Florida Amendment 1, Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative (2020)

Florida Amendment 1
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Suffrage
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens
List of Florida measuresAmendment 1Amendment 2Amendment 3Amendment 4Amendment 5Amendment 6Submit

Florida Amendment 1, the Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative, was on the ballot in Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supports amending the Florida Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida.

A "no" vote opposes amending the Florida Constitution, thus keeping the existing language that says “every citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida.

Supermajority requirement: A 60 percent supermajority vote was required for the approval of Amendment 1.

Election results

Florida Amendment 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		8,307,109	79.29%
No		2,169,684	20.71%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Amendment 1 change?

See also: Full text and ballot language

Amendment 1 amended Section 2 of Article VI of the Florida Constitution to state that only citizens of the United States who are 18 years old or older are qualified electors in Florida.

• Text of the Florida Constitution going into the election: "Every citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years of age and who is a permanent resident of the state, if registered as provided by law, shall be an elector of the county where registered."
• Proposed text of the Florida Constitution under Amendment 1: "Only a citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years of age and who is a permanent resident of the state, if registered as provided by law, shall be an elector of the county where registered."

Who was behind the campaigns surrounding Amendment 1?

See also: Campaign finance, Support, and Opposition

Florida Citizen Voters led the campaign in support of the amendment. The committee was supported by Citizen Voters, Inc., a Florida-based 501(c)(4) organization founded by John Loudon that has supported similar measures in Alabama and Colorado. Citizen Voters contributed $8.3 million to the committee, with $5.8 million of that through in-kind contributions. John Loudon said these amendments are needed across the nation because "surprisingly, the U.S. Constitution and every state constitution, with the exception of Arizona and North Dakota, does not specifically require citizenship to vote. Each of these state constitutions say nearly the same thing: 'Every citizen shall be an elector...' This inclusive language tells us who can vote, but not who can’t vote."

Opponents of Amendment 1 included the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Chapter of the League of Women Voters. The Florida League of Women Voters said the measure "is cloaked in xenophobia and false patriotism. Rather than strengthen our democracy or protect our elections, it subverts and endangers the right of every citizen to vote. The amendment purports to limit voting to only U.S. citizens. [...] Instead, there have been persistent efforts to suppress voter registration and voting. One of the primary routes of such suppression has been through requiring increasingly costly and burdensome verification requirements, which could be enabled or justified by the passage of this amendment." The Committee to Advance Constitutional Values registered to oppose Amendments 1, 3, and 4 on the 2020 ballot. The committee was funded mainly by the ACLU and the ACLU of Florida. The committee raised $1.92 million and spent $1.54 million. Since the committee registered to oppose three measures, it is not possible to distinguish between funds spent on each individual measure.

Were similar measures on the ballot in other states?

See also: Background

Similar measures — Alabama Amendment 1 (referred to the ballot by the state legislature) and Colorado Amendment 76 (a citizen initiative) — were on the 2020 ballot in Alabama and Colorado. Both measures were supported by Citizen Voters, Inc. The Alabama measure was approved by a vote of 77% to 23%. The Colorado measure was approved by a vote of 63% to 37%.

What do other state constitutions say about citizenship and voting?

See also: Background

All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. In 48 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship states who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that non-citizens cannot vote. In Arizona and North Dakota, the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not non-citizens, have the right to vote. In 1962, Arizona became the first state to pass a constitutional amendment stating that no person can vote unless the person is a U.S. citizen. The next state was North Dakota, which approved a constitutional amendment 56 years later in 2018. The measure amended the North Dakota Constitution to state that "only a citizen" rather than "every citizen" of the U.S. can vote in federal, state, and local elections. Measure 2 was approved by a vote of 66% to 34%.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Citizenship Requirement to Vote in Florida Elections

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“

This amendment provides that only United States Citizens who are at least eighteen years of age, a permanent resident of Florida, and registered to vote, as provided by law, shall be qualified to vote in a Florida election.

”

Fiscal impact statement

The fiscal impact statement for the amendment appeared on the ballot as follows:

“

Because the proposed amendment is not expected to result in any changes to the voter registration process in Florida, it will have no impact on state or local government costs or revenue. Further, it will have no effect on the state’s economy.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VI, Florida Constitution

The measure amended Section 2 of Article VI of the Florida Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:

Every citizen Only a citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen years of age and who is a permanent resident of the state, if registered as provided by law, shall be an elector of the county where registered.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The initiative proponents wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 16, and the FRE is -6. The word count for the ballot title is 7, and the estimated reading time is 1 second. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 19, and the FRE is 28. The word count for the ballot summary is 38, and the estimated reading time is 10 seconds.

Support

Florida Citizen Voters led the campaign in support of the initiative.

Supporters

Political Parties

• Miami Dade Republican Party

Organizations

• Citizen Voters, Inc.

Individuals

• John Loudon - National Chairman of Citizen Voters

Arguments

• John Loudon, National Chairman of Citizen Voters: "There is controversy about the extent to which non-citizens are already voting illegally. Most consider this to be a problem, particularly in states that both issue driver licenses to non-citizens and automatically register everyone with a driver license to vote. Surprisingly, the U.S. Constitution and every state constitution, with the exception of Arizona and North Dakota, does not specifically require citizenship to vote. Each of these state constitutions say nearly the same thing: 'Every citizen shall be an elector...' This inclusive language tells us who can vote, but not who can’t vote. That’s why we need the Citizen Voters Amendment."
• Citizen Voters: "Did you know many U.S. state constitutions do not limit voting to U.S. citizens? In fact, Chicago, San Francisco, and 11 cities in Maryland allow non-citizens to vote. New York and Boston are trying to be next. In fact, only two state constitutions specifically limit voting to US Citizens – Arizona, and North Dakota where the Citizen Voters Amendment was passed at the November 2018 ballot with a landslide 66% of the vote."

Opposition

Opponents

Political Parties

• Miami Dade Democratic Party

Organizations

• ACLU of Florida
• Democracy for America
• League of Women Voters of Florida

Arguments

• League of Women Voters of Florida: "Amendment 1 would make no substantive change to Florida’s constitution, which already limits voting to US Citizens."
• ACLU of Florida: "Ballot initiative #1, the so-called “Citizenship Requirement to Vote in Florida Elections,” is cloaked in xenophobia and false patriotism. Rather than strengthen our democracy or protect our elections, it subverts and endangers the right of every citizen to vote. The amendment purports to limit voting to only U.S. citizens. However, federal and state law are already clear that voting rights are strictly for U.S. citizens, and there are no movements to expand voting rights to noncitizens in Florida. Instead, there have been persistent efforts to suppress voter registration and voting. One of the primary routes of such suppression has been through requiring increasingly costly and burdensome verification requirements, which could be enabled or justified by the passage of this amendment."

Media editorials

Support

Ballotpedia did not identify media editorials supporting Amendment 1. If you are aware of one, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

• Sun Sentinel Editorial Board: "Practically speaking, that is a distinction without a difference. It is wildly fanciful to imagine the Florida Legislature ever changing the statute to allow noncitizens to vote, or that the Florida Supreme Court would allow it. By definition, a constitution that specifies who may vote automatically says who may not."
• Herald-Tribune Editorial Board: "There are two plausible narratives about why this amendment creating a meaningless distinction – stipulating that 'only' citizens can vote instead of allowing 'every' citizen to vote – has come before you. One is that it enabled the sponsors to hire signature gatherers before other advocates, including those for solar energy, could get them under contract. Another is that the exclusionary language about citizenship might motivate voters with anti-immigration sentiments to cast ballots. But we can't really know because of the secretive funding behind this scheme. We recommend voting no."
• Miami Herald Editorial Board: "If you’ve ever voted, you know that you must prove to your local elections supervisor that you are a U.S. citizen, a state resident and 18 years old. Florida law already says that “every citizen” can vote. Seems pretty clear. ... Vote NO on Amendment 1."
• Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board: "An organization called Florida Citizen Voters sponsored the amendment, and its chairman argues that the change could prevent cities from allowing non-citizens to vote, as San Francisco allowed a handful to do in local school board races there two years ago. ... In Florida, only U.S. citizens can vote, whether the state Constitution is amended or not. The Florida Constitution should not be amended on a whim — or to “fix” a problem that doesn’t exist. On Amendment 1, the Tampa Bay Times recommends voting no."
• Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board: "Florida law states that a person can register to vote only if they are a citizen of the United States. Problem solved, you would think. ... And yet, here we are, deciding whether to alter the constitution to stop something that not only isn’t happening here but already is prohibited by state law. ... Those are plenty of reasons for voters to say no to Amendment No. 1."
• Palm Beach Post Editorial Board: "This thoroughly unnecessary measure is on the ballot this November for a cynical reason. The group, Florida Citizen Voters, is hoping to attract conservative, anti-immigrant voters who might otherwise sit this election out."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Florida ballot measures

One committee was registered to support Amendment 1: Florida Citizen Voters. The committee reported $2.46 million in cash contributions and $5.84 million in in-kind contributions, all from Citizen Voters, Inc. The committee reported cash expenditures totaling $2.46 million.

Florida Citizen Voters reported cash and in-kind expenditures paid to the petition gathering company Let the Voters Decide totaling $7.86 million.

The Committee to Advance Constitutional Values registered to oppose Amendments 1, 3, and 4 on the 2020 ballot. The committee was funded mainly by the ACLU and the ACLU of Florida. The committee raised $1.92 million and spent $1.54 million. Since the committee registered to oppose three measures, it is not possible to distinguish between funds spent on each individual measure.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$2,459,559.60	$5,839,383.95	$8,298,943.55	$2,462,058.73	$8,301,442.68
Oppose	$1,448,315.33	$469,786.71	$1,918,102.04	$1,544,530.42	$2,014,317.13
Total	$3,907,874.93	$6,309,170.66	$10,217,045.59	$4,006,589.15	$10,315,759.81

Support

Committees in support of Amendment 1
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Florida Citizen Voters	$2,459,559.60	$5,839,383.95	$8,298,943.55	$2,462,058.73	$8,301,442.68
Total	$2,459,559.60	$5,839,383.95	$8,298,943.55	$2,462,058.73	$8,301,442.68

Top donors

Citizen Voters, Inc. provided 99.98% of the contributions to the support campaign.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Citizen Voters, Inc.	$2,457,559.60	$5,839,383.95	$8,296,943.55
Morning in America	$2,000.00	$0.00	$2,000.00

Opposition

Committees in opposition to Amendment 1
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Committee to Advance Constitutional Values	$1,448,315.33	$469,786.71	$1,918,102.04	$1,544,530.42	$2,014,317.13
Total	$1,448,315.33	$469,786.71	$1,918,102.04	$1,544,530.42	$2,014,317.13

Top donors

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
ACLU	$1,415,415.00	$112,932.54	$1,528,347.54
ACLU of Forida	$35,000.00	$356,854.17	$391,854.17
Fairness Maryland, Inc	$12,500.00	$0.00	$12,500.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls and 2020 ballot measure polls

Poll results regarding the measure are detailed below.

Florida Amendment 1, Citizen Requirement for Voting Initiative
Poll	Support	Oppose	Unsure	Margin of error	Sample size
Civiqs/Daily Kos poll 10/17/20 - 10/20/20	53.0%	39.0%	9.0%	+/-3.5	863
University of North Florida poll 10/1/20 - 10/4/20	78.0%	18.0%	2.0%	+/-1.8	3,055
St. Leo University Polling Institute 11/13/19 - 11/18/19	80.4%	10.4%	9.2%	+/-4.5	500
AVERAGES	70.47%	22.47%	6.73%	+/-3.27	1,472.67
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

As of 2019, neither Florida nor any of the state's local jurisdictions allowed non-citizens to vote in elections. Florida law provides that, in order to register to vote, one must be at least 18 years old, a citizen of the United States, and a legal resident of Florida and the county in which they are registering.

Non-citizen voting in the U.S.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting non-citizens from voting in federal elections, such as U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. Federal law did not address state or local elections.

Examples of localities that allow non-citizen voting

Voters in San Francisco approved a measure, Proposition N, in 2016 which allowed non-citizens to register to vote in school board elections. New York City allowed non-citizens to vote in local school board elections from 1968 to 2003 until the city abolished elected school boards. As of 2019, 11 cities in Maryland, including Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, and Takoma Park allowed non-citizens to vote. Chicago has allowed noncitizens to vote and serve on its school councils since 1989.

Similar measures in other states

See also: Suffrage on the ballot

Amendments to change constitutional language to explicitly require voters to be U.S. citizens were on the 2020 ballot in Alabama, Colorado, and Florida. A similar initiative was proposed in Maine targeting the 2020 ballot, though the effort in Maine was suspended as of October 16, 2019, citing fundraising difficulties.

Voters in North Dakota decided on a similar measure, Measure 2, in 2018. The measure amended the North Dakota Constitution to state that “only a citizen” rather than "every citizen" of the U.S. can vote in federal, state, and local elections. Measure 2 was approved by a vote of 66% to 34%. Gary Emineth, Republican candidate for District 35 of the North Dakota State Senate, sponsored the initiative. Emineth was also the chairman of North Dakotans for Citizen Voting, the group that led the campaign in support of Measure 2. Citizen Voters, Inc. listed North Dakota as one of the group's successes.

Arizona approved an amendment in 1962 that required voters in all elections to be U.S. citizens.

Constitutional language by state: citizenship and suffrage

All state constitutions mention United States citizenship when discussing who can vote in that state's elections. In 48 states, constitutional language discussing citizenship states who can vote (e.g. "every citizen" or "all citizens"), but does not state that non-citizens cannot vote. In Arizona and North Dakota, the states' constitutions provide that citizens, but not non-citizens, have the right to vote.

The following table lists what each state's constitution says regarding citizenship and the right to vote. Click the arrow to browse pages in the chart or search for a state within the chart.

Election policy on the ballot in 2020

In 2020, voters in 14 states voted on 18 ballot measures addressing election-related policies. One of the measures addressed campaign finance, one were related to election dates, five addressed election systems, three addressed redistricting, five addressed suffrage, and three addressed term limits.

Click Show to read details about the election-related measures on statewide ballots in 2020.

Election-related policy ballot measures in 2020

Campaign finance See also: Campaign finance on the ballot a Oregon Measure 107: Measure 107 authorizes the state legislature and local governments to (1) enact laws or ordinances limiting campaign contributions and expenditures; (2) require disclosure of contributions and expenditures; and (3) require that political advertisements identify the people or entities that paid for them. Going into the election, Oregon was one of five states with no limits on campaign contributions. Election dates a New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment allowed the state legislature to pass laws adjusting the election dates of state or county officeholders and adjusting office terms according to those date changes. Under the measure, laws proposing adjustments to election dates of non-statewide officeholders must be supported by a legislative finding that such a change would promote consistency or that it would evenly distribute the number of offices appearing on the ballot. Election systems a Alaska Ballot Measure 2: Ballot Measure 2 replaced the state's partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices and established ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election, in which voters would rank the candidates. Ballot Measure 2 also required persons and entities that contribute more than $2,000 that were themselves derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources, as defined in the law, of the political contributions. Colorado Proposition 113: In 2019, the Colorado State Legislature passed a bill to add Colorado to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). NPVIC member states have agreed to give the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote, provided the NPVIC goes into effect. The NPVIC was designed to go into effect if states representing at least 270 electoral votes join the NPVIC. The campaign Protect Colorado's Vote filed a veto referendum to overturn the law, which resulted in Proposition 113. On November 3, voters upheld the law and voted in favor of adding Colorado to the NPVIC. d Florida Amendment 3: Amendment 3 would have replaced Florida's closed primaries with top-two open primaries for elected state offices. Under Amendment 3, all candidates would have run in the same primary election. The top-two candidates, regardless of their partisan affiliation, would have moved on to the general election under Amendment 3. d Massachusetts Question 2: Question 2 would have enacted ranked-choice voting (RCV) for primary and general elections for state executive officials, state legislators, federal congressional representatives, and certain county offices. As of 2020, statewide elections in Massachusetts used a plurality voting system. a Mississippi Ballot Measure 2: As of 2020, Mississippi required that a candidate for governor or elected state office receive the most votes in a majority of the state's 122 state House of Representatives districts (known as the electoral vote requirement). Ballot Measure 2 repealed this requirement. Instead, Ballot Measure 2 provided that a candidate for governor or state office must receive a majority vote to win and that a runoff election would be held between the two highest vote-getters in the event that no candidate receives a majority vote. Redistricting See also: Redistricting measures on the ballot a Missouri Amendment 3: In 2018, Missouri voters approved Amendment 1, the Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative, which created the nonpartisan state demographer responsible for state legislative redistricting. Amendment 3 repealed the nonpartisan state demographer and returned the state to the use of bipartisan redistricting commissions, with changes to the number and selection of commissioners. The 2020 amendment also maintained the criteria of competitiveness and partisan fairness that was enacted in 2018, but it loosened the partisan fairness requirement and required that population, voter rights abridgment, contiguous districts, simple shapes, and the rules for counties be considered with a higher priority. a New Jersey Public Question 3: As of 2020, the New Jersey Constitution required the state legislative redistricting commission to pass a redistricting plan within a month of receiving the official census data. Question 3 postponed state legislative redistricting until after the election on November 2, 2021, should the state receive federal census data after February 15, 2021. The U.S. Census Bureau asked Congress to extend the deadline to deliver census data from April 1, 2021, to July 31, 2021, due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic. a Virginia Question 1: Question 1 transferred the power to draw the state's congressional and legislative districts from the state legislature to a redistricting commission composed of state legislators and citizens. Going into 2020, the Virginia General Assembly was responsible for drawing the state's congressional and state legislative district boundaries. The redistricting plans were passed as legislation and subject to the governor's veto power. Suffrage See also: Suffrage on the ballot a Alabama Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Alabama Constitution to state that "only a citizen of the United States," rather than "every citizen of the United States," who is 18 years old or older has the right to vote in Alabama. a California Proposition 17: Proposition 17 amended the state constitution to allow people with felonies who are on parole to vote; therefore, the ballot measure kept imprisonment as a disqualification for voting but removed parole status. Going into 2020, the California Constitution disqualified people with felonies from voting until the completion of their imprisonment and parole. d California Proposition 18: Proposition 18 would have allowed 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary elections and special elections. a Colorado Amendment 76: Amendment 76 amended the Colorado Constitution to state that “only a citizen”, instead of "every citizen", of the U.S. who is 18 years of age or older can vote in Colorado. Under the Colorado Votes Act, which went into effect in August 2019, individuals who are 17 years of age at the time of a primary election but who will be 18 years of age at the time of a general election were allowed to register to vote and vote in the primary election. According to the Colorado Blue Book, prevents 17-year-olds from voting. a Florida Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Florida Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida instead of saying that "every citizen" of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida. Term limits and term lengths See also: Term limits on the ballot a Arkansas Issue 2: Issue 2 changed term limits of state legislators to twelve consecutive years with the opportunity to return after a four-year break. The 12-year limit applied to anyone elected in 2021 or after. Going into 2020, Arkansas legislators could serve up to 16 years throughout their lifetimes in the House or Senate. d Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment would have increased the office terms of commonwealth's attorneys from six years to eight years starting in 2030; increased the office terms of district judges from four years to eight years starting in 2022; and changed attorney licensing requirements for district judges from two years to eight years beginning in 2022. d Missouri Amendment 1: Amendment 1 would have limited the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, and attorney general to two terms of office in a lifetime. Going into 2020, the state constitution limited the governor and state treasurer to two terms of office in a lifetime but not the other executive offices.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Florida

The state process

In Florida, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the preceding presidential election. Florida also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equaling at least 8% of the district-wide vote in the last presidential election be collected from at least half (14) of the state's 28 congressional districts. Signatures remain valid until February 1 of an even-numbered year. Signatures must be verified by February 1 of the general election year the initiative aims to appear on the ballot.

Proposed measures are reviewed by the state attorney general and state supreme court after proponents collect 25% of the required signatures across the state in each of one-half of the state's congressional districts (222,898 signatures for 2024 ballot measures). After these preliminary signatures have been collected, the secretary of state must submit the proposal to the Florida Attorney General and the Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC). The attorney general is required to petition the Florida Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on the measure's compliance with the single-subject rule, the appropriateness of the title and summary, and whether or not the measure "is facially invalid under the United States Constitution."

The requirements to get an initiative certified for the 2020 ballot:

• Signatures: 766,200 valid signatures
• Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was February 1, 2020. As election officials have 30 days to check signatures, petitions should be submitted at least one month before the verification deadline.

In Florida, proponents of an initiative file signatures with local elections supervisors, who are responsible for verifying signatures. Supervisors are permitted to use random sampling if the process can estimate the number of valid signatures with 99.5% accuracy. Enough signatures are considered valid if the random sample estimates that at least 115% of the required number of signatures are valid.

Details about the initiative

• The initiative was approved for circulation on November 28, 2018.
• The Division of Elections reported that Florida Citizen Voters had qualified for the ballot on September 19, 2019. Florida Citizen Voters submitted 927,908 valid signatures.
• The Florida Supreme Court ruled the measure was constitutional on January 16, 2020.

Cost of signature collection:
Sponsors of the measure hired Let the Voters Decide to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $7,864,029.60 was spent to collect the 766,200 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $10.26.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Florida

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Florida.

How to cast a vote in Florida

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times In Florida, all polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Florida is divided between the Eastern and Central time zones. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. To vote in Florida, one must be at least 18 years of age, a citizen of the United States, and a legal resident of Florida and the county in which he or she intends to vote. Pre-registration is available beginning at 16 years of age. Voters may retrieve registration applications at the following locations: Local elections offices Public assistance agencies Disability services agencies Independent living centers Military recruitment offices Public libraries Drivers license office Tax collector's office The office of any entity authorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to issue fishing, hunting, or trapping permits A registration form is also available online. The form can be printed and submitted via mail. Click here to find your county Supervisor of Elections. Automatic registration Florida does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Florida has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Voters may also apply for or modify their voter registration status while renewing their driver's license through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ online renewal system here. Same-day registration Florida does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Florida, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Florida does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "it is a 3rd degree felony to submit false information." All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The page Voter Information Lookup, run by the Florida Department of State, allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements Florida requires voters to present photo identification with a signature while voting. The following list of accepted ID was current as of July 2024. Click here for the Florida Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information. Florida driver’s license Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles United States passport Debit or credit card Military identification Student identification Retirement center identification Neighborhood association identification Public assistance identification Veteran health identification card issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs License to carry a concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to s. 790.06 Employee identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the federal government, the state, a county, or a municipality A voter who presents an ID without a signature must show a second form of identification that includes the voter’s signature.

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Suffrage on the ballot

Florida

• Florida ballot measures
• Florida ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Florida Division of Elections Booklet: Proposed Constitutional Amendments 2020 General Election
• Florida Division of Elections Booklet: Proposed Constitutional Amendments 2020 General Election
• Initiative 18-14 information
• Initiative 18-14 full text

Support

• Citizen Voters campaign website
• Citizen Voters Facebook page
• Florida Citizen Voters Twitter page

Opposition

Submit links to editor@ballotpedia.org.