Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP and Florida Alliance for Retired Americans filed a lawsuit against Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) and local election officials over HB 991, a new law that requires both prospective and some existing voters to submit documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register or remain eligible to vote. Under the new law, unless the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV) can verify a voter’s citizenship, otherwise qualified Floridians will be barred from registering or voting if they cannot provide a form of DPOC that the law deems acceptable. If Florida DMV records do not affirmatively confirm a voter’s citizenship, the Department will notify the voter’s local supervisor of elections, who must then notify the voter and initiate proceedings to purge them from the rolls.
According to the lawsuit, even if Florida could deny registration and eligibility to voters in state elections for lacking proof of citizenship — which is itself unclear — it cannot treat voters differently based solely on which registration form they use. Under the new law, voters registering using the federal form without DPOC would be entitled to vote in federal elections, while the same voters using a state form would have their registration rejected entirely. Plaintiffs argue that this violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and unduly burdens the right to vote under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. They are seeking a court order declaring the DPOC requirement unconstitutional and blocking its enforcement.
Why It Matters
Florida is following a troubling pattern seen in other states that imposed DPOC requirements based on unfounded fears of widespread noncitizen voting. These laws have consistently disenfranchised eligible voters, particularly minority, low-income, young and elderly citizens who often face greater barriers to obtaining acceptable documentation. For example, Kansas’s 2011 law blocked over 30,000 qualified citizens from voting, and New Hampshire’s 2024 law similarly prevented large numbers of new registrants — up to 25-30% in some towns — from casting ballots. Florida’s HB 991 is even stricter, applying DPOC rules to both new and existing voters, making it likely to produce the same, or worse, effects.
Latest Updates
- April 1, 2026: Plaintiffs filed their complaint.