Florida Moves to Pass its Own SAVE Act

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A polling precinct in Hillsborough County on Nov. 8, 2022.

Mar 2, 2026 –Politics

Florida moves to pass its own “SAVE America Act”

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A polling precinct in Hillsborough County on Nov. 8, 2022. Photo: Octavio Jones/Getty Images

A proposal to rewrite Florida’s voter identification requirements aimed at verifying citizenship could make it harder for out-of-state college students and married women to register to vote.

The big picture: The legislation is the state’s answer to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which Republicans are muscling through Congress at President Trump’s insistence.Florida’s version (HB 991 and SB 1334) would, among other things, require new voters and those who update their registration to show proof of citizenship, such as a passport, a REAL ID or a birth certificate.It would also require the State Department to verify the citizenship status of existing voters with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, affecting those who don’t yet have a REAL ID.What they’re saying: “Just as the SAVE America Act is common-sense, this election integrity bill is common-sense,” state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-Fort Myers), the bill’s sponsor, said during a state House vote last week.”Floridians want election integrity,” she added. “They want to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote.”The other side: “We shouldn’t be doing anything to weaken the confidence in our democracy… [or] place new barriers between eligible citizens and the ballot box,” state Rep. Rita Harris (D-Orlando) said.Between the lines: The bill is intended to deter noncitizens from voting. But by the state’s own admission, such instances are rare: only 198 noncitizens have been found among the more than 13 million people on its voter rolls.

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