WCTV: New driver’s licenses could cause voting problems in Florida, unless you update your registration
By Cody Butler
You can update your voter registration online at the Florida Division of Elections website.
By Cody Butler
You can update your voter registration online at the Florida Division of Elections website.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Getting a new driver’s license in Florida could cause unexpected problems at the polls next year. Election supervisors say the issue is easy to fix, but only if voters update their registration information.
Florida requires driver’s license numbers for much of the election process, from signing petitions to requesting vote-by-mail ballots. If the number on file doesn’t match what’s on your current license, the system won’t recognize it.
“And if we don’t have those numbers on record that match, we would have to invalidate the petition signature,” explained driver Travis Hart.
Since July 2024, Floridians renewing or replacing their driver’s licenses have been issued new, randomized ID numbers. The cards look the same, photo, name, and address, but the number is different.
“A lot of Florida voters aren’t quite aware yet that they’re getting randomized driver’s license numbers anymore,” Hart said. “I figured I would die with my driver’s license number one day, but those have been changed now. At least four numbers within that driver’s license have to be randomized.”
Voting rights groups like VoteRiders Florida are urging residents to update their voter registration whenever they get a new license.
“We are lucky in the state of Florida that when you go and get a new ID in person, even when you do it online, you can select to update your voter record then,” said Taylor Ashley with VoteRiders Florida. “So we definitely recommend if you’re doing that in the future, just go ahead and select yes, you want to update your voter record.”[…]
Read the full article here.
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