Across the country, state lawmakers are introducing bills that would require documentary proof of citizenship, or DPOC, to register to vote or request a ballot. These proposals would force voters to provide physical documents, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers, before registering. These requirements are attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist while creating real barriers for eligible voters. 

Proponents of DPOC requirements have increased efforts to impose DPOC legislation at the state level, as federal efforts to require DPOC have failed. For example, federal attempts to pass the SAVE Act have been proposed (and failed) numerous times in Congress. 

Tell Your Reps to Oppose the SAVE Act

The battle over the SAVE Act isn’t the first time Congress has rejected proof-of-citizenship mandates. When Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), a landmark law that helps millions of eligible Americans register to vote at the DMV and other government agencies, it rejected efforts to require DPOC to register. In doing so, as outlined in this report, Congress determined that: 

 “(1) the right of citizens in the US to vote is a fundamental right, (2) it is the duty of the federal, state, and local governments to promote the exercise of that right, and (3) discriminatory or unfair registration laws and procedures have a direct and damaging effect on voter participation in elections for federal office and disproportionately harm voter participation by various groups, including racial minorities.”

Why DPOC Laws Are Unnecessary 

Non-citizen voting is already illegal in federal and state elections. Voter registration in all states requires applicants to attest to their citizenship. Every voter registration form also requires applicants to attest to their identity under penalty of perjury. Attempting to register to vote as a non-citizen also carries serious penalties like fines, jail time, and even deportation. Ultimately, there is no conceivable benefit to a non-citizen registering or voting. 

In the exceedingly rare instances in which non-citizens have been incorrectly registered to vote, it has been found that the mistakes were overwhelmingly unintentional rather than part of some insidious scheme. As shown by repeated investigations and academic studies, there is no evidence that suggests non-citizen voting is anything but a vanishingly rare occurrence, and DPOC bills do nothing to change who is eligible to vote. They only disenfranchise voters. 

The Proven Impact in States with DPOC 

Nine states currently require voters to present DPOC to register to vote in some cases, including Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Wyoming. They don’t all share the same exact requirements, though. 

Arizona, for example, requires voters to present DPOC to register to vote in state elections. Because this isn’t a requirement for federal elections, Arizona must have a dual registration system to handle both separate processes. Voters without DPOC, despite being eligible to vote and allowed to vote in federal races, are completely disenfranchised from their state-level elections.  

Because a handful of states have tried implementing DPOC requirements in the past, we have tangible evidence of the voter suppression caused by requiring proof of citizenship. For example, Kansas passed a law in 2011 that required proof of citizenship to register to vote. When the law went into effect in 2013, more than 31,000 eligible voters were prevented from registering. This law was declared unconstitutional by federal courts and is no longer enforced. Included in the evidence against the Kansas law was the state’s record that only 39 noncitizens had registered to vote in the decade prior to the case’s hearing, 1999-2012. 

DPOC Bills are Moving in Many States 

In 2026, we are seeing even more states attempt to pass DPOC legislation. They include: 

• Florida: SB 1334/HB 991 requires documentary proof of citizenship to vote. This was signed into law in 2026.
• Mississippi: the SHIELD Act includes these provisions as well, and was also signed into law in 2026.
• Utah:  HB 209 imposes documentary proof of citizenship requirements on voting and was signed into law in 2026.
• South Dakota: SB 175 requires individuals registering to vote to provide documentary proof of United States citizenship in order to register to vote in state elections. This was signed into law in 2026. 

We are watching closely for any DPOC bills that could be introduced in states where the requirement does not yet exist. 

Why DPOC Bills Hurt Voters 

Voting is a citizen's right in the United States, not a privilege only afforded to those with the resources to acquire burdensome documentary proof of citizenship. Millions of Americans don’t have a passport. Many others don’t have ready access to their birth certificate. Further, obtaining these documents can be very expensive and time-consuming.  

In many cases, with state-level DPOC bills,  many communities would be particularly impacted, including the following: 

• Naturalized citizens would be required to produce documentation that costs hundreds of dollars to obtain.
• Married women who changed their surnames may need to provide new documentation using their married name when they re-register.
• Tribal IDs could be considered invalid for failing to list a place of birth.
• Older, rural Americans might lack the necessary documents or transportation to obtain them.
• Military voters could face hurdles voting, as military IDs do not list citizenship status and military families are likely to move more frequently than the average voter, which requires presenting their DPOC to update voter registration. 

These are just some of the complications that could arise from these state-level DPOC bills, to say nothing of how they burden election officials. The task will fall to election workers to redundantly review, verify, and store these documents. In many county election offices, resources are already strained. DPOC requirements layer on new systems, new costs, and new processes, none of which will come out of thin air. This pressure will cause more delays and confusion than improve anything.  

Additionally, some of these bills expand criminal penalties related to voter registration and election activity, which could create a chilling effect on election workers and voter registration efforts. This further harms voters by reducing the likelihood that election workers will volunteer, due to fear of legal penalties.  

In addition to the direct harms they cause to voters and election officials, DPOC laws make it harder for civic engagement groups like the League to conduct voter registration drives. When volunteers are forced to navigate documentation requirements, often under threat of increased penalties, registration efforts slow drastically or stop altogether. This makes it harder to get people registered to vote in the first place, let alone cast their ballot. 

The League of Women Voters believes that elections should be free, fair, and accessible to every voter. DPOC bills that create unequal and unnecessary barriers to voting undermine our principles completely and totally.