DeSantis and Reeves signed the voter citizenship law, causing legal challenges

Voters in Florida and Mississippi will soon face new citizenship verification laws after governors signed the measures into law Wednesday, sparking at least two lawsuits in the Sunshine State.

The measures, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, are aimed at maintaining election integrity as President Donald Trump’s similar legislation stalls in Congress.

Mississippi’s measure is expected to go into effect on July 1, and Florida’s law will follow on Jan. 1, 2027.

Under both laws, voters will be required to provide citizenship documents — such as birth certificates, passports, or naturalization certificates — if local officials challenge their eligibility after notification related to voter registration applications. If people fail to provide the required proof of citizenship after being flagged, both states are required to remove them from their voter registration lists.

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DeSantis said the Florida SAVE Act will improve the security and transparency of the state’s election system.

“Protecting the electoral process to improve oversight and prevent illegal influence has been a priority for my administration since my first days in office,” he said in a social media post. “This legislation strengthens the security, transparency, and integrity of Florida’s election system.”

Lawsuits against the bill quickly followed, with one human rights organization saying some voters may not have the necessary documents and may face difficulties obtaining them.

“Many eligible voters don’t have these documents and can’t get them for a variety of reasons—including because they were born without a birth certificate in the segregated South, because their documents were destroyed by a hurricane, or because they can’t afford the hundreds of dollars it costs to replace them,” says the lawsuit filed in federal court in South Florida by the Florida Association of Women Voters.

Under the law, student IDs and social security retirement IDs can no longer be used as voting tokens. New driver’s licenses must also reflect citizenship status from July 2027.

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Voters voted on November 8, 2022, during the midterm elections. (George Frey/Getty Images)

Separately, the Mississippi SHIELD Act does not mandate driver’s licenses to display citizenship.

However, it requires local voter registration officials to conduct additional citizenship checks if applicants do not provide driver’s license numbers on their application to vote.

Mississippi officials must also conduct an annual statewide check against the state’s database before the state election to flag potential citizens.

“While states like California and New York flood their electorates with illegal immigrants, Mississippi will do the opposite and protect the right of the American people to determine the outcome of the election,” Reeves said in a social media post. “We will continue to do everything in our power to make it very difficult – with the aim of making it impossible – to cheat in our elections!”

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group, noted that the move would ease undocumented Mississippi residents, including women who have changed their surnames after marriage.

Mississippi Gov. Reeves, center, speaks during a Jan. 18, 2024, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

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The new laws follow similar measures signed in late March by South Dakota and Utah to strengthen proof of citizenship requirements for voters.

Meanwhile, Trump’s voting law — legislation backed by the Republican SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and photo ID at federal elections — was approved by the US House but stalled in the Senate amid enough support to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster.