Tag: florida

These 4 States Already Enacted SAVE Act Look-Alikes While John Thune Does Failure Theater

While the SAVE America Act continues to languish in the Senate under the supervision of Republican Leader John Thune, leaders and voters in several states have taken it upon themselves to secure their own elections from noncitizen voting.

The overwhelmingly popular SAVE America Act would amend U.S. election law to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and voter ID when casting a ballot in federal elections. Federal lawmakers in the GOP-led Senate have yet to advance the common-sense legislation or commit to a “talking filibuster” that would allow it to pass with a simple majority. Meanwhile, within recent weeks, several states enacted their own citizenship verification election laws. Others are set to vote on amendment language clarifying that “only” U.S. citizens can vote in elections.

Already Law

Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida’s own version of the SAVE Act into law last week. The law, which requires citizenship verification against REAL ID data when registering to vote, will go into effect in January of next year.

According to DeSantis’ office, the law also allows applicants to present proof confirming their eligibility, “establishes a clear process to identify and remove potentially ineligible noncitizens from voter rolls,” includes “explicit notice that submitting false voter registration information is a felony,” and mandates voting take place on paper ballots.

The state has adopted a number of election reforms since 2020, including stronger vote-by-mail safeguards, more secure ballot drop boxes, and stricter enforcement of election law, as DeSantis’ office noted.

Mississippi

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also signed election integrity legislation into law last week. Named the Safeguard Honesty Integrity in Elections for Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act, the law requires registration officials to check certain applicants’ information against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to determine if they are citizens. This verification is required for registration applicants who are flagged as potential noncitizens or who do not provide their driver’s license number when registering to vote. As in Florida, if an applicant is determined to be a potential noncitizen, he will be given a chance to present documentation that proves citizenship.

The law also requires the registrar to annually report to the secretary of state “[t]he number of registrants flagged by a SAVE system check” and the number taken off the rolls “following confirmation.”

This law will take effect in July, ahead of the 2026 midterms.

South Dakota

Ironically, Thune’s own state has moved faster than he has when it comes to ensuring only Americans vote in American elections. Gov. Larry Rhoden signed South Dakota’s SB 175 into law last month. According to SDPB Radio, the legislation “requires anyone registering to vote for the first time in the state to provide proof of citizenship,” like a driver’s license issued after July 1, 2025 (the state recently enacted a law mandating that citizenship status be denoted on driver’s licenses), or a copy of a birth certificate.

“In South Dakota, we do things right, especially when running our state elections,” Rhoden said in a statement. “This bill ensures only citizens vote in state elections, keeping our elections safe and secure.”

This law went into effect immediately.

Utah

Gov. Spencer Cox signed Utah’s HB 209 into law late last month, and it is set to take effect on May 6 — more than a month before the state’s primary election. The law requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote in state elections. If an applicant registers to vote using a “federal voter registration form” and does not provide documentary proof of citizenship as laid out in the law, that voter can only vote in federal races.

The law also dictates that “a review of voter registration records be conducted by July 1 this year,” as Time summarized it. Voters who are already registered but “whose citizenship cannot be verified in that review will be notified by election officials and have to provide proof of citizenship to stay on the rolls.”

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Meta To Comply With Florida Age Verification Digital ID Law

Meta agreed to comply with Florida’s age verification law, HB 3, and will begin purging accounts belonging to children under 14 starting in May. 

The company’s capitulation comes ahead of an April 8 deadline set by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who threatened litigation against any platform still refusing to verify the ages and identities of its users. Uthmeier is now pressuring Snapchat, Roblox, Discord, and TikTok to do the same.

What Florida calls child protection is also the construction of a statewide identity verification system for the internet. Meta is one of the biggest companies lobbying for age verification checks on the app store level.

HB 3 bans under-14s from social media entirely and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. But to block minors, platforms first need to determine who is and isn’t a minor. That means age-checking everyone, adults included. The surveillance burden falls on millions of people who have every legal right to use these services without proving who they are.

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BLOOD ON HER HANDS: Florida Moves to IMPEACH Radical Judge After Sickening Release of Predator Leads to Murder of 5-Year-Old Stepdaughter

Florida state leaders are moving to IMPEACH a judge accused of enabling a horrific child murder, after releasing a convicted sex offender back into the community.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has formally called on the Florida House to begin impeachment proceedings against Leon County Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper following the tragic killing of 5-year-old Missy Mogle.

The move comes just hours after Governor Ron DeSantis signed “Missy’s Law,” a sweeping reform designed to END the dangerous practice of releasing convicted criminals before sentencing.

The legislation, signed Tuesday in Tampa, is named after Melissa “Missy” Mogle, a child whose life was cut tragically short by a monster who should have been behind bars.

The facts of the case are as gut-wrenching as they are infuriating. Missy’s stepfather, Daniel Spencer, was already a “big-time scumbag” in the eyes of the law.

In April 2025, a jury found Spencer guilty of traveling to meet a minor for sex, a serious felony. Despite this conviction, and despite the desperate pleas of prosecutors who warned that Spencer was a danger to the community, Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper refused to revoke his bond.

She ignored the warnings. She ignored the victim’s safety. She chose to put a convicted pedophile back on the streets—and right back into the home with Missy.

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Judge Extends Restraining Order Against James O’Keefe, Asks Him to Surrender All Firearms

On Wednesday, a judge extended a restraining order against James O’Keefe until May 11 and asked him to surrender his firearms.

James was served with a restraining order while he was livestreaming at his West Palm Beach, Florida, headquarters on Tuesday.

The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Deputy served James with a domestic violence restraining order.

The domestic violence restraining order was from Matthew Tyrmand, a former Project Veritas board member.

“Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department just served me with a domestic violence restraining order from Matthew Tyrmand. The former board member from Project Veritas who said he wants to murder me,” James O’Keefe said.

“Despite admitting multiple times on hidden camera wanting me dead, Matthew Tyrmand filed a restraining order against ME in Miami Dade County,” O’Keefe said.

“Saying such things as: “I would kill him [O’Keefe]. Because he is one of the most evil people I’ve ever known.,”” he said.

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DeSantis Signs Florida Election Integrity Law Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a new election integrity bill into law, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and tightening voter ID standards across the state.

The measure, widely seen as Florida’s version of the federal SAVE America Act Republicans have so far failed to pass through Congress, will ensure only American citizens will be able to vote.

Most provisions will take effect after the upcoming midterm elections.

“This bill protects and expands integrity in our voter registration process,” DeSantis said upon signing the legislation.

“Our Constitution in the state of Florida says only American citizens are allowed to vote in our elections, so we need to make sure that is the law.”

Under the new law, election officials will verify a voter’s citizenship status after registration.

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Florida Flat Earther Arrested for Allegedly Murdering Neighbor

A Flat Earth enthusiast in Florida has been arrested for allegedly murdering his neighbor in a mysterious incident that has left authorities scratching their heads. The curious crime reportedly occurred last Thursday night when Jeffrey Blevins was shot outside his apartment in the community of Bartow. Citing a lack of security footage and the victim’s reputation as a “non-confrontational, easy-going guy,” cops investigating the case were initially stumped by the inexplicable killing until they began looking into his upstairs neighbor, David Richard Morris.

Upon learning that he was known to “brag about his gun while he was high on methamphetamine,” police searched his apartment and found what is believed to be the murder weapon and bloody clothes thought to have been working during the shooting. In announcing Morris’ arrest at a press conference on Monday morning, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd seemed mystified over the peculiar killing. “This guy is just a weirdo personality who ‘s not a real criminal,” he said of the suspected shooter, conceding that cops are at a loss as to why he committed the crime.

To that end, he did offer one rather weird revelation about Morris that investigators uncovered. “He has been described to us as a conspiracy theorist. He is what they call a ‘Flat Earther.’ He doesn’t believe the Earth is round,” Judd explained before quipping, “well, the floor in the county jail is flat anyway, and that’s where he is.” Morris has been charged with second-degree murder, with the possibility of that becoming first-degree, pending how the rest of the investigation unfolds.

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Palm Beach Elections Volunteer Arrested for Stealing Computer Equipment and Encrypted Access Key Ahead of Special Election Won by Democrat

A Palm Beach, Florida, elections volunteer was arrested for stealing computer equipment encrypted access key ahead of a special election where a Democrat won by 800 votes.

John Panicci was arrested on Friday for taking sensitive computer equipment and other supplies on March 19 ahead of the March 24 special election.

As previously reported, a Democrat flipped a Florida state house district that includes President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

Emily Gregory won state house district 87 in last Tuesday night’s special election.

President Trump won this district by 11 points in 2024.

Last Monday, ahead of the election, President Trump endorsed Republican Jon Maples for state house district 87.

However, Emily Gregory defeated Republican Jon Maples last Tuesday night.

NBC Miami reported:

A man accused of stealing election computer equipment in Palm Beach County was arrested on Saturday, authorities said.

John Panicci was charged with taking damaged computer equipment, supplies/electronic devices.

According to detectives, on Friday, they arrived at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office after receiving reports that sensitive computer equipment had been stolen.

During their investigation, detectives said that on March 19, the Elections Office was doing a training session for volunteers who were going to help with the election scheduled on March 24.

Detectives said that during the training session, Panicci stole an encrypted access key from a voter registration terminal.

The key that Panacci allegedly took was programmed only for the training databases, but there were concerns that if someone else could reverse engineer the encryption, they could then use it on a voter registration kiosk for malicious purposes.

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Cameras capture truckers unable to read road signs, answer basic questions during Florida crackdown

Fox News cameras were embedded with federal safety officials in North Florida, where a ride-along captured troubling encounters with truck drivers who couldn’t read road signs or communicate in English.

Shocking video showed investigators taking numerous truckers out of service for safety violations, with some drivers unable to read basic road signs or communicate in English.

During one encounter, a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) trooper asked a trucker how well he spoke English, to which he replied in Spanish.

When asked if the trucker could speak any English, he replied, “No.”

Troopers said that up to half of truckers at some Florida weigh stations cannot meet English proficiency requirements.

“I try to concentrate on the [signs] they have to read,” said FHP master trooper Craig Lents. “If you are going down the road at 70 miles per hour, and you see that sign, you only see it for a split second.”

In another encounter caught on video, a trooper asked a trucker what a road sign meant.

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Florida AG Warns NFL Against Race-Based Diversity Hiring

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier made it clear that he plans to challenge one of the most controversial practices in sports: an NFL rule that requires minority candidates to be interviewed for key coaching and front office decisions.

In a letter and an accompanying video released Wednesday, Uthmeier said he plans to challenge the so-called “Rooney Rule” used by the league, arguing it violates state law.

According to WPEC-TV in West Palm Beach, Uthmeier’s letter warned that the rule cannot be enforced on the three NFL teams based in Florida — the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — saying all three must “interview, hire, and train based on merit,” as should the NFL.

If the teams are subject to the rule “or any variation or extension thereof,” he warned, it “may result in a civil rights enforcement action.”

He also said that the NFL’s Coach & Front Office Accelerator Program and Mackie Development Program would “limit, segregate, and classify” candidates in a manner inconsistent with Florida law.

“My office is sending a letter to the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, regarding the league’s hiring practices — specifically, the use of the so-called ‘Rooney Rule,’ which requires NFL teams to interview candidates based on race,” he said in the social media video.

“The NFL’s use of the Rooney Rule violates Florida law by requiring race-based considerations in hiring. Florida law is clear: Hiring decisions cannot be based on race, and the Rooney Rule mandates race-based interviews and incentivizes race-based decisions.”

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DeSantis opens door on another presidential bid, ‘We’ll see’

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is opening the door to another presidential bid.  (R) said in an interview with Sean Hannity “we’ll see” about a future presidential bid.

“Will you run for president again?” he was asked by conservative news commentator and Fox News personality Sean Hanity, in a clip released Monday of an episode Tuesday of the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” podcast, according to the Miami Herald.

DeSantis, whose gubernatorial term ends next year, said, “We’ll see.”

The GOP governor lost badly in his party’s primary two years ago to eventual President Donald Trump. He only received 21% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses, then dropped out of the race before the primary in New Hampshire.

“In Iowa, the people that voted for Trump, if he wasn’t running, I would have gotten like 90% of those people,” DeSantis said. “They were conservative voters.”

Voters in Iowa “didn’t want the non-conservative,” DeSantis said. “They wanted me.”

“But the timing didn’t work out, obviously, for that. So, you just got to see what happens,” he added.

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