SESSION WATCH
Superseded — its companion passed HOUSE · SESSION 2026

No. HB 985

Voter Registration and Identification
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SPONSOR
Jacques
FILED BY
Berny Jacques — District 59, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
COMPANION
CS/CS/HB 991 — HB 985 was set aside and its companion carried the policy

Filed under Elections.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Voter Registration and Identification; Requires supervisor of elections to verify applicant’s citizenship status & refer certain matters to Office of Election Crimes & Security; provides certain action is considered written request from voter to have his or her name removed from statewide voter registration system; revises identifications accepted at polling places; requires that certain electors show Florida ID card upon entering polling place; provides that certain noncitizens may vote provisional ballot; requires supervisor of elections to verify certain information upon receiving request for vote-by-mail ballot; requires certain licenses & ID cards to denote certain persons as noncitizens.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Requires new voters to prove citizenship when official records can't confirm it.

Anyone who registers to vote using a driver's license or ID number gets checked against motor vehicle citizenship records; anyone registering with a Social Security number gets checked through a federal immigration-status database. Either way, an unconfirmed applicant must supply proof of citizenship.

Getting a driver's license in another state now counts, by itself, as a written request to be removed from Florida's voter rolls, with no separate action or notice from the voter described in the text.

Student, retirement-center, and neighborhood-association identification cards no longer count as valid ID at the polls. Anyone who registered using a Florida ID card must bring that same card to vote, and a card marked as a noncitizen's forces a provisional ballot.

Noncitizens' Florida driver's licenses and ID cards must now carry an NC mark on the front. Mail-ballot voters registered with a Florida ID card face a separate citizenship, address, and surrender check before their ballot is issued.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Citizenship check required to complete registration majors. 97.053

AIIf an applicant registers with a driver license or ID number, the supervisor must confirm through motor vehicle records that the number is classified as a citizen's. If registering by Social Security number instead, the supervisor must run a federal SAVE-program check. Either way, an unverified applicant must supply proof of citizenship.

“the supervisor of elections shall verify that the driver license number or Florida identification card number is classified as that of a United States citizen” bill text, line 37 →
§ 2 Out-of-state license triggers automatic voter-roll removal majors. 98.045

AILearning that a registered Florida voter has gotten a driver's license in another state is now legally treated as though that voter personally wrote in asking to be removed from Florida's voter rolls, with no separate voter action required.

“shall be considered a written request from the voter to have his or her name removed from the statewide voter registration system” bill text, line 83 →
§ 3 Noncitizen-marked ID forces a provisional ballot majors. 101.043

AIIf the photo ID a voter presents at the polls carries the new noncitizen marking created by this bill, that alone requires the voter to cast a provisional ballot, the same as failing to show any ID at all.

“if the identification provided denotes the elector as a noncitizen pursuant to s. 322.141(5)” bill text, line 131 →
§ 4 Mail-ballot requests face a new citizenship check majors. 101.62

AIA voter registered with a Florida ID card who requests a vote-by-mail ballot now triggers a supervisor citizenship check. If citizenship cannot be verified, the voter must produce proof before a ballot is issued.

“he or she must provide proof of citizenship before voting or being issued an absentee ballot” bill text, line 150 →
§ 5 Noncitizens' licenses and IDs must show an NC mark majors. 322.141

AIAny Florida driver's license or identification card issued or reissued to someone who is not a citizen must display the letters NC on the front of the card, a visible noncitizen designation carried in a person's wallet.

“shall have on the front of the license or identification card "NC" to denote that such person is a noncitizen” bill text, line 163 →
§ 6 False registration affirmations get referred to a state crimes office moderates. 97.053

AIIf a supervisor determines an applicant made false affirmations on a voter registration application, the matter must now be sent to the Office of Election Crimes and Security rather than handled locally.

“the matter must be referred to the Office of Election Crimes and Security” bill text, line 53 →
§ 7 Student and community ID cards no longer accepted to vote moderates. 101.043

AIStudent identification, retirement center identification, and neighborhood association identification are removed from the list of picture IDs accepted at the polls, narrowing what a voter without a driver license or passport can present.

“6. Student identification. 7. Retirement center identification. 8. Neighborhood association identification.” bill text, line 101 →
§ 8 ID-card registrants must show that same card at the polls moderates. 101.043

AIA voter who registered using a Florida identification card, rather than a driver license, must bring and present that same identification card upon entering the polling place, not just any other accepted photo ID.

“he or she must present his or her Florida identification card upon entering the polling place” bill text, line 114 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Government Operations Subcommittee; Companion bill(s)...
1/13/2026
1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
1/12/2026
Now in Government Operations Subcommittee
1/12/2026
Referred to State Affairs Committee
1/12/2026
Referred to Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee
1/12/2026
Referred to Government Operations Subcommittee
1/5/2026
Filed
1 EARLIER →
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 97.053
+175 / −0
s. 98.045
+50 / −0
s. 101.043
+47 / −14
s. 101.62
+121 / −0
s. 322.141
+99 / −0
s. 101.62
+0 / −0