If you get a new driver’s license, update your voter registration, too

A new driver’s license renewal program aimed at preventing fraud and identity theft is causing some upheaval for Floridians wishing to vote in upcoming elections. The new driver’s license and ID card renewal/replacement process churns out a random ID number. But that new number may not match the ID number on your voter registration.

If the numbers don’t match, voters could be forced to wait in a separate line at polling places to confirm their identification before casting a ballot. The glitch could slow the voting process and cause long waits in lines for future elections.

“What we’re finding is that the [driver’s license renewal] creates an outdated number being in our system,” says Janet H. Adkins, supervisor of elections for Nassau County.  

But Adkins stressed that voters can still cast their ballots.

“This will not prevent them from voting. Their voter registration is still valid,” she says. “It just means it’s not up to date. Our voter rolls are very important, and we want to make sure the information is accurate. We’re trying to make sure that voters need to know that, yes, you need to update your voter registration or ID when you renew your driver’s license or ID.”

A 2022 law authorized a new driver’s license renewal process to prevent fraud and identify theft of Florida driver’s licenses. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles began implementing the ID number randomization on July 31, 2024. Thousands of county residents each year renew their driver’s licenses or ID cards. In Florida, driver’s licenses must be renewed every eight years.

“This is an issue we will be addressing for, very likely, the next eight years,” Adkins says, noting that her office has filed a public records request to help identify voters who are renewing or replacing a driver’s license. “We are in the process of developing a plan to try to identify who those voters are over the next eight years so we can engage in some communication directly with them.”

There are several things Nassau County voters can do to help. Check to see if you have one of the new driver’s licenses or IDs with randomized numbers or if you still have the older cards.

“An easy way to know if you have an old or new number is this: You had two digits in the number that are your birth year. If you still see that, you know it’s an older number. If you don’t see the birth year, it’s a new number,” Adkins says.

Pay attention to when your driver’s license or ID card is up for renewal. The expiration date is listed on the credential. Florida driver's license holders may renew their credentials up to 18 months in advance of the expiration date, and ID card holders may renew 12 months in advance of the expiration date.

Anyone who seeks a driver’s license or ID renewal or replacement is offered an option to update their voter registration information during the process, whether they are renewing online or in person. However, Adkins says that many people who have a voter registration card already may skip that option, believing there is no need for an update.

“People are thinking, 'I haven’t moved and don’t want to change my party affiliation, so there’s nothing to update,’” she says.

You can also go to Vote Nassau Florida and click on the button that says Am I Registered? That will open a page that says Check My Voter & Ballot Status, where you can update your voter registration.

People who request a vote by mail ballot will still be able to cast their ballots, although those voters, too, should eventually update their voter registration information. “They are still going to get a ballot. But we want to make sure the voter record is up to date,” Adkins says.

The mismatched ID numbers could also affect whether signatures on petition ballots are counted. A law enacted earlier this year requires that registered voters signing citizen-led initiative petitions provide personal identification information, such as a driver’s license or Florida ID card. But Adkins’ office is still striving to make sure every petition signature counts.

“The new petitions require that identifying information — the last four of Social Security number or driver’s license or state ID number. If it does not match what we have in our system, we have a mechanism whereby we can go and check the DMV records and see if that is their correct number,” she says.