Legislation that would require new Florida voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship has once again been filed ahead of the Florida legislative session set to begin next week in Tallahassee.
House Bill 991 reportedly has the support of Florida’s supervisors of elections and is sponsored by state Reps. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, and Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce.
The proposal closely mirrors legislation filed by Persons-Mulicka last year in response to President Trump’s 2025 executive order requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. That earlier bill failed to advance out of committee.
The 2026 version filed by Persons-Mulicka and Trabulsy includes several provisions.
The bill would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. It would also mandate that the Florida Department of State review all current voter registrations for citizenship status and forward names to supervisors of elections, who would then request proof of eligibility from voters. Acceptable documents would include a current and valid U.S. passport, a U.S. birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the U.S. State Department, a current and valid Florida driver’s license or ID card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, a naturalization certificate, a certificate of citizenship, a certificate number or alien registration number issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a current and valid photo ID issued by the federal government or the state of Florida indicating U.S. citizenship, or an order from a federal court granting U.S. citizenship.
The measure would also require driver’s licenses and state ID cards to display citizenship status, expand information-sharing on citizenship between the Department of State, the DHSMV, and jury coordinators, create a new post-election audit process, revise recount procedures, and impose new restrictions on campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
Another proposal addressing U.S. citizenship requirements for voting is HB 985, filed by Rep. Berny Jacques, R-Pinellas County. That measure has gained support from voter integrity advocates across Florida.
Among its provisions, the bill would require supervisors of elections to verify citizenship status using the Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, program administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Election supervisors who determine that false affirmations were made on a voter registration application would be required to refer the case to the Office of Election Crimes and Security.
The proposal would also treat information received by the DHSMV showing that a registered voter obtained a driver’s license in another state as a written request from the voter to be removed from Florida’s statewide voter registration system. It would narrow the list of IDs accepted at polling places, add new requirements for voters who registered using a Florida ID, expand the use of provisional ballots when citizenship cannot be verified, and create additional steps for vote-by-mail requests. Florida IDs and driver’s licenses issued to non-citizens would be marked “NC” on the front.
“The future of our state and nation depends on free and secure elections!” Jacques wrote in a newsletter sent to constituents this week. “I urge my colleagues to stand with me to safeguard our elections and support this critical piece of legislation. Thank you for your support — together, we will ensure that Florida’s elections are secure for the foreseeable future.”
Neither bill requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to vote currently has a companion measure in the Senate.
According to VoteRiders, a nonpartisan organization, only four states—Arizona, Louisiana, Wyoming, and New Hampshire—require voters to provide documentation proving U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.
Other election bills filed for the session include legislation to revise the timelines for holding special elections. That proposal has been introduced in the Senate by Boca Raton Democrat Tina Polsky and in the House as HB 597 by Democrats Mike Gottlieb of Davie and Daryl Campbell of Fort Lauderdale.
Polsky is also sponsoring a Senate proposal, SB 132, to create a centralized database to track the voting rights of individuals with felony convictions. In the House, the measure is sponsored by Rep. Felicia Robinson, D-Miami Gardens, as HB 73.
Another bill would seek to limit foreign influence in state elections, government, and public institutions. Known as the Foreign Interference Restriction and Enforcement Act, the proposal is sponsored by Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, as SB 1178.
The legislation would require agents of foreign countries of concern—defined as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Qatar, Syria, and the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro—to register with the Division of Elections and submit regular disclosures. It would also prohibit public officials, employees, and candidates from accepting gifts, travel, or anything of value from foreign countries of concern or designated terrorist organizations.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. For questions, contact Editor Michael Moline at [email protected].
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