Florida voters with new driver's licenses may need to update their voter registration information

Florida election officials and voting rights advocates want to get the word out now that if you’ve renewed or replaced your state driver’s license or state ID in the past year, that could affect your ability to vote by mail or have your signature on a petition ballot be counted.

The change in policy started more than year ago. Beginning on July 31, 2024, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles began implementing legislation that requires the distinguishing numbers assigned to a driver’s license or identification card to include at least four randomly generated numbers. The agency says the change was done “to improve security and safeguard individuals’ identities.”

That change means that when voters go online to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot, they could encounter error messages if their driver’s license information is out of sync with the information they supplied when registering to vote.

“The main problem is that information isn’t being forwarded to supervisor of elections or local elected officials, and that becomes an issue mainly for vote-by-mail voters and those signing petitions, because more recent laws have made strict requirements for ID numbers,” said Brad Ashwell, Florida director for All Voting Is Local.



https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/22/florida-voters-with-new-drivers-licenses-may-need-to-update-their-voter-registration-information/