Florida Republicans had reason to be pleased with the state’s elections in 2020. Not only did GOP candidates excel at multiple levels, but the elections themselves were effectively controversy-free. The Sunshine State has traditionally billed itself as the gold standard in election administration, and 2020 was no exception.

But Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories fueled tiresome hysteria in partisan circles, leading Republican officials in the state to impose new restrictions to address a problem that didn’t exist. (Among the “reforms” was the creation of an Office of Election Crimes and Security, which Gov. Ron DeSantis intended to use to pursue election crimes that largely didn’t exist. This did not turn out well for anyone.)

Four years later, Florida Republicans had even more reasons to be pleased with the 2024 elections in the state. Trump won by double digits in the Sunshine State; Republican Sen. Rick Scott cruised to another term in a race Democrats tried to make competitive; and GOP candidates scored victories up and down the ballot. As the dust settled on the election cycle, Republicans controlled literally every statewide office in Florida.

There was clearly no reason for the party to impose yet more voting restrictions to address a problem that still doesn’t exist. And yet, readers can probably guess where this is going. The New York Times reported:

Republican state lawmakers in Florida passed a bill on Thursday that would require voters to verify their citizenship when registering and limit which forms of identification they can present at the polls. Critics say the new requirements would result in the removal of perhaps thousands of voters from the rolls and in the disenfranchisement of young voters.

The bill passed in the State House by a 77-28 vote, hours after clearing the State Senate. The votes in both chambers were along strict partisan lines, with all Democrats against the measure.

Note, this proposal no longer allows young adults to use college IDs to meet Florida’s voter ID law, specifically targeting a constituency that in recent decades has been a key part of the Democratic coalition.

The bill, intended to echo the so-called Save America Act that Trump is championing at the federal level, is now headed to the governor’s desk. DeSantis has already expressed his support for the proposal.

It’s important to emphasize that the GOP-imposed changes will not apply to the 2026 election cycle, and there is likely to be litigation between now and 2028 to challenge the overhaul in court.

But the unavoidable question remains: If Florida’s system of elections is among the nation’s best, and no one can find any meaningful problems with improper balloting, why in the world do Republicans keep putting new hurdles between the state’s voters and ballot boxes?

It’s possible that this is an elaborate effort to curry favor with Trump and assorted far-right conspiracy theorists, but the simplest explanation is that Florida Republicans intend to maintain their stranglehold on the increasingly red state by making it systematically harder for local citizens to vote.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.