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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to elections; amending s. 97.021, 2
F.S.; providing a definition; amending s. 101.015, 3
F.S.; requiring the Department of State to adopt rules 4
relating to the security of certain voting procedures; 5
requiring the department to create a certain manual; 6
requiring the department to adopt by rule certain 7
minimum security standards; requiring a county 8
canvassing board to enforce such standards; requiring 9
a county canvassing board to reconcile certain ballots 10
and forms; requiring the department to ado pt rules for 11
the physical security of election materials and 12
technology, absentee vote process reporting and 13
observation, and manual cross -checks for certain 14
systems; amending s. 101.131, F.S.; authorizing 15
political action committees and political committe es 16
to have poll watchers in polling rooms and early 17
voting areas; revising the date before which poll 18
watchers must be designated; revising the information 19
that must be on a poll watcher's identification badge; 20
prohibiting a poll watcher from wearing anoth er poll 21
watcher's identification badge; creating s. 101.132, 22
F.S.; authorizing certain persons to designate 23
watchers for absentee vote processing locations; 24
providing requirements for absentee vote processing 25
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location work areas and the number of watchers who may 26
observe in each area; providing requirements for such 27
watchers; requiring the department to adopt by rule a 28
certain manual; requiring the department to prescribe 29
certain forms; requiring a supervisor of elections to 30
accept certain forms; prohibitin g certain persons from 31
being designated as watchers; providing requirements 32
for watcher identification badges; amending s. 101.21, 33
F.S.; providing requirements for printed ballots and 34
voter certificate envelopes; requiring a supervisor of 35
elections to complete a certain report; requiring a 36
county canvassing board to review and approve such 37
report before an election is certified; amending s. 38
101.545, F.S.; requiring the retention of envelopes, 39
seals, and video recordings for a certain period; 40
authorizing the destruction of certain election 41
materials after a certain audit is completed; amending 42
s. 101.5614, F.S.; requiring certain information to be 43
entered on certain forms; requiring certain hand -44
counted audits; providing requirements for such 45
audits; prohibiting a tabulator from using networking 46
communication hardware; authorizing a supervisor to 47
collect certain data in a certain manner; requiring 48
certain ballots to be duplicated in the presence of 49
certain watchers; authorizing a duplicate to be made 50
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by hand duplication; authorizing certain persons to 51
observe the duplication of ballots; requiring a county 52
canvassing board to convene in the presence of certain 53
parties for certain discussions before certification 54
of the election; amending s. 101.595, F.S.; requir ing 55
a certain audit to be conducted after each election; 56
providing requirements for the audit; requiring the 57
department to adopt rules; amending s. 101.6103, F.S.; 58
requiring a supervisor of elections to mail ballots 59
with certain envelopes; requiring a supe rvisor of 60
elections to use separate postal service billing 61
permits for certain purposes; revising actions an 62
elector must take upon receipt of his or her ballot; 63
providing requirements for a voter certificate 64
envelope; requiring an elector who requests a 65
replacement ballot to provide certain identification; 66
revising the circumstances in which such a ballot is 67
counted; requiring a supervisor of elections to keep 68
such ballots stored in an area secured in a specified 69
manner; amending s. 101.6104, F.S.; requiri ng a ballot 70
to be treated in a certain manner upon county 71
canvassing board receipt of a challenge of a voter 72
certificate envelope or cure affidavit signature; 73
amending s. 101.62, F.S.; requiring a person 74
requesting a vote-by-mail ballot to provide and atte st 75
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to an allowed reason for such request; providing such 76
allowed reasons; requiring voters to provide certain 77
information in certain written requests for vote -by-78
mail ballots; removing certain applicability 79
provisions; providing information that a supervis or of 80
elections must record for each vote -by-mail ballot 81
request; revising a statement that must be marked on 82
certain envelopes; amending s. 101.64, F.S.; revising 83
the specified envelopes that a supervisor of elections 84
must enclose with a vote -by-mail ballot; revising the 85
voter's certificate; amending s. 101.65, F.S.; 86
revising the instructions that a supervisor of 87
elections must enclose with a vote -by-mail ballot; 88
amending s. 101.655, F.S.; requiring a supervisor of 89
elections to provide bipartisan supervise d voting for 90
certain absent electors at the request of certain 91
persons; providing requirements for the transportation 92
and chain of custody for ballots delivered to and 93
completed by certain absent voters; requiring a 94
supervised voting team to verify an elec tor's identity 95
in a certain manner; amending s. 101.68, F.S.; 96
requiring a supervisor of elections to subject a 97
certificate signature, a voter certificate envelope, 98
and ballot material to certain verification; requiring 99
a supervisor of elections to evaluate certain photo 100
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identification in a certain manner; requiring a county 101
canvassing board to complete the canvass of certain 102
ballots within a certain period; requiring a county 103
canvassing board to make certain ballot comparisons 104
according to certain records a nd reports; specifying 105
that certain identification is considered ballot 106
material and must be presented to certain persons; 107
providing that certain envelopes are considered 108
illegal; requiring logs of certain information to be 109
kept; requiring certain material s to be preserved in a 110
specified manner and reviewed for certain purposes; 111
requiring a supervisor of elections to provide direct 112
links to his or her website in certain circumstances; 113
revising the vote-by-mail cure affidavit; authorizing 114
certain persons to inspect certain materials; 115
requiring the review of certain materials in certain 116
circumstances; requiring a supervisor of elections to 117
provide certain persons with certain access to certain 118
ballot materials; prohibiting a supervisor of 119
elections from limiti ng the time available to certain 120
persons to complete a cure affidavit review during 121
certain periods; providing that a ballot for which a 122
cure affidavit protest is rejected shall be counted; 123
requiring county canvassing board minutes to contain 124
certain information; requiring a supervisor of 125
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elections to research certain electors to determine 126
their voter eligibility; providing that certain 127
information must be made available to certain persons; 128
amending s. 101.69, F.S.; revising the process for 129
marking certain returned ballots as canceled; 130
requiring certain materials to be submitted to the 131
Office of Election Crimes and Security for 132
investigation; revising locations at which secure 133
ballot intake stations may be placed; requiring 134
certain daily inspection of secure ballot intake 135
stations during early voting; subjecting a supervisor 136
of elections to a civil penalty in certain 137
circumstances; amending s. 101.6921, F.S.; revising 138
the specified envelopes that a supervisor of elections 139
must enclose with a vote -by-mail ballot; revising the 140
voter's certificate; amending s. 101.6923, F.S.; 141
revising the instructions that a supervisor of 142
elections must enclose with certain vote -by-mail 143
ballots; amending s. 102.012, F.S.; requiring a 144
supervisor of elections to recruit absentee vo te 145
processing workers; requiring such workers to 146
subscribe to an oath or affirmation and meet certain 147
qualifications; amending s. 102.014, F.S.; requiring a 148
supervisor of elections to conduct required training 149
for absentee vote processing workers; requirin g the 150
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department to develop certain uniform training 151
procedures for use by supervisors of elections; 152
requiring such workers to demonstrate a working 153
knowledge of certain laws and procedures; requiring a 154
supervisor of elections to appoint a replacement for 155
such a worker in certain circumstances; prohibiting an 156
absent vote processing worker from working in a work 157
area unless he or she completes certain minimum 158
training requirements; requiring the department to 159
create and adopt by rule an absentee vote process ing 160
procedures manual; providing requirements for such 161
manual; requiring the department to revise the manual 162
as necessary; amending s. 102.141, F.S.; revising 163
county canvassing board composition; authorizing a 164
supervisor of elections to appoint a municipal 165
official as a substitute member of the county 166
canvassing board; requiring a specified quorum of the 167
county canvassing board for certain proceedings; 168
requiring real-time video monitoring of county 169
canvassing board meetings; requiring meeting minutes 170
to be published on the supervisor of elections' 171
website; requiring the county canvassing board to 172
review certain reports each day and take certain 173
actions; requiring the county canvassing board to 174
review certain information before certifying an 175
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election; requiring the county canvassing board to 176
address certain discrepancies in a certain manner; 177
requiring a special election in certain circumstances; 178
authorizing the removal from office of the supervisor 179
of elections in certain circumstances; requiring a 180
manual recount to use original paper ballots and voter 181
certificate envelopes in certain circumstances; 182
revising requirements for a county canvassing board 183
conducting a recount; amending s. 102.166, F.S.; 184
authorizing a candidate to request a manual recount of 185
certain votes after a first set of unofficial returns 186
in certain circumstances; revising the percentage of 187
votes by which a candidate is defeated upon which a 188
manual recount of certain votes is required; providing 189
requirements for such recounts; authorizing certai n 190
governmental entities to request a manual recount in 191
certain circumstances; requiring a certain audit to be 192
conducted upon delivery of a certain petition; 193
providing requirements for such audit; requiring a 194
manual audit in certain races for which a specif ied 195
discrepancy exists; conforming a cross -reference; 196
amending s. 104.21, F.S.; providing that an election 197
worker who changes certain envelope information or 198
markings commits a misdemeanor; providing criminal 199
penalties; providing criminal penalties; creati ng s. 200
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104.291, F.S.; providing that a poll worker who wears 201
the poll worker identification badge of another 202
commits a misdemeanor; providing criminal penalties; 203
amending s. 104.30, F.S.; providing that a person who 204
prints certain ballots or voter certifica te envelopes 205
without authorization commits a felony; providing 206
criminal penalties; providing an effective date. 207
208
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 209
210
Section 1. Subsections (25) through (47) of section 211
97.021, Florida Statutes , are renumbered as subsections (26) 212
through (48), respectively, and a new subsection (25) is added 213
to that section, to read: 214
97.021 Definitions. —For the purposes of this code, except 215
where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term: 216
(25) "Other election system" means any information 217
technology other than a voting system which is used in the 218
election process and which is capable of adding, deleting, or 219
modifying ballots or votes or which stores critical election 220
data. The term includes hosted tec hnologies and service 221
providers that store or have access to critical election data. 222
The term also includes, but is not limited to, the voter 223
registration system, electronic precinct registers, tabulation 224
systems, mail sorters, election night reporting sys tems, ballot 225
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tracking solutions, and future technologies integrated into the 226
election process. 227
Section 2. Subsections (5), (6), and (7) of section 228
101.015, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (9), 229
(10), and (11), respectively, subsections ( 3) and (4) and 230
present subsection (6) are amended, and new subsections (5), 231
(6), and (7) are added to that section, to read: 232
101.015 Standards for voting systems. — 233
(3) The Department of State shall adopt rules to achieve 234
and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, 235
and efficiency, and security of the procedures of in-person and 236
absentee voting, including write -in voting, and of counting, 237
tabulating, and recording votes by voting systems and other 238
election systems used in this state. 239
(4)(a) The Department of State shall adopt rules 240
establishing minimum security standards for voting systems and 241
create an absentee ballot processing manual adopted by rule that 242
is composed of such standards . The standards, at a minimum, must 243
address the following: 244
1. chain of custody of ballots, including chain of custody 245
forms and procedures for ballots returned by mail, secure ballot 246
intake stations, in-person return, or facsimile, which extend 247
through the work areas of the absentee vote counting locatio n 248
and to storage. Chain of custody standards must: 249
1. Enable monitoring of the ballot transport and receiving 250
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process by the county canvassing board and monitoring of 251
precertification audits and postcertification procedural audits. 252
2. Include validatio n and reporting by the county 253
canvassing board on a daily basis during the election that the 254
required chain of custody forms are properly completed, that 255
chain of custody is not broken, that any exceptions are noted 256
with an action plan to resolve, and that sent and received 257
ballot quantities and seals match and are consistent with the 258
seal number ranges and ballot transport container numbers 259
assigned to particular locations. Such validation and reporting 260
shall include objective measures for determining ball ot 261
quantities received at the vote counting location and to 262
determine quantities when moved between work areas of the vote 263
counting location. 264
3. Require that appropriate corrective measures as 265
determined by the department be taken immediately when the ch ain 266
of custody is broken. Such measures must include notification 267
and reasonable steps to correct the issue, employee education, 268
disciplinary actions, reassignment, penalties, or criminal 269
referral. 270
4. Provide definitions for and examples of acts that 271
constitute an excessive transport time; a broken seal; a marking 272
that is not legally binding, such as overwritten data entry 273
without proper notation; missing or disparate ballot quantities; 274
and other circumstances that constitute a broken chain of 275
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custody. 276
5. Prohibit the comingling of absentee ballots from a 277
secure ballot intake station, the United States Postal Service, 278
in-person return at the supervisor's office or vote counting 279
location, or facsimile until the chain of custody validation is 280
completed from each source. 281
6. When return ballot postage is prepaid by a supervisor, 282
require the supervisor to have separate post office billing 283
permits dedicated to and used exclusively for outgoing ballots 284
and returned ballots to enable auditing. Post office bill ing 285
records must be reconciled on a daily basis with the number of 286
absentee ballots sent to and received from the United States 287
Postal Service. The supervisor may not use the post office 288
billing permits required under this sub -subparagraph for mailing 289
of other items. 290
7. When return ballot postage is not prepaid by a 291
supervisor, require the supervisor to employ other means to 292
reconcile the number of completed ballots transported between 293
the post office box and the absentee vote counting location or 294
have the ballots delivered directly to the absentee vote 295
counting location. 296
8. Require that ballots returned by registered mail be 297
accepted and tracked in a log used for auditing purposes, if the 298
supervisor or voter chooses to pay for the service. 299
9. Require chain of custody forms for completed ballots 300
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from secure intake stations to include fields for the following: 301
a. The address of the secure ballot intake station 302
location and ballot transport container number. 303
b. Date and time. 304
c. Verification that th e secure ballot intake station was 305
empty at the beginning of the day with one verifier from each 306
major political party who shall sign and print his or her name 307
and then write either "empty" or " not empty" to reflect the 308
state in which he or she found the intake receptacle. 309
d. The printed names and signatures of two persons who 310
count the ballots in the secure ballot intake station for 311
transport at the close of the day's authorized voting hours, 312
place the ballots in an assigned ballot transport container, and 313
place a seal on the ballot transport container. 314
e. The seal number placed on the ballot transport 315
container. 316
f. The printed names and signatures of two transporters 317
accepting custody of the sealed voter certificate envelopes and 318
the seal number observed. 319
g. The transport vehicle type and license plate number. 320
h. Transporter departure time, the seal number on the 321
ballot transport container, and checkbox that the seal is intact 322
at the handoff. 323
i. The printed names and signatures of two vote coun ting 324
center staff accepting custody of the voter certificate 325
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envelopes from transporters, the date, time, the seal number, 326
checkbox that the seal is intact, the quantity counted and 327
method used to count. 328
j. The ballot transport container number. 329
k. Explanations for form anomalies or missing data, 330
including excessive transport times, which includes any 331
documented period of transport that exceeds 12 hours. 332
10. Require the supervisor to be notified if a ballot is 333
found in the secure ballot intake station at the beginning of 334
the day. The supervisor shall research the origin of the ballot 335
and if the supervisor determines that the ballot was placed in 336
the intake receptacle during authorized voting hours during the 337
previous day, the ballot shall be processed. If the supervisor 338
determines that the ballot was placed in the intake receptacle 339
outside of authorized voting hours or that the ballot envelope 340
does not display a valid county election serial number, the 341
supervisor shall notify the voter that his or her b allot may not 342
be counted unless it is cured, send the voter instructions to 343
complete a cure affidavit, and refer the matter to the Office of 344
Election Crimes and Security for investigation. 345
11. Provide that the facsimile used to send and receive 346
uniformed and overseas voter ballots may only be used for that 347
function, and the facsimile transmission logs shall be printed 348
daily, retained, and made available to the county canvassing 349
board, state and county inspectors and auditors, and public 350
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watchers. 351
12. Require the maintenance of ballot -on-demand print 352
logs. The logs must be made available to the county canvassing 353
board, state and county inspectors and auditors, and public 354
watchers. 355
13. Require, after the county canvassing board completes 356
the daily validation of the chain of custody, the number of 357
absentee ballots received at the vote counting location by 358
source to be posted daily on the supervisor's website. Any chain 359
of custody or validation issues must be noted in the daily chain 360
of custody report, ente red into the county canvassing board's 361
minutes, and reported to the department. 362
14. Require each ballot and envelope to have a unique 363
county election serial number. The unique county election serial 364
number must include at least 11 digits. The first 2 dig its must 365
identify the county and the next 4 digits must identify the 366
month and year of the election. Such numbers may not be repeated 367
for 5 years. A supervisor must ensure that vendors are properly 368
allocated distinct ranges of numbers and that produced mat erials 369
contain only the allocated ranges of numbers before the ballots 370
and envelopes are mailed. Additional security measures must be 371
implemented to protect ballots from being illegally duplicated, 372
distributed, or inserted, including the sourcing of ballot s and 373
envelopes to separate vendors. 374
(b) The standards included in the absentee ballot 375
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processing manual shall be enforced by the county canvassing 376
board before opening voter certificate envelopes and by audit 377
before election certification with disciplin ary penalties for 378
noncompliance. The county canvassing board manual must include 379
monitoring of the chain of custody of ballots and portable 380
storage media, manual cross -check reports, and manual count 381
procedures. 382
(c) Before certifying an election, the cou nty canvassing 383
board shall reconcile the number of ballots transported from 384
secure ballot intake stations, the United States Postal Service, 385
in-person return at the supervisor's office or vote counting 386
location, and facsimile with the number of absentee ba llots 387
counted. The county canvassing board shall also reconcile the 388
chain of custody forms with the number of ballots transported 389
from the vote counting location to storage and the number of 390
ballots counted. Both reconciliation reports require approval by 391
the Department of State before certification of the election and 392
must be promptly published on the supervisor's website. 393
(5) The Department of State shall develop rules for the 394
physical security of election materials and technology, which 395
must include all of the following: 396
(a) Standards for building security at absentee vote 397
counting locations. Electronic badge access must be required to 398
gain access to the absentee vote counting location and to secure 399
storage areas within the building. All employees and visitors, 400
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including vendors, must be required to visibly wear photo 401
identification badges at all times. 402
(b) An absentee vote counting location must be in the 403
supervisor of election's office or a standalone building that 404
may include gated fencing. Absent ee vote counting locations must 405
have video surveillance of all building and parking lot entries 406
and exits. 407
(c) Cable and other ports must be sealed on all systems 408
left unattended overnight at any early voting location. 409
(d) Secure ballot intake station standards which require 410
the secure ballot intake station to be located inside polling 411
places or main and, if used, branch offices of a supervisor. A 412
supervisor may only use a brand or model of secure ballot intake 413
station that the Department of State has c ertified as secure. 414
Secure ballot intake stations must be inspected and audited by 415
bipartisan state or county teams accompanied by public watchers. 416
(e) Ballots must be transported by at least two persons, 417
each representing a different major political par ty. A duplicate 418
copy of the ballot transport form must be placed inside the 419
ballot transport container before the container is sealed. 420
(f) Once received at a vote counting location, a sealed 421
ballot transport container must be stored in a secured area 422
under video surveillance and only accessible by electronic badge 423
access. Compliance shall be validated by the county canvassing 424
board with public observation. 425
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(g) A prohibition of the opening of any sealed container 426
of completed ballots without observati on by members of both 427
major parties and the public. 428
(h) Portable storage media must be stored in a secured 429
area under video surveillance and only accessible by electronic 430
badge access. 431
(i) Chain of custody of ballots, including a detailed 432
description of forms and procedures to create a complete record 433
of custody of ballots and paper outputs, must begin with the 434
ballot design and the receipt of ballots from all sources until 435
such time as the ballots are destroyed. 436
(6) The Department of State shall adop t rules providing 437
absentee vote process reporting and observation requirements of 438
the supervisor of elections to state, county, and public 439
preelection inspectors, election monitors, preelection 440
certification audits, and postelection certification procedura l 441
audits. The rules shall include: 442
(a) Reporting during and after the election cycle. 443
(b) Video viewing, video streaming of all ballot 444
processing, video recording storage, and public records requests 445
for video recordings. 446
(c) In-person observation. 447
(d) United States Postal Service liaison and monitoring. 448
(e) A ballot accounting report that shall be completed by 449
the supervisor and reviewed by the canvassing board before 450
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election certification. The ballot accounting report shall 451
reconcile: 452
1. The number of ballots tabulated in precincts, the 453
number of voters that checked in, and the number of ballots 454
counted during each day of early voting and election day. 455
2. The number of absentee ballots tabulated in the 456
absentee vote processing location each day and the chain of 457
custody form ballot totals from secure ballot intake stations, 458
the United States Postal Service, facsimile logs, and in -person 459
drop off each day. 460
3. The number of absentee ballots mailed out equals the 461
number of outbound ballots bill ed by the post office. 462
4. The number of ballots acquired or printed, including 463
ballot-on-demand ballots, equals the number of ballots used, 464
unused, spoiled, duplicated, and unreturned. 465
(f) Audits must be conducted by bipartisan state and 466
county audit teams with public observation to confirm that the 467
required chain of custody forms and processes are in compliance. 468
Such audits shall include examination of post office billing 469
records, fax logs, and chain of custody forms. The rules must 470
provide for disciplinary actions and criminal referrals when 471
appropriate. The rules shall require that if it is determined in 472
a postcertification audit that the number of ballots involved in 473
chain of custody breaches in an election exceed the margin of 474
victory in any race in that election, such race shall be deemed 475
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invalid and a special election must be held to fill the office 476
in accordance with chapter 100. If an audit failure is 477
determined to be due to chain of custody mismanagement, an audit 478
failure report shall be generat ed by the Secretary of State and 479
made available to the public and the supervisor may be 480
disciplined or removed from office. 481
(7) The Department of State shall adopt rules that include 482
manual cross-checks for legacy systems and systems that have 483
networking or other communication capability to ensure that such 484
systems have not been compromised by unauthorized changes in 485
settings, data manipulation, or malware. The rules must include: 486
(a) Early voting sites shall reconcile and report daily at 487
the close of authorized voting hours the: 488
1. Number of ballots tabulated by precinct tabulator as 489
calculated by subtracting the cumulative tabulator count at the 490
end of the prior day from the cumulative count of the current 491
day. 492
2. Number of completed ballots process ed through the 493
precinct tabulator and transported to storage. 494
3. Number of voters who checked in to the precinct. 495
4. Number of blank ballots processed through precinct 496
tabulator. All blank ballots must be placed in a separate 497
envelope to enable auditin g. 498
(b) After the polls are closed on the first day of early 499
voting and on election day, precinct poll workers shall conduct 500
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a hand-count audit of both a randomly chosen race and the race 501
for the highest office on the ballot. In view of the public, 502
ballots shall be placed in stacks according to the candidate 503
chosen on the ballots for that race. Those ballots shall be 504
hand-counted by a poll worker from each of the two largest 505
political parties and the candidate choice verified. This 506
process must be repeated as necessary until the hand count 507
totals from each poll worker match. Hand count totals must be 508
noted and compared to the machine count. Any discrepancies must 509
be flagged and reported to the supervisor of elections office 510
and posted for the public. The su pervisor must verify any 511
discrepancies over the next 3 days with interested members of 512
the public and at least one person from each major political 513
party present. If the supervisor determines that there is a 514
discrepancy, all ballots for the entire precinct must be hand 515
counted and those results, once verified, shall override the 516
machine count. 517
(c) During each day of absentee ballot canvassing, 518
election workers shall at least once daily conduct hand -count 519
cross-checks for each tabulator of a randomly chose n race on 520
batches of ballots. In view of the public, ballots must be 521
placed in stacks according to the candidate chosen on the 522
ballots for that race. Those ballots shall be hand counted and 523
verified and any discrepancies flagged, reported, and verified 524
according to the process required under paragraph (b). If the 525
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supervisor determines that there is a discrepancy, all ballots 526
for the entire precinct must be hand counted and those results, 527
once verified, shall override the machine count. Any tabulator 528
that produces erroneous results must be taken out of service 529
until the cause of the error is determined and corrected. When 530
random batches are analyzed the contents of output sorter bins 531
must be inspected to validate proper sorting. 532
(d) If an automated signatur e verification system is used, 533
the settings must be verified and documented four times each 534
day. The settings shall be corrected if the settings are found 535
to be out of compliance. After such verification and, if 536
necessary, correction, signatures on 20 vote r certificates must 537
be compared manually to determine if the signature verification 538
algorithm is functioning properly. If there is a discrepancy, 539
signatures must be verified manually until the system is 540
replaced or the cause of the issue is determined and corrected. 541
The employee performing this verification must sign and print 542
his or her name, the date, the time, and the outcome. 543
(e) If an automated target duplication is utilized, four 544
times each day, 20 original ballots must be compared to the 545
original ballot displayed on the duplication machine console to 546
ensure that the ballot is correctly displayed. If the display is 547
inconsistent, duplication must be completed manually until the 548
cause of the issue is determined and corrected. 549
(f) If an outbound mail assembly and sorter is used, the 550
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transfer of outgoing ballots from the dock shall be under video 551
surveillance. After each batch is assembled and sorted, the 552
batch report quantity must be compared to the number of ballots 553
received at the dock as determined by weight. 554
(g) If an inbound mail sorter is utilized, the number of 555
inbound envelopes processed daily must be compared to the number 556
of ballots received at the dock as documented in chain of 557
custody forms from secure ballot intake stations and the United 558
States Postal Service. 559
(h) The voter registration database must be analyzed 560
monthly for registration anomalies. Any anomalies shall be 561
investigated and corrected. The database must be backed up daily 562
using a method that preserves the history of any chan ges made in 563
a manner that allows for restoration to previous versions of the 564
history at any time. The supervisor shall use a department -565
approved storage device that uses technologies such as write 566
once, read many, or "WORM," as appropriate. The supervisor must 567
immediately, automatically, and securely transmit to the 568
department an identical copy of the database backup. The 569
supervisor and the department must each retain the database 570
backup for at least 5 years. Such backups may be used by 571
internal auditors, i ndependent third party auditors, major 572
political parties, and the public for the purpose of auditing 573
voter registration transactions. 574
(i) Any changes or additions made in the 60 -day period 575
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preceding election day must be tracked and audited by an 576
independent auditor. Audit reports shall be made available to 577
the public at no charge and must include mode and location of 578
unauthorized new registrations, registration updates, or 579
deletions occurring in the 60 -day period preceding election day, 580
and the voted status of every registrant registered to vote in 581
the election. A person may not be removed from the voter roll 582
until the audit is complete. An archived dataset shall be 583
maintained of persons removed from the voter roll which includes 584
each person's voting histo ry for auditing purposes. The archived 585
dataset shall be included on request with any distribution of 586
the voter roll. 587
(j) If new technologies are tested during an election, the 588
supervisor shall post, in a conspicuous location visible to the 589
public within the vote counting center and all election 590
locations, a notice providing the location, date, and time of 591
such testing. All machines and election equipment in testing 592
shall clearly be labeled as such. 593
(k) Procedures for manual counts, which must include fo r 594
video recording and public observation. a detailed description 595
of procedures to create a complete written record of the chain 596
of custody of ballots and paper outputs beginning with their 597
receipt from a printer or manufacturer until such time as they 598
are destroyed. 599
2. Transport of ballots, including a description of the 600
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method and equipment used and a detailed list of the names of 601
all individuals involved in such transport. 602
3. Ballot security, including a requirement that all 603
ballots be kept in a locke d room in the supervisor's office, a 604
facility controlled by the supervisor or county canvassing 605
board, or a public place in which the county canvassing board is 606
canvassing votes until needed for canvassing and returned 607
thereafter. 608
(8)(a)(b)1. Each supervisor shall establish written 609
procedures to assure accuracy and security in his or her county, 610
including procedures related to early voting pursuant to s. 611
101.657. Such procedures shall be reviewed in each odd -numbered 612
year by the department. 613
(b)2. Each supervisor shall submit any revisions to the 614
security procedures to the department at least 45 days before 615
early voting commences pursuant to s. 101.657 in an election in 616
which they are to take effect. 617
(10)(6) All electronic and electromechanical voting 618
systems purchased on or after January 1, 1990, must meet the 619
minimum standards established under subsection (1). All 620
electronic and electromechanical voting systems in use on or 621
after July 1, 1993, must meet the minimum standards established 622
under subsection (1) or subsection (9) (5). 623
Section 3. Subsections (1), (2), and (5) of section 624
101.131, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 625
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101.131 Watchers at polls. — 626
(1) Each political party , political action committee, 627
political committee, and each candidate may have one watcher in 628
each polling room or early voting area at any one time during 629
the election. A political committee formed for the specific 630
purpose of expressly advocating the passage or defeat of an 631
issue on the ballot may have one watche r for each polling room 632
or early voting area at any one time during the election. A No 633
watcher may shall be permitted to come as close closer to the 634
officials' table, tabulator, secure ballot intake station, or 635
the voting booths as than is reasonably necessary to properly 636
perform his or her functions, and but each shall be allowed 637
within the polling room or early voting area to watch and 638
observe the conduct of electors and officials. The poll watchers 639
shall furnish their own materials and necessities and sh all not 640
obstruct the orderly conduct of any election. The poll watchers 641
shall pose any questions regarding polling place procedures 642
directly to the clerk for resolution. Poll watchers They may not 643
interact with voters. Each poll watcher shall be a qualifie d and 644
registered elector of the county in which he or she serves. 645
(2) Each political party, political action committee, each 646
political committee, and each candidate requesting to have poll 647
watchers shall designate, in writing to the supervisors of 648
elections, on a form prescribed by the division, before noon of 649
the second Tuesday preceding the election poll watchers for each 650
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polling room on election day. Designations of poll watchers for 651
early voting areas shall be submitted in writing to the 652
supervisor of elections, on a form prescribed by the division, 653
before noon on the 5th business day at least 14 days before 654
early voting begins. The poll watchers for polling rooms shall 655
be approved by the supervisor of elections on or before the 656
Tuesday before the elec tion. Poll watchers for early voting 657
areas shall be approved by the supervisor of elections no later 658
than 7 days before early voting begins. The supervisor shall 659
furnish to each election board a list of the poll watchers 660
designated and approved for such po lling rooms or early voting 661
areas. Designation of poll watchers shall be made by the chair 662
of the county executive committee of a political party, the 663
chair of a political action committee, the chair of a political 664
committee, or the candidate requesting to have poll watchers. 665
(5) The supervisor of elections shall provide to each 666
designated poll watcher an identification badge which identifies 667
the poll watcher by first name and last initial. Each poll 668
watcher must wear his or her identification badge while 669
performing his or her duties. A poll watcher may not wear 670
another poll watcher's identification badge. A poll watcher who 671
wears another poll watcher's identification badge shall be 672
reported to the supervisor and may be removed from the premises 673
for the day. 674
Section 4. Section 101.132, Florida Statutes, is created 675
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to read: 676
101.132 Watchers at absentee vote processing locations. — 677
(1) Each political party, political action committee, 678
political committee, and candidate may designate one absentee 679
vote processing watcher to observe in each of the following work 680
areas of the absentee vote counting location or any other 681
location at any time during the election process where the 682
following functions are performed: 683
(a) Outgoing ballot assembly, sorting, and mailing. 684
(b) Secure ballot intake stations. 685
(c) Transport vehicle loading and unloading. 686
(d) Incoming ballot receiving and sorting. 687
(e) An automated voter certificate envelope signature 688
verification process. 689
(f) A manual voter certificate envelop e signature review 690
process. 691
(g) Staff signature review of cure affidavits. 692
(h) Voter certificate envelope opening. 693
(i) Duplication. 694
(j) Tabulation. 695
(2)(a) Each work area shall be designed and arranged in 696
advance by the supervisor to provide adequ ate space for at least 697
four watchers at any given time. Different watchers may observe 698
simultaneously on behalf of a candidate, political party, 699
political action committee, or political committee in different 700
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work areas. 701
(b) If more than two party, polit ical action committee, 702
political committee, or candidate watchers are designated to 703
observe in a specified work area with limited space in the same 704
time period, the first two watchers from each major party for 705
which designations are received shall be allow ed to observe. 706
(c) Two public watchers may also be present in each work 707
area at any given time. If more than two public watchers request 708
to observe in a specified work area with limited space in the 709
same time period, the first two watchers from different 710
political parties for which requests are received shall be 711
allowed to observe. 712
(d) If a work area is not large enough to accommodate at 713
least four watchers, the supervisor may employ alternate methods 714
to enable meaningful observation by a watcher, inclu ding the use 715
of video, mirrored displays, cat walks, or viewing windows. The 716
department must provide criteria for determining whether an 717
alternate observation method enables meaningful observation. 718
(e) When direct observation of manual processes or machine 719
operators is conducted, each work area is limited to one watcher 720
for each staff member conducting operations. 721
(f) Work area watchers may come as close as is reasonably 722
necessary to properly observe workers and technology without 723
impeding workflow. The absentee vote processing location 724
watchers shall furnish their own materials and necessities and 725
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may not obstruct the orderly conduct of any election. Watchers 726
shall pose any questions regarding absentee vote processing 727
procedures directly to the wor k area supervisor for resolution. 728
Watchers may not provide work direction to absentee vote 729
processing personnel, but may occasionally ask questions for 730
understanding and offer personal greetings. Each watcher must be 731
a qualified and registered elector of t he county in which he or 732
she serves. The department must establish a telephone hotline 733
through which a watcher may report violations of law, including 734
required security standards, and submit a work ticket to a state 735
official. 736
(g) The department shall adopt by rule an absentee vote 737
processing manual that includes guidelines for meaningful 738
observation and reporting for all methods of observation. 739
(3)(a) The department shall prescribe an absentee vote 740
processing watcher request form that allows a person to request 741
to serve as an absentee vote processing watcher at any given 742
location and an absentee vote processing watcher designation 743
form that allows a candidate, political action committee, 744
political committee, or political party to designate a watcher 745
for a specific work area. 746
(b) A request to serve as a watcher for candidate, 747
political action committee, political committee, or political 748
party shall be accepted by the supervisor if received at least 5 749
days, including weekends, before the first day of r equested 750
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observation. A watcher may complete a form for multiple 751
candidates, political action committees, political committees, 752
or political parties. A watcher is not required to be a member 753
of or align with a political party to observe vote processing 754
activities. 755
(c) Public requests to be absentee vote processing 756
watchers shall be accepted by the supervisor if received at 757
least 5 days, including weekends, before the first day of 758
requested observation. A watcher may alternate between work 759
areas and participate on any day of the absentee vote counting 760
process without notice. 761
(d) Different watchers may observe election activities 762
occurring simultaneously on behalf of any candidate, political 763
party, political action committee, or political committee. A 764
watcher who has previously completed an absentee vote processing 765
watcher request form that is filed with the supervisor may 766
substitute for another watcher without prior notice. 767
(e) A watcher may be relieved by another watcher 768
designated for the same politica l party, political action 769
committee, political committee, or candidate whenever necessary. 770
(f) The supervisor shall furnish to each canvassing board 771
member a list of watchers for whom an absentee vote processing 772
watcher request form has been approved and for whom an absentee 773
vote processing watcher designation form has been received. 774
Designation forms shall be completed by the chair of the county 775
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executive committee of each political party, chair of a 776
political action committee, chair of a political commi ttee, or 777
candidate. 778
(4) No candidate or sheriff, deputy sheriff, police 779
officer, or other law enforcement officer may be designated as 780
an absentee vote processing watcher. 781
(5) An absentee vote processing watcher may enter into and 782
watch operations in a ny work area listed in subsection (1) if 783
the number of watchers in the work area does not exceed the 784
number recommended by the department or the voting center 785
capacity safety recommendations by the local fire department. 786
(6) The supervisor of elections s hall provide to each 787
designated absentee vote processing watcher an identification 788
badge that identifies the watcher by first name and last 789
initial. Each watcher must wear his or her identification badge 790
while performing his or her duties. The designated a bsentee vote 791
processing watcher badge must be surrendered to the supervisor 792
at the end of the day. 793
Section 5. Section 101.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to 794
read: 795
101.21 Official ballots; number; printing; payment. — 796
(1) Where applicable, The supervisor of elections shall 797
determine the actual number of ballots and voter certificate 798
envelopes to be printed for each election. The ballots and voter 799
certificate envelopes must be sourced from different vendors and 800
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the voter certificate envelopes must hav e serial numbers or 801
other markings that may be used to detect unauthorized printing 802
or submission of illegal envelopes . 803
(2) The supervisor of elections must complete a ballot, 804
envelope, and seal accounting report before an election may be 805
certified. The ballot, envelope, and seal accounting report must 806
reconcile the number of ballots printed by an official printer 807
or in-house with the number of ballots: 808
(a) Distributed to absentee voters. 809
(b) Distributed to in -person voting sites. 810
(c) Completed and received from absentee voters. 811
(d) Completed and received from in -person voting sites. 812
(e) Distributed but not returned from absentee voters. 813
(f) Distributed and returned unvoted from in -person voting 814
sites. 815
(g) Not distributed. 816
(h) Spoiled. 817
(i) Used for duplication. 818
(j) Placed in storage at the end of the election as voted 819
or unvoted. 820
(3) Review and approval of the ballot, envelope, and seal 821
accounting report shall be completed and reconciled by the 822
county canvassing board before the electi on is certified and by 823
a state or county auditing team after the election is certified. 824
Purchase order records of marksense paper, ballots, and 825
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envelopes as well as print -on-demand and facsimile records shall 826
be made available to auditors and the public at no charge. 827
(4) The printing and delivery of ballots and cards of 828
instruction shall, in a municipal election, be paid for by the 829
municipality, and in all other elections by the county. 830
Section 6. Section 101.545, Florida Statutes, is amended 831
to read: 832
101.545 Retention and destruction of certain election 833
materials.—All ballots, envelopes, seals, video recordings, 834
forms, and other election materials shall be retained in the 835
custody of the supervisor of elections for a minimum of 22 836
months after an election and in accordance with the schedule 837
approved by the Division of Library and Information Services of 838
the Department of State. All unused ballots, envelopes, seals, 839
forms, and other election materials may, with the approval of 840
the Department of State, be destroyed by the supervisor after 841
the election for which such ballots, envelopes, seals, forms, or 842
other election materials were to be used after a 843
postcertification audit is completed and published on the 844
supervisor's website . 845
Section 7. Section 101.5614, Florida Statutes, is amended 846
to read: 847
101.5614 Canvass of returns. — 848
(1) As soon as the polls are closed, the election board 849
shall secure the voting devices against further voting. The 850
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election board shall thereafter, in the presence of members of 851
the public desiring to witness the proceedings, verify the 852
number of voted ballots, unused ballots, provisional b allots, 853
and spoiled ballots to ascertain whether such number corresponds 854
with the number of ballots issued by the supervisor. If there is 855
a difference, this fact shall be reported in writing to the 856
county canvassing board with the reasons therefor if known . The 857
total number of voted ballots shall be entered on the forms 858
provided. The number of ballots processed through the tabulator 859
on election day, the number of blank ballots processed through 860
the tabulator, and the number of persons checking in at the 861
precinct shall also be entered on the forms provided. Precinct 862
poll workers shall then conduct a hand -count audit of a randomly 863
chosen race. Ballots must be placed in stacks according to the 864
candidate chosen on the ballots for that race. Those ballots 865
shall be hand-counted by two poll workers from different 866
political parties and candidate choice verified in the process. 867
Totals shall be noted and compared to the machine count. Any 868
discrepancies must be flagged and reported to the supervisor of 869
elections office and noted on the poll tape posted for the 870
public. The supervisor must verifying any discrepancies over the 871
next 3 days with interested members of the public and a member 872
of each party present. If the supervisor determines that there 873
is a discrepancy, all b allots for the entire precinct must be 874
hand counted using the original paper ballots and those results, 875
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once verified, shall override the machine counts. The number of 876
tickets printed to receive ballots must be compared with the 877
number of persons noted by the electronic precinct register 878
system as checked in and any discrepancies must be resolved or 879
documented. The proceedings of the election board at the 880
precinct after the polls have closed shall be open to the 881
public; however, no person except a member of the election board 882
shall touch any ballot or ballot container or interfere with or 883
obstruct the orderly count of the ballots. 884
(2) The results of ballots tabulated at precinct locations 885
may be provided to the county canvassing board transmitted to 886
the main computer system for the purpose of reconciliation of 887
chain of custody and compilation of complete returns. The 888
tabulator may not use networking communication hardware. 889
However, the supervisor may collect preliminary precinct 890
election results data from t abulators using a portable storage 891
device secure from manipulation, such as a write once, read 892
many, or "WORM," device, and insert the data into a secure 893
computer dedicated to transmitting such data to the elections 894
office. The security guidelines for tran smission of returns 895
shall conform to rules adopted by the Department of State 896
pursuant to s. 101.015. 897
(3) For each ballot or ballot image on which write -in 898
votes have been cast, the canvassing board shall compare the 899
write-in votes with the votes cast on the ballot; if the total 900
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number of votes for any office exceeds the number allowed by 901
law, such votes shall not be counted. All valid votes shall be 902
tallied by the canvassing board. 903
(4)(a) If any vote-by-mail ballot is physically damaged so 904
that it cannot properly be counted by the voting system's 905
automatic tabulating equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be 906
made of the damaged ballot in an open and accessible room in the 907
presence of watchers from at least two different political 908
parties witnesses and substituted for the damaged ballot. 909
Likewise, a duplicate ballot shall be made of a vote -by-mail 910
ballot containing an overvoted race if there is a clear 911
indication on the ballot that the voter has made a definite 912
choice in the overvoted race or ballot measu re. A duplicate 913
shall include all valid votes as determined by the canvassing 914
board based on rules adopted by the division pursuant to s. 915
102.166(8) s. 102.166(4). A duplicate may be made of a ballot 916
containing an undervoted race or ballot measure if there is a 917
clear indication on the ballot that the voter has made a 918
definite choice in the undervoted race or ballot measure. A 919
duplicate may not include a vote if the voter's intent in such 920
race or on such measure is not clear. Upon request, candidates, 921
political party officials, and political committee officials, 922
and authorized designees thereof, and public watchers a 923
physically present candidate, a political party official, a 924
political committee official, or an authorized designee thereof, 925
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must be allowed to observe the duplication of ballots upon 926
signing an affidavit affirming his or her acknowledgment that 927
disclosure of election results discerned from observing the 928
ballot duplication process while the election is ongoing is a 929
felony, as provided under subsection (8). The observer must be 930
allowed to observe the duplication of ballots in such a way that 931
the observer is able to see the markings on each ballot and the 932
duplication taking place. All duplicate ballots must be clearly 933
labeled "duplicate," bear a serial number which shall be 934
recorded on the defective ballot, and be counted in lieu of the 935
defective ballot. The duplication of ballots must happen in the 936
presence of at least one canvassing board member and watchers 937
from at least two diff erent political parties . After a ballot 938
has been duplicated, the defective ballot shall be placed in an 939
envelope provided for that purpose, and the duplicate ballot 940
shall be tallied with the other ballots for that precinct. If 941
any observer makes a reasonab le objection to a duplicate of a 942
ballot, the ballot must be presented to the canvassing board for 943
a determination of the validity of the duplicate. The canvassing 944
board must document the serial number of the ballot in the 945
canvassing board's minutes. The ca nvassing board must decide 946
whether the duplication is valid. If the duplicate ballot is 947
determined to be valid, the duplicate ballot must be counted. If 948
the duplicate ballot is determined to be invalid, the duplicate 949
ballot must be rejected and a proper du plicate ballot must be 950
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made and counted in lieu of the original. 951
(b) A true duplicate copy shall be made of each federal 952
write-in absentee ballot in the presence of watchers witnesses 953
and substituted for the federal write -in absentee ballot. A 954
duplicate may be made by hand duplication observed by watchers 955
of both major political parties. The duplicate ballot must 956
include all valid votes as determined by the canvassing board 957
based on rules adopted by the division pursuant to s. 102.166(8) 958
s. 102.166(4). All duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled 959
"duplicate," bear a serial number that shall be recorded on the 960
federal write-in absentee ballot, and be counted in lieu of the 961
federal write-in absentee ballot. After a ballot has been 962
duplicated, the federal w rite-in absentee ballot shall be placed 963
in an envelope provided for that purpose, and the duplicate 964
ballot shall be tallied with other ballots for that precinct. 965
(5) If there is no clear indication on the ballot that the 966
voter has made a definite choice for an office or ballot 967
measure, the elector's ballot shall not be counted for that 968
office or measure, but the ballot shall not be invalidated as to 969
those names or measures which are properly marked. 970
(6) Vote-by-mail ballots may be counted by the voting 971
system's automatic tabulating equipment if they have been marked 972
in a manner which will enable them to be properly counted by 973
such equipment. 974
(7) The return printed by the voting system's automatic 975
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tabulating equipment, to which has been added the return of 976
write-in, vote-by-mail, and manually counted votes and votes 977
from provisional ballots, shall constitute the official return 978
of the election upon certification by the canvassing board. Upon 979
completion of the count, the returns shall be open to the 980
public. A copy of the returns may be posted at the central 981
counting place or at the office of the supervisor of elections 982
in lieu of the posting of returns at individual precincts. 983
(8) Any supervisor of elections, deputy supervisor of 984
elections, canvassing bo ard member, election board member, 985
election employee, or other person authorized to observe, 986
review, or inspect ballot materials or observe canvassing who 987
releases any information about votes cast for or against any 988
candidate or ballot measure or any resul ts of any election 989
before the closing of the polls in that county on election day 990
commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in 991
s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 992
(9) The county canvassing board shall officially convene 993
in the presence of candidate, designees of political action 994
committees, political committees, or political parties, and the 995
public to discuss all election results and the necessary next 996
steps required to officially determine election results, 997
including recounts, runof fs, hand counts, audits or any other 998
activities necessary before certification of the election. 999
Section 8. Subsection (4) is added to section 101.595, 1000
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Florida Statutes, to read: 1001
101.595 Analysis and reports of voting problems. — 1002
(4) A postcertificat ion procedural audit must be conducted 1003
after each election. The department shall adopt rules for the 1004
conduct of such audit, which must include the audit of each of 1005
the following: 1006
(a) Chain of custody forms and procedures. 1007
(b) Signature verification on vote-by-mail ballot 1008
requests, voter certificate envelopes, and curing. 1009
(c) Handling of public inspector protests and challenges. 1010
(d) Canvassing board duties. 1011
(e) Physical security. 1012
(f) All blank ballots, under -voted ballots, overvoted 1013
ballots, provisional ballots, and all other ballots that were 1014
separated from the main bin by the tabulator or that require 1015
separate adjudication or handling for any reason. Such ballots 1016
must be hand-counted to ensure the number of ballots equals the 1017
number shown on the reports. 1018
(g) Seal accounting and management. 1019
Section 9. Section 101.6103, Florida Statutes, is amended 1020
to read: 1021
101.6103 Mail ballot election procedure. — 1022
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7), the 1023
supervisor of elections shall mail all official ballots with a 1024
voter certificate envelope, an identification secrecy envelope, 1025
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a return mailing envelope, and instructions sufficient to 1026
describe the voting process to each elector entitled to vote in 1027
the election within the timeframes specifi ed in s. 101.62(3). 1028
All such ballots must be mailed by first -class mail. If the 1029
supervisor of election pays return ballot postage, two United 1030
States Postal Service permit billing accounts must be used, with 1031
one account used solely for outbound ballots and the other 1032
account solely used for returned ballots. Ballots must be 1033
addressed to each elector at the address appearing in the 1034
registration records and placed in an envelope which is 1035
prominently marked " Return Service Requested Do Not Forward." 1036
(2) Upon receipt of the ballot the elector shall read the 1037
instructions, mark the ballot, place only the completed ballot 1038
in the voter certificate it in the secrecy envelope, sign his or 1039
her name as it appears in the voter registration system on the 1040
signature line on the return mailing envelope supplied with the 1041
ballot, and comply with the instructions provided with the 1042
ballot. The elector shall place a copy of the required 1043
identification into the identification envelope and place the 1044
voter certificate envelope and th e identification envelope into 1045
the return mailing envelope. Alternatively, the voter may place 1046
the voter certificate envelope in a voter provided envelope and 1047
send it by registered mail at the voter's expense to the 1048
supervisor of election's office or the a ddress listed on the 1049
return envelope. The elector shall mail, deliver, or have 1050
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delivered the marked ballot so that it reaches the supervisor of 1051
elections no later than 7 p.m. on the day of the election. The 1052
ballot must be returned in the sealed and signed voter 1053
certificate return mailing envelope. 1054
(3) The voter certificate return mailing envelope shall 1055
contain a statement in substantially the following form: 1056
1057
VOTER'S CERTIFICATE 1058
I, ...(Print Name)..., do solemnly swear (or 1059
affirm) that I am a qualified voter in this election 1060
and that I have not and will not vote more than one 1061
ballot in this election. 1062
I understand that failure to sign this 1063
certificate and give my residence address will 1064
invalidate my ballot. 1065
...(Date)... 1066
...(Printed Name) 1067
...(Signature)... 1068
...(Residence Address)... 1069
...(E-mail Address[Optional])... 1070
...(Home Telephone Number [Optional])... 1071
...(Cellular Telephone Number [Optional])... 1072
1073
(4) If the ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not 1074
received by the elector, the elector may obtain a replacement 1075
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ballot from the supervisor of elections as provided in this 1076
subsection. An elector seeking a replacement ballot shall 1077
provide tier 1 identification and sign a sworn statement that 1078
the ballot was destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received and 1079
present such statement to the supervisor of elections before 1080
prior to 7 p.m. on the day of the election. The supervisor of 1081
elections shall verify the signature on the sworn statement and 1082
keep a record of each replacement ballot provided under this 1083
subsection. 1084
(5) A ballot shall be counted only if: 1085
(a) It is returned in the voter certificate return mailing 1086
envelope bearing the elector's signature ; 1087
(b) A copy of a photo identification is placed into the 1088
identification envelope and, if the voter is require d to provide 1089
additional documentation under s. 101.68, such documentation is 1090
placed into the identification envelope; 1091
(c) The voter certificate envelope and the identification 1092
envelope are placed into the return mailing envelope or a voter -1093
provided envelope that is sent by registered mail to the 1094
supervisor of election's office or the address listed on the 1095
return mailing envelope; 1096
(d)(b) The elector's signature has been verified as 1097
provided in this subsection; and 1098
(e)(c) It is received by the supervisor of elections not 1099
later than 7 p.m. on the day of the election. 1100
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1101
The supervisor of elections shall verify the signature of each 1102
elector on the voter certificate return mailing envelope with 1103
the signature on the elector's r egistration records. Such 1104
verification may commence at any time before prior to the 1105
canvass of votes. The supervisor of elections shall safely keep 1106
the ballot stored in a secure area only accessible by electronic 1107
badge and under video surveillance unopened in his or her office 1108
until the county canvassing board canvasses the vote. If the 1109
supervisor of elections determines that an elector to whom a 1110
replacement ballot has been issued under subsection (4) has 1111
voted more than once, the canvassing board shall det ermine which 1112
ballot, if any, is to be counted. 1113
(6) The canvassing board may begin the canvassing of mail 1114
ballots as provided by s. 101.68(2)(a). The criminal penalty 1115
specified in that paragraph for the release of results before 7 1116
p.m. on election day is also applicable to canvassing conducted 1117
under this act. The canvassing of mail ballots shall be open for 1118
public observation. 1119
(7) With respect to absent electors overseas entitled to 1120
vote in the election, the supervisor of elections shall mail an 1121
official ballot with a voter certificate secrecy envelope, a 1122
return mailing envelope, and instructions sufficient to describe 1123
the voting process to each such elector on a date sufficient to 1124
allow such elector time to vote in the election and to have his 1125
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or her marked ballot reach the supervisor by 7 p.m. on the day 1126
of the election. 1127
(8) A ballot that otherwise satisfies the requirements of 1128
subsection (5) shall be counted even if the elector dies after 1129
mailing the ballot but before election day, as long as, before 1130
prior to the death of the voter, the ballot was: 1131
(a) Postmarked by the United States Postal Service; 1132
(b) Date-stamped with a verifiable tracking number by 1133
common carrier; or 1134
(c) Already in the possession of the supervisor of 1135
elections. 1136
Section 10. Section 101.6104, Florida Statutes, is amended 1137
to read: 1138
101.6104 Challenge of votes. —If any elector present for 1139
the canvass of votes believes that any ballot is illegal due to 1140
any defect apparent on the voter's certificate, the elector may, 1141
at any time before the ballot is removed from the envelope, file 1142
with the canvassing board a protest against the canvass of such 1143
ballot, specifying the reason he or she believes the ballot to 1144
be illegal. No challenge based upon any defect on the voter's 1145
certificate shall be accepted after the ballot has been removed 1146
from the return mailing envelope. When a challenge of a voter 1147
certificate envelope or cure affidavit signature is received, 1148
the ballot shall be segregated; left uncounted and, if 1149
applicable, unopened; logg ed; and treated as provisional to be 1150
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reviewed before the end of canvassing. A challenger shall be 1151
given an identification number for the challenged ballot or 1152
envelope, as applicable. This identification number and the 1153
final disposition of the ballot must b e logged for use in 1154
procedural audits. 1155
Section 11. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1), 1156
subsection (2), and paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section 1157
101.62, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1158
101.62 Request for vote -by-mail ballots.— 1159
(1) REQUEST.— 1160
(a) The supervisor shall accept a request for a vote -by-1161
mail ballot only from a voter or, if directly instructed by the 1162
voter, a member of the voter's immediate family or the voter's 1163
legal guardian. A request may be made in person, in writing, by 1164
telephone, or through the supervisor's website. The department 1165
shall prescribe by rule by October 1, 2023, a uniform statewide 1166
application to make a written request for a vote -by-mail ballot 1167
which includes fields for all information required in this 1168
subsection. An allowed reason for requesting a vote -by-mail 1169
ballot must be provided and attested to. Allowable reasons 1170
include that the voter is confined to his or her home or 1171
otherwise physically unable to vote in person, which the voter 1172
must attest to by presenting an affidavit provided by a medical 1173
doctor; that the voter will be out of state during the entire 1174
voting period, which the voter must attest to by providing proof 1175
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of his or her out-of-state location; that the voter is 80 years 1176
of age or older; or that the voter is enrolled in an educational 1177
institution outside of the county in which he or she is 1178
registered, which the voter must attest to by providing proof of 1179
enrollment. One request is deemed sufficient to receive a vote -1180
by-mail ballot for all elec tions through the end of the calendar 1181
year of the next regularly scheduled general election, unless 1182
the voter or the voter's designee indicates at the time the 1183
request is made the elections within such period for which the 1184
voter desires to receive a vote -by-mail ballot. The supervisor 1185
must cancel a request for a vote -by-mail ballot when any first -1186
class return-service requested mail or nonforwardable mail sent 1187
by the supervisor to the voter is returned as undeliverable. If 1188
the voter requests a vote -by-mail ballot thereafter, the voter 1189
must provide or confirm his or her current residential address 1190
in a written request that includes the voter's signature and the 1191
voter's Florida driver license number, the voter's Florida 1192
identification card number, or the last f our digits of the 1193
voter's social security number . 1194
(b) If the voter's request meets the criteria under 1195
paragraph (a), the supervisor may accept a request for a vote -1196
by-mail ballot to be mailed to a voter's address on file in the 1197
Florida Voter Registration System from the voter, or, if 1198
directly instructed by the voter, a member of the voter's 1199
immediate family or the voter's legal guardian. If an in -person 1200
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or a telephonic request is made, the voter must provide the 1201
voter's Florida driver license number, the voter's Florida 1202
identification card number, or the last four digits of the 1203
voter's social security number, whichever may be verified in the 1204
supervisor's records. If the ballot is requested to be mailed to 1205
an address other than the voter's address on file i n the Florida 1206
Voter Registration System, the request must be made in writing. 1207
A written request must be signed by the voter and include the 1208
voter's Florida driver license number, the voter's Florida 1209
identification card number, or the last four digits of th e 1210
voter's social security number. However, an absent uniformed 1211
services voter or an overseas voter seeking a vote -by-mail 1212
ballot is not required to submit a signed, written request for a 1213
vote-by-mail ballot that is being mailed to an address other 1214
than the voter's address on file in the Florida Voter 1215
Registration System. The person making the request must 1216
disclose: 1217
1. The name of the voter for whom the ballot is requested. 1218
2. The voter's address. 1219
3. The voter's date of birth. 1220
4. The voter's Florida driver license number, the voter's 1221
Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of 1222
the voter's social security number, whichever may be verified in 1223
the supervisor's records. If the voter's registration record 1224
does not already include the vot er's Florida driver license 1225
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number or Florida identification card number or the last four 1226
digits of the voter's social security number, the number 1227
provided must be recorded in the voter's registration record. 1228
5. The requester's name. 1229
6. The requester's address. 1230
7. The requester's driver license number, the requester's 1231
identification card number, or the last four digits of the 1232
requester's social security number, if available. 1233
8. The requester's relationship to the voter. 1234
9. The requester's signatur e (written requests only). 1235
(2) ACCESS TO VOTE-BY-MAIL REQUEST INFORMATION. —For each 1236
request for a vote-by-mail ballot received, the supervisor shall 1237
record the following information: the date the request was made; 1238
the identity of the voter's designee mak ing the request, if any; 1239
the Florida driver license number, Florida identification card 1240
number, or last four digits of the social security number of the 1241
voter provided with a written request; the date the vote -by-mail 1242
ballot was delivered to the voter or t he voter's designee or the 1243
date the vote-by-mail ballot was delivered to the post office or 1244
other carrier; the address to which the ballot was mailed or the 1245
identity of the voter's designee to whom the ballot was 1246
delivered; the date the ballot was received by the supervisor; 1247
the absence of the voter's signature on the voter's certificate, 1248
if applicable; whether the voter's certificate contains a 1249
signature that does not match the voter's signature in the 1250
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registration books or precinct register; whether the voter was 1251
notified of the signature mismatch and sent instructions to 1252
complete a cure affidavit; and such other information he or she 1253
may deem necessary. This information must be provided in 1254
electronic format as provided by division rule. The information 1255
must be updated and made available no later than 8 a.m. of each 1256
day, including weekends, beginning 60 days before the primary 1257
until 15 days after the general election and shall be 1258
contemporaneously provided to the division. This information is 1259
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and shall be made 1260
available to or reproduced only for the voter requesting the 1261
ballot, a canvassing board, an election official, a political 1262
party or official thereof, a candidate who has filed 1263
qualification papers and is oppose d in an upcoming election, and 1264
registered political committees for political purposes only. 1265
(3) DELIVERY OF VOTE -BY-MAIL BALLOTS.— 1266
(d) Upon a request for a vote -by-mail ballot, the 1267
supervisor shall provide a vote -by-mail ballot to each voter by 1268
whom a request for that ballot has been made, by one of the 1269
following means: 1270
1. By nonforwardable, return -if-undeliverable mail to the 1271
voter's current mailing address on file with the supervisor or 1272
any other address the voter specifies in the request. The 1273
envelopes must be prominently marked " Return Service Requested 1274
Do Not Forward." 1275
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2. By forwardable mail, e -mail, or facsimile machine 1276
transmission to absent uniformed services voters and overseas 1277
voters. The absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter 1278
may designate in the vote -by-mail ballot request the preferred 1279
method of transmission. If the voter does not designate the 1280
method of transmission, the vote -by-mail ballot must be mailed. 1281
3. By personal delivery to the voter after vote -by-mail 1282
ballots have been mailed and up to 7 p.m. on election day upon 1283
presentation of the identification required in s. 101.043. 1284
4. By delivery to the voter's designee after vote -by-mail 1285
ballots have been mailed and up to 7 p.m. on election day. Any 1286
voter may designate in w riting a person to pick up the ballot 1287
for the voter; however, the person designated may not pick up 1288
more than two vote-by-mail ballots per election, other than the 1289
designee's own ballot, except that additional ballots may be 1290
picked up for members of the de signee's immediate family. The 1291
designee shall provide to the supervisor the written 1292
authorization by the voter and a picture identification of the 1293
designee and must complete an affidavit. The designee shall 1294
state in the affidavit that the designee is autho rized by the 1295
voter to pick up that ballot and shall indicate if the voter is 1296
a member of the designee's immediate family and, if so, the 1297
relationship. The department shall prescribe the form of the 1298
affidavit. If the supervisor is satisfied that the designe e is 1299
authorized to pick up the ballot and that the signature of the 1300
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voter on the written authorization matches the signature of the 1301
voter on file, the supervisor must give the ballot to that 1302
designee for delivery to the voter. 1303
5. Except as provided in s. 101.655, the supervisor may 1304
not deliver a vote-by-mail ballot to a voter or a voter's 1305
designee pursuant to subparagraph 3. or subparagraph 4., 1306
respectively, during the mandatory early voting period and up to 1307
7 p.m. on election day, unless there is an emer gency, to the 1308
extent that the voter will be unable to go to a designated early 1309
voting site in his or her county or to his or her assigned 1310
polling place on election day. If a vote -by-mail ballot is 1311
delivered, the voter or his or her designee must execute an 1312
affidavit affirming to the facts which allow for delivery of the 1313
vote-by-mail ballot. The department shall adopt a rule providing 1314
for the form of the affidavit. 1315
Section 12. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (1) and 1316
subsection (5) of section 101.64, Florida Statutes, are amended 1317
to read: 1318
101.64 Delivery of vote -by-mail ballots; envelopes; form. — 1319
(1)(a) The supervisor shall enclose with each vote -by-mail 1320
ballot instructions on completing and returning a ballot, a 1321
voter certificate envelope, an identification envelope, and a 1322
return two envelopes: a secrecy envelope, into which the absent 1323
elector shall enclose his or her marked ballot; and a mailing 1324
envelope, into which the absent elector shall then place the 1325
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voter certificate secrecy envelope, which shall be addressed to 1326
the supervisor and also bear on the back side a certificate in 1327
substantially the following form: 1328
1329
Note: Please Read Instructions Carefully Before 1330
Marking Ballot and Completing Voter's Certificate. 1331
VOTER'S CERTIFICATE 1332
I, ...., do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a 1333
qualified and registered voter of .... County, 1334
Florida, and that I have not and will not vote more 1335
than one ballot in this election. I understand that if 1336
I commit or attempt to commit any fraud in connection 1337
with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot, or vote more 1338
than once in an election, I can be convicted of a 1339
felony of the third degree and fined up to $5,000 1340
and/or imprisoned for up to 5 years. I also understand 1341
that failure to sign this certificate will invalidate 1342
my ballot. 1343
...(Date)... 1344
...(Voter's Printed Name)... 1345
...(Voter's Signature)... 1346
...(E-Mail Address) [Optional]... 1347
...(Home Telephone Number) [Optional] ... 1348
...(Mobile Telephone Number) [Optional]... 1349
1350
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(c) A mailing envelope or voter certificate secrecy 1351
envelope may not bear any indication of the political 1352
affiliation of an absent elector. 1353
(5) The voter certificate secrecy envelope must include, 1354
in bold font, substantially the following message: 1355
1356
IN ORDER FOR YOUR VOTE -BY-MAIL BALLOT TO COUNT, YOUR 1357
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS MUST RECEIVE YOUR BALLOT BY 7 1358
P.M. ON ELECTION DAY. IF YOU WAIT TO MAIL YOUR BALLOT, 1359
YOUR VOTE MIGHT NOT COUNT. TO PREVENT THIS FROM 1360
OCCURRING, PLEASE MAIL OR TURN IN YOUR BALLOT AS SOON 1361
AS POSSIBLE. 1362
1363
Section 13. Section 101.65, Florida Stat utes, is amended 1364
to read: 1365
101.65 Instructions to absent electors. —The supervisor 1366
shall enclose with each vote -by-mail ballot separate printed 1367
instructions in substantially the following form; however, where 1368
the instructions appear in capitalized text, th e text of the 1369
printed instructions must be in bold font: 1370
1371
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY 1372
BEFORE MARKING BALLOT. 1373
1. VERY IMPORTANT. In order to ensure that your 1374
vote-by-mail ballot will be counted, it should be 1375
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completed and returned as soon as possibl e so that it 1376
can reach the supervisor of elections of the county in 1377
which your precinct is located no later than 7 p.m. on 1378
the day of the election. However, if you are an 1379
overseas voter casting a ballot in a presidential 1380
preference primary or general elect ion, your vote-by-1381
mail ballot must be postmarked or dated no later than 1382
the date of the election and received by the 1383
supervisor of elections of the county in which you are 1384
registered to vote no later than 10 days after the 1385
date of the election. Note that t he later you return 1386
your ballot, the less time you will have to cure any 1387
signature deficiencies, which is authorized until 5 1388
p.m. on the 2nd day after the election. 1389
2. Mark your ballot in secret as instructed on 1390
the ballot. You must mark your own ballot unless you 1391
are unable to do so because of blindness, disability, 1392
or inability to read or write. 1393
3. Mark only the number of candidates or issue 1394
choices for a race as indicated on the ballot. If you 1395
are allowed to "Vote for One" candidate and you vote 1396
for more than one candidate, your vote in that race 1397
will not be counted. 1398
4. Place your marked ballot in the enclosed 1399
voter certificate secrecy envelope. Completely fill 1400
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out the voter's certificate on the back of the voter 1401
certificate envelope. 1402
5. Insert a copy of your photo identification in 1403
the identification envelope. The following photo 1404
identifications are acceptable if you are not a first -1405
time voter: Florida driver license; Florida 1406
identification card issued by the Department of 1407
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; United States 1408
passport; debit or credit card; military 1409
identification; student identification; public 1410
assistance identification; veteran health 1411
identification card issued by the United States 1412
Department of Veterans Affairs; a license to carry a 1413
concealed weapon or firearm issued pursuant to s. 1414
790.06; or an employee identification card issued by 1415
any branch, department, agency, or entity of the 1416
Federal Government, the state, a county, or a 1417
municipality. 1418
6.5. Insert the voter certificate envelope and 1419
the identification secrecy envelope into the enclosed 1420
mailing envelope which is addressed to the supervisor. 1421
7.6. Seal the mailing envelope and completely 1422
fill out the Voter's Certificate on the back of the 1423
mailing envelope. 1424
8.7. VERY IMPORTANT. In order for your vote -by-1425
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mail ballot to be counted, you must sign your name on 1426
the line above (Voter's Signature). If your signature 1427
does not appear on the designated signature line 1428
adjacent to the voter certificate oath on the voter's 1429
certificate, you are required to complete a cure 1430
affidavit to validate your signature. A vote-by-mail 1431
ballot will be considered illegal and not be counted 1432
if the signature on the voter's certificate does not 1433
match the signature on record. The signature on f ile 1434
at the time the supervisor of elections in the county 1435
in which your precinct is located receives your vote -1436
by-mail ballot is the signature that will be used to 1437
verify your signature on the voter's certificate. If 1438
you need to update your signature for t his election, 1439
send your signature update on a voter registration 1440
application to your supervisor of elections so that it 1441
is received before your vote -by-mail ballot is 1442
received. 1443
9.8. VERY IMPORTANT. If you are an overseas 1444
voter, you must include the date you signed the 1445
Voter's Certificate on the line above (Date) or your 1446
ballot may not be counted. 1447
10.9. Mail, deliver, or have delivered the 1448
completed mailing envelope. Be sure there is 1449
sufficient postage if mailed. THE COMPLETED MAILING 1450
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
ENVELOPE CAN BE DELIVERED TO THE OFFICE OF THE 1451
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS OF THE COUNTY IN WHICH YOUR 1452
PRECINCT IS LOCATED OR DROPPED OFF AT AN AUTHORIZED 1453
SECURE BALLOT INTAKE STATION, AVAILABLE AT EACH EARLY 1454
VOTING LOCATION. 1455
11.10. FELONY NOTICE. It is a felony under 1456
Florida law to accept any gift, payment, or gratuity 1457
in exchange for your vote for a candidate. It is also 1458
a felony under Florida law to vote in an election 1459
using a false identity or false address, or under any 1460
other circumstances making your ballot false or 1461
fraudulent. 1462
1463
Section 14. Section 101.655, Florida Statutes, is amended 1464
to read: 1465
101.655 Supervised voting by absent electors in certain 1466
facilities.— 1467
(1) The supervisor of elections of a county shall provide 1468
bipartisan supervised voting for absent electo rs residing in any 1469
assisted living facility, as defined in s. 429.02, or nursing 1470
home facility, as defined in s. 400.021, within that county at 1471
the request of an elector living in the facility or the power of 1472
attorney for an elector living in the facility of any 1473
administrator of such a facility . Such request for supervised 1474
voting in the facility shall be made by submitting a written 1475
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request to the supervisor of elections no later than 28 days 1476
before prior to the election for which that request is 1477
submitted. The request shall specify the name and address of the 1478
facility and the name of the electors who wish to vote by mail 1479
in that election. If the request contains the names of fewer 1480
than five voters, the supervisor of elections is not required to 1481
provide supervised voting. 1482
(2) The supervisor of elections may , in the absence of a 1483
request from the administrator of a facility, provide for 1484
supervised voting in the facility for those persons who have 1485
requested vote-by-mail ballots and voting assistance . The 1486
supervisor of elections shall notify the administrator of the 1487
facility that supervised voting will occur. 1488
(3) The supervisor of elections shall, in cooperation with 1489
the administrator of the facility, select a date and time when 1490
the supervised voting will occu r. 1491
(4) The supervisor of elections shall designate supervised 1492
voting teams to provide the services prescribed by this section. 1493
Each supervised voting team shall include at least two persons. 1494
Each supervised voting team must include representatives of mor e 1495
than one political party; however, in any primary election to 1496
nominate party nominees in which only one party has candidates 1497
appearing on the ballot, all supervised voting team members may 1498
be of that party. No candidate may provide supervised voting 1499
services. 1500
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(5) Ballots shall be placed in a sealed envelope for 1501
transport to the facility to be delivered to respective absent 1502
electors. Chain of custody forms shall include fields for the 1503
name of the facility, the date, the time, the printed names and 1504
signatures of each person on the supervised voting team assigned 1505
to the facility, the number of ballots delivered to the 1506
facility, the envelope seal number, and the printed names and 1507
signatures of each person on the supervised voting team who 1508
opens the envelope. 1509
(6) The seal on the envelope shall be maintained until the 1510
supervised voting team is in the facility. 1511
(7)(5) The supervised voting team shall deliver the 1512
ballots to the respective absent electors, and each member of 1513
the team shall jointly supervise th e voting of the ballots. If 1514
any elector requests assistance in voting, the oath prescribed 1515
in s. 101.051 shall be completed and the elector may receive the 1516
assistance of two members of the supervised voting team or some 1517
other person of the elector's choice to assist the elector in 1518
casting the elector's ballot. 1519
(8)(6) Before providing assistance, the supervised voting 1520
team shall disclose to the elector that the ballot may be 1521
retained by the elector to vote at a later time and that the 1522
elector has the right to seek assistance in voting from some 1523
other person of the elector's choice without the presence of the 1524
supervised voting team. 1525
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(9) Before providing assistance to the elector, the 1526
supervised voting team must verify the identity of the elector 1527
by photo identification and attestation by a facility 1528
administrator. 1529
(10)(7) If any elector declines to vote a ballot or is 1530
unable to vote a ballot, the supervised voting team shall mark 1531
the ballot "refused to vote" or "unable to vote." 1532
(11)(8) After the ballots have been voted or marked in 1533
accordance with the provisions of this section, the supervised 1534
voting team shall place the completed and remaining blank 1535
ballots in a sealable envelope and deliver the ballots to the 1536
supervisor of elections, who shall retain t hem pursuant to s. 1537
101.67. 1538
(12) The chain of custody forms for transported and 1539
completed ballots by supervised voting team for supervised 1540
voting by absent electors in certain facilities must include 1541
fields for the printed names and signatures of two supe rvised 1542
voting team members, the date, the time, the number of absentee 1543
ballots transported to the facility in which the elector lives, 1544
the number of absentee ballots completed and returned to the 1545
supervisor, the number of absentee ballots retained by elect ors 1546
to be cast at a later date, the voter identifications of 1547
electors who retained ballots, and seal numbers. 1548
(13) The names of electors living in the facility who 1549
complete ballots, the names of electors living in a facility who 1550
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refuse to vote, and the n ames of electors living in the facility 1551
who retain ballots to cast at a later date must be logged and 1552
reported to the supervisor of elections by the supervised voting 1553
team. 1554
(14) Cast ballots in sealed envelopes from supervised 1555
voting for absent electors residing in any assisted living 1556
facility or nursing home facility must be returned to the 1557
supervisor of elections for tabulation and retention pursuant to 1558
s. 101.67. 1559
(15) The chain of custody forms for transported and 1560
completed ballots by supervised voti ng team for supervised 1561
voting by absent electors in certain facilities shall include 1562
fields for the name of the facility, the printed names and 1563
signatures of two members of the vote counting center who accept 1564
custody of the cast ballots, the date, the time , the seal 1565
number, checkbox that the seal is intact, and the number of 1566
absentee ballots received by the vote counting center from the 1567
facility. 1568
(16) The county canvassing board shall validate chain of 1569
custody records for ballots received from supervised voting by 1570
absent electors in certain facilities as the ballots are 1571
returned. 1572
Section 15. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and 1573
subsections (2) and (4) of section 101.68, Florida Statutes, are 1574
amended to read: 1575
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101.68 Canvassing of vote -by-mail ballot.— 1576
(1)(a) The supervisor of the county in which where the 1577
absent elector resides shall receive the voted ballot, verify 1578
the certificate signature is a personal and manual signature 1579
that was not created by a rubber stamp or an electronic machine, 1580
verify that the voter certificate envelope and ballot material 1581
are consistent with the quality and serial number sequence 1582
issued, and at which time the supervisor shall compare the 1583
signature of the elector on the voter's certificate with the 1584
signature of the elector in the registration books or the 1585
precinct register to determine whether the elector is duly 1586
registered in the county and must record on the elector's 1587
registration record that the elector has voted. The supervisor 1588
shall also evaluate whether the photo ident ification provided is 1589
consistent with any Department of Highway Safety and Motor 1590
Vehicles photographs of the elector available. During the 1591
signature comparison process, the supervisor may not use any 1592
knowledge of the political affiliation of the elector wh ose 1593
signature is subject to verification. 1594
(2)(a) The county canvassing board may begin the 1595
canvassing of vote-by-mail ballots upon the completion of the 1596
public testing of automatic tabulating equipment pursuant to s. 1597
101.5612(2), but must complete canvassing of all ballots 1598
received at the end of election day begin such canvassing by no 1599
later than the end of the following day noon on the day 1600
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following the election . However, notwithstanding any such 1601
authorization to begin canvassing or otherwise processing vote-1602
by-mail ballots early, no result shall be released to the state 1603
or to the public until after the closing of the polls in that 1604
county on election day. Any supervisor, deputy supervisor, 1605
canvassing board member, election board member, or election 1606
employee who releases the results of a canvassing or processing 1607
of vote-by-mail ballots before prior to the closing of the polls 1608
in that county on election day commits a felony of the third 1609
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 1610
775.084. 1611
(b) To ensure that all vote -by-mail ballots to be counted 1612
by the canvassing board are accounted for, the canvassing board 1613
shall compare the number of ballots in its possession with the 1614
number of requests for ballots received to be counted according 1615
to the ballot chain of custody records and ballot reconciliation 1616
report, the supervisor's ballot accounting report, and the 1617
supervisor's file or list. 1618
(c)1. The canvassing board must, if the supervisor has not 1619
already done so, compare the signature of the elector on the 1620
voter's certificate or on the vote -by-mail ballot cure affidavit 1621
as provided in subsection (4) with the signature of the elector 1622
in the registration books or the precinct register to see that 1623
the elector is duly registered in the county and to determine 1624
the legality of that vote -by-mail ballot. A vote-by-mail ballot 1625
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may only be counted if: 1626
a. The signature on the voter's certificate or the cure 1627
affidavit matches the elector's signature in the registration 1628
books or precinct register; however, in the case of a cure 1629
affidavit, the supporting identification listed in subsection 1630
(4) must also confirm the identity of the elector; or 1631
b. The cure affidavit contains a signature that does not 1632
match the elector's signature in the registration books or 1633
precinct register, but the elector has submitted a current and 1634
valid Tier 1 identific ation pursuant to subsection (4) which 1635
confirms the identity of the elector. Tier 1 and Tier 2 1636
identification is considered ballot material for purposes of s. 1637
101.572 and must be presented to any candidates, political party 1638
officials, political committee o fficials, and political action 1639
committee officials, or authorized designees thereof, conducting 1640
a cure affidavit review. 1641
1642
For purposes of this subparagraph, any canvassing board finding 1643
that an elector's signatures do not match must be by majority 1644
vote and beyond a reasonable doubt. 1645
2. The ballot of an elector who casts a vote -by-mail 1646
ballot shall be counted even if the elector dies on or before 1647
election day, as long as, before the death of the voter, the 1648
ballot was postmarked by the United States Postal Service, date-1649
stamped with a verifiable tracking number by a common carrier, 1650
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or already in the possession of the supervisor. 1651
3. A vote-by-mail ballot is not considered illegal if the 1652
signature of the elector does not cross the seal of the mailing 1653
envelope. However, an envelope that appears to have been opened 1654
and resealed or that displays an unauthorized serial number 1655
instead of an authorized serial number is considered illegal. 1656
4. If any elector or candidate present believes that a 1657
vote-by-mail ballot is illegal due to a defect apparent on the 1658
voter's certificate or the cure affidavit, he or she may, at any 1659
time before the ballot is removed from the envelope, file with 1660
the canvassing board a protest against the canvass of that 1661
ballot, specifying the pre cinct, the voter's certificate or the 1662
cure affidavit, and the reason he or she believes the ballot to 1663
be illegal. A challenge based upon a defect in the voter's 1664
certificate or cure affidavit may not be accepted after the 1665
ballot has been removed from the ma iling envelope. A log shall 1666
be kept of all challenges, the voter identification, the 1667
resolution, and the signatures compared. The log, the cure 1668
affidavit with accompanying Tier 1 or Tier 2 identification, if 1669
applicable, the envelope, and the ballot, if rej ected, therein 1670
must be preserved in the manner that official ballots are 1671
preserved as election materials. The log and decisions must be 1672
reviewed as part of a postelection process audit. 1673
5. If the canvassing board determines that a ballot is 1674
illegal, a member of the board must, without opening the 1675
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envelope, mark across the face of the envelope: "rejected as 1676
illegal." The cure affidavit with accompanying Tier 1 or Tier 2 1677
identification, if applicable, the envelope, and the ballot 1678
therein shall be preserved in the manner that official ballots 1679
are preserved as election materials . 1680
(d) The canvassing board shall record the ballot upon the 1681
proper record, unless the ballot has been previously recorded by 1682
the supervisor. The mailing envelopes shall be opened and the 1683
voter certificate secrecy envelopes shall be mixed so as to make 1684
it impossible to determine which voter certificate secrecy 1685
envelope came out of which signed mailing envelope; however, in 1686
any county in which an electronic or electromechanical voting 1687
system is used, the ballots may be sorted by ballot styles and 1688
the mailing envelopes may be opened and the voter certificate 1689
secrecy envelopes mixed separately for each ballot style. The 1690
votes on vote-by-mail ballots shall be included in the total 1691
vote of the county. 1692
(4)(a) As soon as practicable, the supervisor shall, on 1693
behalf of the county canvassing board, attempt to notify an 1694
elector who has returned a vote -by-mail ballot that does not 1695
include the elector's signature or contains a signature that 1696
does not match the elector's signature in the registration books 1697
or precinct register by: 1698
1. Notifying the elector of the signature deficiency by e -1699
mail with a direct link to the supervisor's website and 1700
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directing the elector to the cure affidavit and instruct ions on 1701
the supervisor's website ; 1702
2. Notifying the elector of the signature deficiency by 1703
text message with a direct link to the supervisor's website and 1704
directing the elector to the cure affidavit and instructions on 1705
the supervisor's website ; or 1706
3. Notifying the elector of the signature deficiency by 1707
telephone and directing the elector to the cure affidavit and 1708
instructions on the supervisor's website. 1709
1710
In addition to the notification required under subparagraph 1., 1711
subparagraph 2., or subparagraph 3., the supervisor must notify 1712
the elector of the signature deficiency by first -class mail and 1713
direct the elector to the cure affidavit and instructions on the 1714
supervisor's website. Beginning the day before the election, the 1715
supervisor is not required to prov ide notice of the signature 1716
deficiency by first-class mail, but shall continue to provide 1717
notice as required under subparagraph 1., subparagraph 2., or 1718
subparagraph 3. 1719
(b) The supervisor shall allow such an elector to complete 1720
and submit an affidavit in order to cure the vote -by-mail ballot 1721
until 5 p.m. on the 2nd day after the election. 1722
(c) The elector must complete a cure affidavit in 1723
substantially the following form: 1724
1725
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VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT CURE AFFIDAVIT 1726
I, ...., am a qualified voter in this election 1727
and registered voter of .... County, Florida. I do 1728
solemnly swear or affirm that I requested and returned 1729
the vote-by-mail ballot and that I have not and will 1730
not vote more than one ballot in this election. I 1731
understand that if I commit or attempt any frau d in 1732
connection with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot, or 1733
vote more than once in an election, I may be convicted 1734
of a felony of the third degree and fined up to $5,000 1735
and imprisoned for up to 5 years. I understand that my 1736
failure to sign this affidavit me ans that my vote-by-1737
mail ballot will be invalidated. 1738
...(Date)... 1739
...(Voter's Printed Name)... 1740
...(Voter's Signature)... 1741
...(Voter's E-mail Address)[Optional]... 1742
...(Voter's Home Telephone Number)[Optional]... 1743
...(Voter's Cellular Telephone Number)[Optiona l]... 1744
...(Address)... 1745
1746
(d) Instructions must accompany the cure affidavit in 1747
substantially the following form: 1748
1749
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE 1750
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COMPLETING THE AFFIDAVIT. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE 1751
INSTRUCTIONS MAY CAUSE YOUR BALLOT NOT TO COUNT. 1752
1. In order to ensure that your vote -by-mail 1753
ballot will be counted, your affidavit should be 1754
completed and returned as soon as possible so that it 1755
can reach the supervisor of elections of the county in 1756
which your precinct is located no later than 5 p.m. on 1757
the 2nd day after the election. 1758
2. You must sign your name on the line above 1759
(Voter's Signature). 1760
3. You must make a copy of one of the following 1761
forms of identification: 1762
a. Tier 1 identification. —Current and valid 1763
identification that includes you r name and photograph: 1764
Florida driver license; Florida identification card 1765
issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 1766
Vehicles; United States passport; debit or credit 1767
card; military identification; student identification; 1768
retirement center ident ification; neighborhood 1769
association identification; public assistance 1770
identification; veteran health identification card 1771
issued by the United States Department of Veterans 1772
Affairs; a Florida license to carry a concealed weapon 1773
or firearm; or an employee id entification card issued 1774
by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the 1775
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Federal Government, the state, a county, or a 1776
municipality; or 1777
b. Tier 2 identification. —ONLY IF YOU DO NOT 1778
HAVE A TIER 1 FORM OF IDENTIFICATION, identification 1779
that shows your name and current residence address: 1780
current utility bill, bank statement, government 1781
check, paycheck, or government document (excluding 1782
voter information card). 1783
4. Place the envelope bearing the affidavit into 1784
a mailing envelope addressed to the supervis or. Insert 1785
a copy of your identification in the mailing envelope. 1786
Mail (if time permits), deliver, or have delivered the 1787
completed affidavit along with the copy of your 1788
identification to your county supervisor of elections. 1789
Be sure there is sufficient post age if mailed and that 1790
the supervisor's address is correct. Remember, your 1791
information MUST reach your county supervisor of 1792
elections no later than 5 p.m. on the 2nd day after 1793
the election, or your ballot will not count. 1794
5. Alternatively, you may fax or e-mail your 1795
completed affidavit and a copy of your identification 1796
to the supervisor of elections. If e -mailing, please 1797
provide these documents as attachments. 1798
1799
(e) The department and each supervisor shall include the 1800
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affidavit and instructions on their r espective websites. The 1801
supervisor must include his or her office's mailing address, e -1802
mail address, and fax number on the page containing the 1803
affidavit instructions, and the department's instruction page 1804
must include the office mailing addresses, e -mail addresses, and 1805
fax numbers of all supervisors of elections or provide a 1806
conspicuous link to such addresses. 1807
(f) The supervisor shall attach each affidavit and Tier 1 1808
or Tier 2 identification document received to the appropriate 1809
voter certificate vote-by-mail ballot mailing envelope. 1810
(g) A designee for a candidate, a political committee, a 1811
political action committee, or political party may inspect all 1812
ballot materials in accordance with s. 101.572, including Tier 1 1813
and Tier 2 forms of identification neces sary to accept or reject 1814
a ballot certificate signature match. 1815
(h) A voter signature mismatch on a voter certificate 1816
envelope that is rejected by the county canvassing board must be 1817
cured by the elector before his or her signature may be accepted 1818
and vote counted. The elector shall complete a cure affidavit 1819
and return to the county canvassing board the affidavit and Tier 1820
1 or Tier 2 forms of identification. 1821
(i) The voter certificate envelope, the cure affidavit, 1822
and the Tier 1 or Tier 2 forms of identif ication are considered 1823
ballot materials under s. 101.572. These ballot materials 1824
provide supporting evidence to accept or reject a signature on a 1825
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certificate and shall be reviewed by the canvassing board and 1826
made available to a designee for a candidate, a political 1827
committee, a political action committee, or a political party. 1828
(j) The supervisor shall provide to the designee for a 1829
candidate, political committee, political action committee, or 1830
political party access to any materials considered ballot 1831
materials under s. 101.572 which are necessary to complete the 1832
task of cure affidavit review. A time shall be arranged each day 1833
and made open to the public for a designee for a candidate, 1834
political committee, political action committee, or political 1835
party to complete a cure affidavit review of unique returned 1836
cure affidavits that have been returned since the previous day 1837
made open to the public. As long as the vote counting center is 1838
open to the public, the supervisor may not limit the time 1839
necessary for a desig nee for a candidate, a political committee, 1840
a political action committee, or a political party to complete a 1841
cure affidavit review of ballot materials. 1842
(k)(g) If a vote-by-mail ballot is validated following the 1843
submission of a cure affidavit, the supervi sor shall make a copy 1844
of the affidavit, affix it to a voter registration application, 1845
and immediately process it as a valid request for a signature 1846
update pursuant to s. 98.077. 1847
(l) A log shall be kept of cure challenges levied by 1848
public inspectors, including the voter name, the voter 1849
identification, the voter precinct, the reason for the cure 1850
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affidavit, the reason the voter certificate envelope was 1851
initially rejected, the reason for any challenges made to the 1852
cure affidavit signature, Tier 1 and Tier 2 identification, and 1853
the final disposition of the cure affidavit. 1854
1. The log, the cure affidavit, if applicable, the 1855
envelope, and the ballot, if rejected, shall be preserved in t he 1856
manner that official ballots are preserved. The log and 1857
decisions must be reviewed as part of a postelection process 1858
audit and cure reports shall be made available to the public by 1859
precinct. 1860
2. If a designee protests a cure affidavit and the protest 1861
is subsequently rejected by the county canvassing board, the 1862
ballot shall be counted as a cast vote and entered into the 1863
final vote count. The county canvassing board shall record in 1864
the log the reason for the protest, the reason for the protest 1865
rejection, the voter identification, the voter precinct, the 1866
reason the cure affidavit was required, and the voter 1867
certificate envelope that was originally rejected. 1868
3. Daily county canvassing board minutes shall contain 1869
board decisions relating to cure affidavits, including the voter 1870
identification and precinct discussed. 1871
(m)(h) After all election results on the ballot have been 1872
certified, the supervisor shall, on behalf of the county 1873
canvassing board, notify each elector whose ballot has been 1874
rejected as illegal and provide the specific reason the ballot 1875
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was rejected. The supervisor shall research the elector whose 1876
ballot was rejected as illegal using all available resources to 1877
determine if the elector is still eligible to vote. If the 1878
elector is determined to be eligible to vote In addition, unless 1879
processed as a signature update pursuant to paragraph (k) (g), 1880
the supervisor shall mail a voter registration application to 1881
the elector to be completed indicating the elector's current 1882
signature if the signature on th e voter's certificate or cure 1883
affidavit did not match the elector's signature in the 1884
registration books or precinct register. 1885
(n) Any information not confidential or exempt from s. 1886
119.07(1) must be made available to candidate, political party, 1887
or political committee designees, including information on 1888
electors who are notified of a signature mismatch and provided 1889
instructions to complete a cure affidavit by the supervisor. 1890
Section 16. Section 101.69, Florida Statutes, is amended 1891
to read: 1892
101.69 Voting in person; return of vote -by-mail ballot.— 1893
(1) The provisions of this code shall not be construed to 1894
prohibit any elector from voting in person at the elector's 1895
precinct on the day of an election or at an early voting site, 1896
notwithstanding that the elector has requested a vote -by-mail 1897
ballot for that election. An elector who has returned a voted 1898
vote-by-mail ballot to the supervisor, however, is deemed to 1899
have cast his or her ballot and is not entitled to vote another 1900
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ballot or to have a provisi onal ballot counted by the county 1901
canvassing board. An elector who has received a vote -by-mail 1902
ballot and has not returned the voted ballot to the supervisor, 1903
but desires to vote in person, shall return the ballot, whether 1904
voted or not, to the election boa rd in the elector's precinct or 1905
to an early voting site. The returned ballot voter certificate 1906
envelope containing an uncast ballot shall be marked "canceled" 1907
with a permanent marker. In the presence of the elector and a 1908
second poll worker, the board shall open the voter certificate 1909
envelope and mark "canceled" with a permanent marker across the 1910
ballot and place the ballot shall be marked "canceled" by the 1911
board and placed with other canceled ballots. However, if the 1912
elector does not return the ballot and t he election official: 1913
(a) Confirms that the supervisor has received the 1914
elector's vote-by-mail ballot, the elector shall not be allowed 1915
to vote in person. If the elector maintains that he or she has 1916
not returned the vote -by-mail ballot or remains eligibl e to 1917
vote, the elector shall be provided a provisional ballot as 1918
provided in s. 101.048. 1919
(b) Confirms that the supervisor has not received the 1920
elector's vote-by-mail ballot, the elector shall be allowed to 1921
vote in person as provided in this code. The ele ctor's vote-by-1922
mail ballot, if subsequently received, shall not be counted and 1923
shall remain in the mailing envelope, and the envelope shall be 1924
marked "Rejected as Illegal 2nd Ballot." If it is determined 1925
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that the signature on the voter certificate does not match the 1926
voter's signature, the vote -by-mail ballot and voter certificate 1927
envelope shall be submitted to the Office of Election Crimes and 1928
Security for investigation. 1929
(c) Cannot determine whether the supervisor has received 1930
the elector's vote-by-mail ballot, the elector may vote a 1931
provisional ballot as provided in s. 101.048. 1932
(2)(a) The supervisor shall allow an elector who has 1933
received a vote-by-mail ballot to physically return a voted 1934
vote-by-mail ballot to the supervisor by placing the return mail 1935
envelope containing his or her marked ballot in a secure ballot 1936
intake station. Secure ballot intake stations shall be placed at 1937
the main office of the supervisor, at each permanent branch 1938
office of the supervisor which meets the criteria set forth in 1939
s. 101.657(1)(a) for branch offices used for early voting and 1940
which is open for at least the minimum number of hours 1941
prescribed by s. 98.015(4), and inside at each early voting 1942
site. Secure ballot intake stations may also be placed at any 1943
other site that would otherwise qualify as an early voting site 1944
under s. 101.657(1). Secure ballot intake stations must be 1945
geographically located so as to provide all voters in the county 1946
with an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is 1947
practicable. Except for secure ballot intake stations at an 1948
office of the supervisor, A secure ballot intake station may 1949
only be used during the county's early voting hours of operation 1950
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if located inside an early voting site or inside an office of 1951
the supervisor and must be monitored in person by an employee of 1952
the supervisor's office. A secure ballot intake station at an 1953
office of the supervisor must be continuously monitored in 1954
person by an employee of the supervisor's office when the secure 1955
ballot intake station is accessible for depo sit of ballots. 1956
(b) A supervisor shall designate each secure ballot intake 1957
station location at least 30 days before an election. The 1958
supervisor shall provide the address of each secure ballot 1959
intake station location to the division at least 30 days befor e 1960
an election. After a secure ballot intake station location has 1961
been designated, it may not be moved or changed except as 1962
approved by the division to correct a violation of this 1963
subsection. 1964
(c)1. On each day of early voting, all secure ballot 1965
intake stations must be inspected to verify no ballots are 1966
present at the start of early voting hours and must be emptied 1967
at the end of early voting hours . and All ballots retrieved from 1968
the secure ballot intake stations must be returned to the 1969
supervisor's office using the chain of custody standards 1970
required under s. 101.015 . 1971
2. For secure ballot intake stations located at an office 1972
of the supervisor, all ballots must be retrieved before the 1973
secure ballot intake station is no longer monitored by an 1974
employee of the supervisor. 1975
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3. Employees of the supervisor must comply with procedures 1976
for the chain of custody of ballots as required by s. 1977
101.015(4). 1978
(3) If any secure ballot intake station is left accessible 1979
for ballot receipt other than as authorized by this sec tion or a 1980
secure intake station is deployed which does not meet department 1981
standards, the supervisor is subject to a civil penalty of 1982
$25,000. The division is authorized to enforce this provision. 1983
Section 17. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 101.6921 , 1984
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1985
101.6921 Delivery of special vote -by-mail ballot to 1986
certain first-time voters.— 1987
(2) The supervisor shall enclose with each vote -by-mail 1988
ballot three envelopes: a secrecy envelope, into which the 1989
absent elector will enclose his or her marked ballot; an 1990
envelope containing the Voter's Certificate ; an identification 1991
envelope, into which the absent elector shall place the secrecy 1992
envelope; and a mailing envelope, which shall be addressed to 1993
the supervisor and into wh ich the absent elector will place the 1994
envelope containing the Voter's Certificate and the 1995
identification envelope containing a copy of the required 1996
identification. 1997
(3) The Voter's Certificate shall be in substantially the 1998
following form: 1999
2000
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Note: Please Read Instructions Carefully Before 2001
Marking Ballot and Completing Voter's Certificate. 2002
VOTER'S CERTIFICATE 2003
I, ...., do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a 2004
qualified and registered voter of .... County, 2005
Florida, and that I have not and will not vote more 2006
than one ballot in this election. I understand that if 2007
I commit or attempt to commit any fraud in connection 2008
with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot, or vote more 2009
than once in an election, I can be convicted of a 2010
felony of the third degree and fined up to $5 ,000 2011
and/or imprisoned for up to 5 years. I also understand 2012
that failure to sign this certificate will invalidate 2013
my ballot. I understand that unless I meet one of the 2014
exemptions below, I must provide a copy of a current 2015
and valid identification as provide d in the 2016
instruction sheet to the supervisor of elections in 2017
order for my ballot to count. 2018
I further certify that I am exempt from the 2019
requirements to furnish a copy of a current and valid 2020
identification with my ballot because of one or more 2021
of the following (check all that apply): 2022
☐ I am 65 years of age or older. 2023
☐ I have a permanent or temporary physical 2024
disability and have included a copy of a doctor's note 2025
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or social security disability document . 2026
☐ I am a member of a uniformed service on active 2027
duty who, by reason of such active duty, will be 2028
absent from the county on election day and have 2029
included a copy of my current military identification . 2030
☐ I am a member of the Merchant Marine who, by 2031
reason of service in the Merchant Marine, will be 2032
absent from the county on election day and have 2033
included a copy of my current Merchant Marine 2034
identification. 2035
☐ I am the spouse or dependent of a member of the 2036
uniformed service or Merchant Marine who, by reason of 2037
the active duty or service of the member, will be 2038
absent from the county on election day and have 2039
included a copy of my uniformed services dependent 2040
identification. 2041
☐ I am currently residing outside the United 2042
States and have included a copy of one of the 2043
following that show my name and my former Florida 2044
address and the address at which I reside outside the 2045
United States: 2046
1. Utility bill. 2047
2. Bank statement. 2048
3. Government issued check. 2049
4 Paycheck. 2050
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5. Other government document, excluding a voter 2051
identification card. 2052
...(Date)... 2053
...(Voter's Printed Name)... 2054
...Voter's Signature... 2055
...(Voter's E-mail Address)[Optional]... 2056
...(Voter's Home Telephone Number)[Optional]... 2057
...(Voter's Cellular Telephone Number)[Optional]... 2058
2059
Section 18. Subsection (2) of section 101.6923, Florida 2060
Statutes, is amended to read: 2061
101.6923 Special vote -by-mail ballot instructions for 2062
certain first-time voters.— 2063
(2) A voter covered by this section must be provided with 2064
printed instructions with his or her vote -by-mail ballot in 2065
substantially the following form: 2066
2067
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE MARKING YOUR 2068
BALLOT. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY CAUSE 2069
YOUR BALLOT NOT TO COUNT. 2070
1. In order to ensure that your vote -by-mail 2071
ballot will be counted, it should be completed and 2072
returned as soon as possible so that it can reach the 2073
supervisor of elections of the county in which your 2074
precinct is located no later than 7 p.m. on the date 2075
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of the election. However, if you are an overseas voter 2076
casting a ballot in a presidential preference primary 2077
or general election, your vote -by-mail ballot must be 2078
postmarked or dated no later than the date of the 2079
election and received by the supervisor of elections 2080
of the county in which you are registered to vote no 2081
later than 10 days after the date of the election. 2082
Note that the later you return your ballot, the less 2083
time you will have to cure signature deficiencies, 2084
which is authorized until 5 p.m. local time on the 2nd 2085
day after the election. 2086
2. Mark your ballot in secret as instructed on 2087
the ballot. You must mark your own ballot unless you 2088
are unable to do so because of blindness, disability, 2089
or inability to read or write. 2090
3. Mark only the number of candidates or issue 2091
choices for a race as indicated on the ballot. If you 2092
are allowed to "Vote for One" candidate and you vote 2093
for more than one, your vote in that race will not be 2094
counted. 2095
4. Place your marked ballot in the enclosed 2096
secrecy envelope and seal the envelope. 2097
5. Insert the secrecy envelope into the enclosed 2098
envelope bearing the Voter's Certificate. Seal the 2099
envelope and completely fill out the Voter's 2100
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Certificate on the back of the envelope. 2101
a. You must sign your name on the line above 2102
(Voter's Signature). 2103
b. If you are an overseas voter, you must 2104
include the date you signed the Voter's Certificate on 2105
the line above (Date) or your ballot may not be 2106
counted. 2107
c. A vote-by-mail ballot will be considered 2108
illegal and will not be counted i f the signature on 2109
the Voter's Certificate does not match the signature 2110
on record. The signature on file at the start of the 2111
canvass of the vote-by-mail ballots is the signature 2112
that will be used to verify your signature on the 2113
Voter's Certificate. If you need to update your 2114
signature for this election, send your signature 2115
update on a voter registration application to your 2116
supervisor of elections so that it is received before 2117
your vote-by-mail ballot is received. 2118
5.a. If you have registered to vote withou t a 2119
driver license or Florida identification card and have 2120
not previously provided the one of the following 2121
identification documents to an election official 6. 2122
Unless you meet one of the exemptions in Item 7. , you 2123
must make a copy of one of the following f orms of 2124
identification: 2125
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(I) A United States passport; or 2126
(II)(A) A United States birth certificate, 2127
United States naturalization papers, a consular report 2128
of birth abroad provided by the United States 2129
Department of State, or a social security card; and 2130
(B) An acceptable, current photo identification 2131
which must include your name and photograph. 2132
Acceptable photo identification includes a a. 2133
identification which must include your name and 2134
photograph: United States passport; debit or credit 2135
card; military identification; student identification; 2136
retirement center identification; neighborhood 2137
association identification; public assistance 2138
identification; a veteran health identification card 2139
issued by the United States Department of Veterans 2140
Affairs; a Florida license to carry a concealed weapon 2141
or firearm; or an employee identification card issued 2142
by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the 2143
Federal Government, the state, a county, or a 2144
municipality.; or 2145
b. If you have registered to vote without a 2146
driver license or Florida identification card you must 2147
also make a copy of one of the following documents 2148
dated within the last 2 months that contains the name 2149
and residence address listed on your voter 2150
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registration application. Acceptable identification 2151
that which shows your name and current residence 2152
address includes a: current utility bill, bank 2153
statement, government check, paycheck, or government 2154
document (excluding voter information card). 2155
c. If you have registered to vote without a 2156
driver license or Florida identification card and meet 2157
the requirements of Item 6., you may provide the 2158
following as a proof of prior Florida residence: 2159
(I) Documents listed in Item 5.b. that are not 2160
current plus a current equivalent document listing 2161
your non-United States residence. 2162
(II) A consular report of birth abroad provided 2163
by the United States Department of State and proof 2164
that your parents previously resided in the State of 2165
Florida. 2166
d. Documents provided under Item 5. may be 2167
submitted using the same methods allowed under s. 2168
101.68. 2169
6.7. The identification requirements of Item 2170
5.6. do not apply if you meet one of the following 2171
requirements: 2172
a. You are 65 years of age or older as 2173
documented by a copy of a birth certificate proving 2174
your age. 2175
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b. You have a temporary or permanent physical 2176
disability as documented by a copy of a doctor's 2177
affidavit stating your disability status or social 2178
security disability doc ument provided to a voter 2179
registration official . 2180
c. You are a member of a uniformed service on 2181
active duty as documented by a current military 2182
identification provided to a voter registration 2183
official who, by reason of such active duty, will be 2184
absent from the county on election day. 2185
d. You are a member of the Merchant Marine as 2186
documented by a current Merchant Marine identification 2187
who, by reason of service in the Merchant Marine, will 2188
be absent from the county on election day. 2189
e. You are the spouse o r dependent of a member 2190
referred to in paragraph c. or paragraph d. as 2191
documented by a uniformed services dependent 2192
identification who, by reason of the active duty or 2193
service of the member, will be absent from the county 2194
on election day. 2195
f. You are currently residing outside the United 2196
States and provide one of the following: 2197
(I) Documents listed in Item 5.b. that are not 2198
current and a current equivalent document listing your 2199
non-United States residence. 2200
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(II) A consular report of birth abroad provide d 2201
by the United States Department of State and proof 2202
that parents previously resided in the state of 2203
Florida. 2204
2205
Documents provided under Item 6. may be provided to 2206
election officials using mail, e -mail, or fax. 2207
7.8. Place the envelope bearing the Voter's 2208
Certificate into the mailing envelope addressed to the 2209
supervisor. Insert a copy of your identification in 2210
the identification mailing envelope. DO NOT PUT YOUR 2211
IDENTIFICATION INSIDE THE SECRECY ENVELOPE WITH THE 2212
BALLOT OR INSIDE THE ENVELOPE WHICH BEARS TH E VOTER'S 2213
CERTIFICATE OR YOUR BALLOT WILL NOT COUNT. 2214
8. Place both the envelope bearing the Voter's 2215
Certificate and the identification envelope into the 2216
mailing envelope addressed to the supervisor. 2217
9. Mail, deliver, or have delivered the 2218
completed mailing envelope. Be sure there is 2219
sufficient postage if mailed. 2220
10. FELONY NOTICE. It is a felony under Florida 2221
law to accept any gift, payment, or gratuity in 2222
exchange for your vote for a candidate. It is also a 2223
felony under Florida law to vote in an elec tion using 2224
a false identity or false address, or under any other 2225
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circumstances making your ballot false or fraudulent. 2226
2227
Section 19. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection 2228
(2) of section 102.012, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2229
102.012 Inspectors, and clerks, and absentee vote 2230
processing workers to conduct elections. — 2231
(1)(a) The supervisor of elections of each county, at 2232
least 20 days before prior to the holding of any election, shall 2233
appoint an election board comprised of poll workers who serve as 2234
clerks or inspectors for each precinct in the county and shall 2235
recruit absentee vote processing workers . The clerk shall be in 2236
charge of, and responsible for, seeing that the election board 2237
carries out its duties and responsibilities. Each in spector, 2238
absentee vote processing worker, and each clerk shall take and 2239
subscribe to an oath or affirmation, which shall be written or 2240
printed, to the effect that he or she will perform the duties of 2241
inspector, absentee vote processing worker, or clerk of 2242
election, respectively, according to law and will endeavor to 2243
prevent all fraud, deceit, or abuse in conducting the election. 2244
The oath may be taken before an officer authorized to administer 2245
oaths or before any of the persons who are to act as inspectors, 2246
one of them to swear the others, and one of the others sworn 2247
thus, in turn, to administer the oath to the one who has not 2248
been sworn. The oaths shall be returned with the poll list and 2249
the returns of the election to the supervisor. In all questions 2250
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that may arise before the members of an election board, the 2251
decision of a majority of them shall decide the question. The 2252
supervisor of elections of each county shall be responsible for 2253
the attendance and diligent performance of his or her duties by 2254
each clerk, absentee vote processing worker, and inspector. 2255
(2) Each member of the election board and each absentee 2256
vote processing worker must shall be able to read and write the 2257
English language and shall be a registered qualified elector of 2258
the county in which the member is appointed or a person who has 2259
preregistered to vote, pursuant to s. 97.041(1)(b), in the 2260
county in which the member is appointed. An No election board or 2261
work area of an absentee vote counting location may not shall be 2262
composed solely of members of one political party , except that; 2263
however, in any primary in which only one party has candidates 2264
appearing on the ballot, all clerks and inspectors may be of 2265
that party. Any person whose name appears as an opposed 2266
candidate for any office shall not be eligible to serve on an 2267
election board. 2268
Section 20. Section 102.014, Florida Statutes, is amended 2269
to read: 2270
102.014 Poll worker recruitment and training. — 2271
(1) The supervisor of elections shall conduct training for 2272
inspectors, clerks, absentee vote processing workers, and deputy 2273
sheriffs before prior to each primary, general, and special 2274
election for the purpose of instructing such persons in their 2275
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duties and responsibilities as election officials. The Division 2276
of Elections shall develop a statewide uniform training 2277
curriculum for poll workers, and each supervisor shall use such 2278
curriculum in training poll workers. The Department of State 2279
shall develop a statewide uniform training curriculum for 2280
absentee vote processing wo rkers, and each supervisor shall use 2281
such curriculum in training absentee vote processing workers. A 2282
certificate may be issued by the supervisor of elections to each 2283
person completing such training. No person shall serve as an 2284
inspector, clerk, absentee vote processing worker, or deputy 2285
sheriff for an election unless such person has completed the 2286
training as required. A clerk may not work at the polls unless 2287
he or she demonstrates a working knowledge of the laws and 2288
procedures relating to voter registration , voting system 2289
operation, balloting and polling place procedures, and problem -2290
solving and conflict -resolution skills. An absentee vote 2291
processing worker may not work in the vote processing center 2292
unless he or she demonstrates a working knowledge of the la ws 2293
and procedures relating to chain of custody, the work areas to 2294
which he or she may be assigned, physical security requirements, 2295
and problem-solving and conflict -resolution skills. 2296
(2) A person who has attended previous training conducted 2297
within 2 years before the election may be appointed by the 2298
supervisor to fill a vacancy on an election board or at an 2299
absentee vote processing location . If no person with prior 2300
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training is available to fill such vacancy, the supervisor of 2301
elections may fill such vacanc y in accordance with the 2302
provisions of subsection (3) from among persons who have not 2303
received the training required by this section. 2304
(3) In the case of absence or refusal to act on the part 2305
of any absentee vote processing worker, inspector, or clerk, the 2306
supervisor shall appoint a replacement who meets the 2307
qualifications prescribed in s. 102.012(2). The absentee vote 2308
processing worker, inspector, or clerk so appointed shall be a 2309
member of the same political party as the absentee vote 2310
processing worker, clerk, or inspector whom he or she replaces. 2311
(4) Each supervisor of elections shall be responsible for 2312
training absentee vote processing workers, inspectors, and 2313
clerks, subject to the following minimum requirements: 2314
(a) A No clerk may not shall be entitled to work at the 2315
polls unless he or she has had a minimum of 3 hours of training 2316
before prior to each election. 2317
(b) An No inspector may not shall work at the polls unless 2318
he or she has had a minimum of 2 hours of training before prior 2319
to each election. 2320
(c) An absentee vote processing worker may not work in a 2321
work area unless he or she has had a minimum of 2 hours of 2322
training before each election, including training for the work 2323
area to which he or she is assigned. 2324
(5) The Department of State shall create a uniform polling 2325
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place procedures manual and an absentee vote processing 2326
procedures manual and adopt the manuals manual by rule. Each 2327
supervisor of elections shall ensure that the appropriate manual 2328
is available in hard copy or electronic form in e very polling 2329
place and absentee vote processing location . The manuals manual 2330
shall guide absentee vote processing workers, inspectors, 2331
clerks, and deputy sheriffs in the proper implementation of 2332
election procedures and laws. The manuals manual shall be 2333
indexed by subject, and written in plain, clear, unambiguous 2334
language. The manual shall provide specific examples of common 2335
problems encountered at the polls and detail specific procedures 2336
for resolving those problems. 2337
(a) The polling place procedures manual shall include, 2338
without limitation: 2339
1.(a) Regulations governing solicitation by individuals 2340
and groups at the polling place .; 2341
2.(b) Procedures to be followed with respect to voters 2342
whose names are not on the precinct register .; 2343
3.(c) Proper operation of the voting system .; 2344
4.(d) Ballot handling procedures .; 2345
5.(e) Procedures governing spoiled ballots; 2346
6.(f) Procedures to be followed after the polls close .; 2347
7.(g) Rights of voters at the polls .; 2348
8.(h) Procedures for handling emergency situations .; 2349
9.(i) Procedures for dealing with irate voters .; 2350
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10.(j) The handling and processing of provisional 2351
ballots.; and 2352
11.(k) Security procedures. 2353
12. Chain of custody procedures. 2354
13. Communications devi ce policy. 2355
14. Rights and responsibilities of poll watchers at the 2356
polls. 2357
(b) The absentee vote processing manual shall include, but 2358
not be limited to: 2359
1. Regulations governing use of cell phones and wireless 2360
networking at the vote counting location. 2361
2. Proper communication settings and operation of vote 2362
counting location technologies. 2363
3. Procedures for management and use of portable storage 2364
media. 2365
4. Procedures for chain of custody between work areas and 2366
storage. 2367
5. Procedures for curing of b allots. 2368
6. Access to and control of ballots in storage or within 2369
work areas during working and nonworking hours. 2370
7. Rights and responsibilities of public watchers at the 2371
absentee vote processing location. 2372
8. Security procedures including building sec urity, 2373
physical port security, and system cybersecurity. 2374
9. Beginning of shift procedures. 2375
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10. End of shift procedures. 2376
11. Rights and responsibilities of public watchers at the 2377
absentee vote processing location. 2378
12. Ballot accounting and reconcili ation reports. 2379
2380
The Department of State shall revise the manuals manual as 2381
necessary to address new procedures in law or problems 2382
encountered by voters and poll workers at the precincts and by 2383
absentee vote processing workers at absentee vote counting 2384
locations. 2385
(6) Supervisors of elections shall work with the business 2386
and local community to develop public -private programs to ensure 2387
the recruitment of skilled absentee vote processing workers, 2388
inspectors, and clerks. 2389
(7) The Department of State shall develop a mandatory, 2390
statewide, and uniform program for training poll workers on 2391
issues of etiquette and sensitivity with respect to voters 2392
having a disability. The program must be conducted locally by 2393
each supervisor of elections, and each poll worker mu st complete 2394
the program before working during the current election cycle. 2395
The supervisor of elections shall contract with a recognized 2396
disability-related organization, such as a center for 2397
independent living, family network on disabilities, deaf service 2398
bureau, or other such organization, to develop and assist with 2399
training the trainers in the disability sensitivity programs. 2400
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The program must include actual demonstrations of obstacles 2401
confronted by disabled persons during the voting process, 2402
including obtaining access to the polling place, traveling 2403
through the polling area, and using the voting system. 2404
Section 21. Subsections (3) through (11) of section 2405
102.141, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (5) 2406
through (13), respectively, subsection ( 1), paragraph (a) of 2407
subsection (2), and present subsection (7) are amended, and new 2408
subsections (3) and (4) are added to that section, to read: 2409
102.141 County canvassing board; duties. — 2410
(1) The county canvassing board shall be composed of the 2411
supervisor of elections; a county court judge, who shall act as 2412
chair; and the chair of the board of county commissioners ; and 2413
two elected municipal officials. The elected municipal officials 2414
assigned to the canvassing board shall rotate amongst the 2415
municipalities within the county so that the municipal elected 2416
official is different every election cycle. The canvassing board 2417
must have at least two members from each major political party . 2418
The names of the canvassing board members must be published on 2419
the supervisor's website upon completion of the logic and 2420
accuracy test. At least two alternate canvassing board members 2421
must be appointed pursuant to paragraph (e). In the event any 2422
member of the county canvassing board is unable to serve, is a 2423
candidate who has opposit ion in the election being canvassed, or 2424
is an active participant in the campaign or candidacy of any 2425
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candidate who has opposition in the election being canvassed, 2426
such member shall be replaced as follows: 2427
(a) If a county court judge is unable to serve or if all 2428
are disqualified, the chief judge of the judicial circuit in 2429
which the county is located must appoint as a substitute member 2430
a qualified elector of the county who is not a candidate with 2431
opposition in the election being canvassed and who is not an 2432
active participant in the campaign or candidacy of any candidate 2433
with opposition in the election being canvassed. In such event, 2434
the members of the county canvassing board shall meet and elect 2435
a chair. 2436
(b) If the supervisor of elections is unable to serv e or 2437
is disqualified, the chair of the board of county commissioners 2438
must appoint as a substitute member a member of the board of 2439
county commissioners or a municipal official who is not a 2440
candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed and 2441
who is not an active participant in the campaign or candidacy of 2442
any candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed. 2443
The supervisor, however, shall act in an advisory capacity to 2444
the canvassing board. 2445
(c) If the chair of the board of county commissioners is 2446
unable to serve or is disqualified, the board of county 2447
commissioners must appoint as a substitute member one of its 2448
members who is not a candidate with opposition in the election 2449
being canvassed and who is not an active participant in the 2450
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campaign or candidacy of any candidate with opposition in the 2451
election being canvassed. 2452
(d) If a substitute member or alternate member cannot be 2453
appointed as provided elsewhere in this subsection, or in the 2454
event of a vacancy in such office, the chief judge of the 2455
judicial circuit in which the county is located must appoint as 2456
a substitute member or alternate member a qualified elector of 2457
the county who is not a candidate with opposition in the 2458
election being canvassed and who is not an active participant in 2459
the campaign or candidacy of any candidate with opposition in 2460
the election being canvassed. 2461
(e)1. The chief judge of the judicial circuit in which the 2462
county is located shall appoint a county court judge as a n 2463
alternate member of the county canvassing board or, if each 2464
county court judge is unable to serve or is disqualified, shall 2465
appoint an alternate member who is qualified to serve as a 2466
substitute member under paragraph (a). Any alternate may serve 2467
in any seat. 2468
2. The chair of the board of county commissioners shall 2469
appoint a member of the board of county commissioners as an 2470
alternate member of the county canvassing board or, if each 2471
member of the board of county commissioners is unable to serve 2472
or is disqualified, shall appoint an alternate member who is 2473
qualified to serve as a substitute member under paragraph (d). 2474
3. A quorum of at least three members of the county 2475
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canvassing board is required for all signature and provisional 2476
ballot review proceedings . If quorum cannot be established a 2477
member of the county canvassing board is unable to participate 2478
in a meeting of the board , the chair of the county canvassing 2479
board or his or her designee must designate which alternate 2480
member will serve as a member of th e board in the place of the 2481
member who is unable to participate at that meeting. 2482
4. If not serving as one of the three members of the 2483
county canvassing board, an alternate member may be present, 2484
observe, and communicate with the three members constitutin g the 2485
county canvassing board, but may not vote in the board's 2486
decisions or determinations. 2487
(2)(a) The county canvassing board shall meet in a 2488
building accessible to the public in the county where the 2489
election occurred at a time and place to be designate d by the 2490
supervisor to publicly canvass the absent electors' ballots as 2491
provided for in s. 101.68 and provisional ballots as provided by 2492
ss. 101.048, 101.049, and 101.6925. During each meeting of the 2493
county canvassing board, each political party and each c andidate 2494
may have one watcher able to view directly or on a display 2495
screen ballots being examined for signature matching and other 2496
processes. Each county canvassing board meeting must be 2497
monitored by real-time video available for public viewing and 2498
meeting minutes for each such meeting must be published on the 2499
supervisor's website. Provisional ballots cast pursuant to s. 2500
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101.049 shall be canvassed in a manner that votes for candidates 2501
and issues on those ballots can be segregated from other votes. 2502
As soon as the absent electors' ballots and the provisional 2503
ballots are canvassed, the board shall proceed to publicly 2504
canvass the vote given each candidate, nominee, constitutional 2505
amendment, or other measure submitted to the electorate of the 2506
county, as shown by the returns then on file in the office of 2507
the supervisor. 2508
(3)(a) Each day during an election, the county canvassing 2509
board shall review all of the following reports: 2510
1. Exception reports on ballot chain of custody 2511
documentation, including missing quanti ties, seals, and 2512
excessive transport times. 2513
2. Daily precinct and vote -by-mail ballot reconciliation 2514
reports. 2515
3. Daily manual cross -check reports in accordance with s. 2516
101.015(7). 2517
4. Portable data storage device chain of custody reports. 2518
5. Physical building and ballot storage area exception 2519
reports. 2520
(b) Upon completing the review required under paragraph 2521
(a), the county canvassing board shall take corrective actions 2522
as necessary and report to the department any issue that cannot 2523
be resolved. 2524
(4)(a) Before certifying an election the county canvassing 2525
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board shall review all of the following: 2526
1. Vote-by-mail reconciliation report outlined in s 2527
101.015(4)(c). 2528
2. The ballot, envelope, and seal accounting report 2529
required under s. 101.21(2). 2530
3. Ballot chain of custody reports from precincts, 2531
including reports on the transport of vote -by-mail ballots to 2532
permanent storage. 2533
(b) Any discrepancies identified in the review must be 2534
reported to the department. If a discrepancy involves a number 2535
of ballots that exceeds the margin of victory in any local race, 2536
the race may not be certified unless the discrepancy is 2537
resolved. If the discrepancy is not resolved, the race shall be 2538
deemed invalid and a special election must be held to fill the 2539
office in accordance with chapter 100. If the discrepancy is 2540
determined to be due to chain of custody mismanagement, the 2541
supervisor may be removed from office. 2542
(9)(7) If the unofficial returns reflect that a candidate 2543
for any office was defeated or eliminated by one -half of a 2544
percent or less of the votes cast for such office, that a 2545
candidate for retention to a judicial office was retained or not 2546
retained by one-half of a percent or less of the votes cast on 2547
the question of retention, or that a measure appearing on the 2548
ballot was approved or rejected by one -half of a percent or less 2549
of the votes cast on such measure, a manual recount using 2550
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original paper ballots and voter certificate envelopes shall be 2551
ordered of the votes cast with respect to such office or 2552
measure. The Secretary of State is responsible for ordering 2553
recounts in federal, state, and multicounty races. The county 2554
canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying 2555
the election is responsible for ordering recounts in all other 2556
races. A recount need not be ordered with respect to the returns 2557
for any office, however, if the candidate or candidates defeated 2558
or eliminated from contention for such office by one -half of a 2559
percent or less of the votes cast for such office request in 2560
writing that a recount not be made. 2561
(a) Each canvassing board responsible for conducting a 2562
recount shall oversee a manual recount using original hand -2563
marked paper ballots and voter certificate envelopes and 2564
determine whether the returns correctly reflect the votes cast. 2565
The recount must include undervotes, overvotes, and blank 2566
ballots put each marksense ballot through automatic tabulating 2567
equipment and determine whether the returns correctly reflect 2568
the votes cast. If any marksense ballot is physically damaged so 2569
that it cannot be properly counted by the automatic tabulating 2570
equipment during the recount, a true duplicate shall be made of 2571
the damaged ballot pursuant to the procedures in s. 101.5614(4). 2572
Immediately before the start of the recount, a test of the 2573
tabulating equipment shall be conducted as provided in s. 2574
101.5612. If the test indicates no error, the recount tabulation 2575
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of the ballots cast shall be presumed correct and such votes 2576
shall be canvassed accordingly. If an error is detected, the 2577
cause therefor shall be ascert ained and corrected and the 2578
recount repeated, as necessary. The canvassing board shall 2579
immediately report the error, along with the cause of the error 2580
and the corrective measures being taken, to the Department of 2581
State. No later than 11 days after the elec tion, the canvassing 2582
board shall file a separate incident report with the Department 2583
of State, detailing the resolution of the matter and identifying 2584
any measures that will avoid a future recurrence of the error. 2585
If the automatic tabulating equipment used in a recount is not 2586
part of the voting system and the ballots have already been 2587
processed through such equipment, the canvassing board is not 2588
required to put each ballot through any automatic tabulating 2589
equipment again. 2590
(b) Each canvassing board responsi ble for conducting a 2591
recount where touchscreen ballots were used shall manually 2592
recount the paper output from each device examine the counters 2593
on the precinct tabulators to ensure that the total of the 2594
returns on the precinct tabulators equals the overall election 2595
return. If there is a discrepancy between the overall election 2596
return and the counters of the precinct tabulators, the counters 2597
of the precinct tabulators shall be presumed correct and such 2598
votes shall be canvassed accordingly . 2599
(c) The canvassing board shall submit on forms or in 2600
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formats provided by the division a second set of unofficial 2601
returns to the Department of State for each federal, statewide, 2602
state, or multicounty office or ballot measure. The returns 2603
shall be filed no later than 3 p.m. on the 5th day after any 2604
primary election and no later than 3 p.m. on the 9th day after 2605
any general election in which a recount was ordered by the 2606
Secretary of State. If the canvassing board is unable to 2607
complete the recount prescribed in this subsection b y the 2608
deadline, the second set of unofficial returns submitted by the 2609
canvassing board shall be identical to the initial unofficial 2610
returns and the submission shall also include a detailed 2611
explanation of why it was unable to timely complete the recount. 2612
However, the canvassing board shall complete the recount 2613
prescribed in this subsection, along with any manual recount 2614
prescribed in s. 102.166, and certify election returns in 2615
accordance with the requirements of this chapter. 2616
(d) The Department of State sh all adopt detailed rules 2617
prescribing additional recount procedures for each certified 2618
voting system, which shall be uniform to the extent practicable. 2619
Section 22. Subsection (1) is renumbered as subsection (2) 2620
and subsections (2) through (6) of section 102.166, Florida 2621
Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (6) through (10), 2622
respectively, present subsections (1) and (5) are amended, and 2623
new subsections (1), (3), (4), and (5) are added to that 2624
section, to read: 2625
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102.166 Manual recounts of overvotes and undervotes.— 2626
(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the 2627
contrary, if the first set of unofficial returns pursuant to s. 2628
102.141 indicates that a candidate for any office was defeated 2629
or eliminated by 2 percent or less of the votes cast for such 2630
office, or if a candidate for retention to a judicial office was 2631
retained or not retained by 3 percent or less of the votes cast 2632
on the question of retention, the candidate may request a full 2633
manual recount of the original handmarked paper ballots ca st in 2634
the entire geographic jurisdiction of such office in view of the 2635
public. Voting equipment, including tabulators, may not be used 2636
to sort or count ballots in the manual recount process. Ballot 2637
images may not be used as a substitute for the original 2638
handmarked paper ballots. Only original handmarked ballots and 2639
paper output from voter interface devices may be used in the 2640
manual recount process. Candidates and candidates' designees 2641
must immediately be provided all requested reports, chain of 2642
custody forms, data, and log files and any other requested 2643
information from any system used during the election, including 2644
voting systems and other election systems. 2645
(2)(1) If the second set of unofficial returns pursuant to 2646
s. 102.141 indicates that a candidate for any office was 2647
defeated or eliminated by 1 one-quarter of a percent or less of 2648
the votes cast for such office, that a candidate for retention 2649
to a judicial office was retained or not retained by 1 one-2650
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quarter of a percent or less of the votes cast on the question 2651
of retention, or that a measure appearing on the ballot was 2652
approved or rejected by one -quarter of a percent or less of the 2653
votes cast on such measure, a manual recount of the overvotes 2654
and undervotes cast in the entire geographic jurisdiction of 2655
such office or ballot measure shall be ordered and conducted 2656
using original handmarked ballots and paper output from voter 2657
interface devices in view of the public, unless: 2658
(a) The candidate or candidates defeated or eliminated 2659
from contention by one-quarter of 1 percent or fewer of the 2660
votes cast for such office request in writing that a recount not 2661
be made; or 2662
(b) The number of overvotes and undervotes is fewer than 2663
the number of votes needed to change the outcome of the 2664
election. 2665
2666
The Secretary of State is responsible for ordering a manual 2667
recount for federal, state, and multicounty races. The county 2668
canvassing board or local board responsible for certifying the 2669
election is responsible for ordering a manual recount for all 2670
other races. A manual reco unt consists of a recount of marksense 2671
ballots or of digital images of those ballots by a person. 2672
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the 2673
contrary, if a measure appearing on the ballot was approved or 2674
rejected by 2 percent or less of the votes cast on such measure, 2675
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the Secretary of State or a county canvassing board or local 2676
board responsible for certifying the election in a county that 2677
is in the geographic jurisdiction of such measure may request a 2678
full manual recount of the original han dmarked paper ballots 2679
cast in the entire geographic jurisdiction of such ballot 2680
measure in view of the public. Voting equipment, including 2681
tabulators, may not be used to sort or count ballots in the 2682
manual recount process. Ballot images may not be used as a 2683
substitute for the original handmarked paper ballots. Only 2684
original handmarked paper ballots may be used in the manual 2685
recount process. The Secretary of State or the county canvassing 2686
board or local board must immediately be provided all requested 2687
reports, chain of custody forms, data, and log files and any 2688
other requested information from any equipment used during the 2689
election, including voting systems and other election systems. 2690
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the 2691
contrary, upon delivery of a petition signed by at least 5 2692
percent of county voters, a comprehensive audit must be 2693
conducted and include all paper ballots, vote -by-mail voter 2694
certificate envelopes, digital ballots, digital signatures in 2695
voter roll file alongside the corre sponding digital signatures 2696
of vote-by-mail voter certificate envelopes, voter rolls, and 2697
other equipment used in the given precinct election being 2698
audited. The auditors for such audit must be chosen by the 2699
petitioning voters and the audit must be complete d in view of 2700
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the public. 2701
(a) If the electors' petition concerns a single race, a 2702
manual audit shall consist of a public manual tally of the votes 2703
cast in that race appearing on the ballot. The tally sheet must 2704
include election day, vote -by-mail, early voting, provisional, 2705
and overseas paper ballots. In addition, the audit must include 2706
data collection and signature comparison, whether in paper or 2707
electronic form, of all vote -by-mail voter certificate 2708
envelopes, paper ballots, signatures, including all si gnatures 2709
in voter registration files, voter roll files, and other 2710
equipment used in the voting district being audited. 2711
(b) If the electors' petition concerns the votes cast 2712
across every race that appears on the ballot, a manual audit of 2713
the votes cast across every race appearing on the ballot shall 2714
be conducted. The tally sheet must include election day, vote -2715
by-mail, early voting, provisional, and overseas paper ballots. 2716
In addition, the audit must include data collection and 2717
signature comparison, whethe r in paper or electronic form, of 2718
all vote-by-mail voter certificate envelopes; ballots; 2719
signatures, including all signatures in voter registration 2720
files; voter roll files; and other equipment used in the voting 2721
district being audited. 2722
(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the 2723
contrary, if there is a discrepancy of more than the margin of 2724
victory in any race on the ballot reconciliation report, a 2725
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manual audit of original ballots, voter certificate envelopes, 2726
and chain of custody forms must be completed for that race, 2727
including all paper ballots, vote -by-mail voter certificate 2728
envelopes, digital ballots, digital signatures in voter roll 2729
file alongside the corresponding digital signatures of the vote -2730
by-mail voter certificate envelopes, voter rolls, and other 2731
equipment used in the given precinct election being audited. The 2732
auditors for such audit must be chosen by the Division of 2733
Elections and the audit must be completed in view of the public. 2734
(6)(5) Procedures for a manual recount are as fol lows: 2735
(a) The county canvassing board shall appoint as many 2736
counting teams of at least two electors as is necessary to 2737
manually recount the ballots. A counting team must have, when 2738
possible, members of at least two political parties. A candidate 2739
involved in the race shall not be a member of the counting team. 2740
(b) Each duplicate ballot prepared pursuant to s. 2741
101.5614(4) or s. 102.141(9) s. 102.141(7) shall be compared 2742
with the original ballot to ensure the correctness of the 2743
duplicate. 2744
(c) If a counting team is unable to determine whether the 2745
ballot contains a clear indication that the voter has made a 2746
definite choice, the ballot shall be presented to the county 2747
canvassing board for a determination. 2748
(d) The Department of State shall adopt detailed ru les 2749
prescribing additional recount procedures for each certified 2750
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voting system which shall be uniform to the extent practicable. 2751
The rules shall address, at a minimum, the following areas: 2752
1. Security of ballots during the recount process; 2753
2. Time and place of recounts; 2754
3. Public observance of recounts; 2755
4. Objections to ballot determinations; 2756
5. Record of recount proceedings; 2757
6. Procedures relating to candidate and petitioner 2758
representatives; and 2759
7. Procedures relating to the certification and the use of 2760
automatic tabulating equipment that is not part of a voting 2761
system. 2762
Section 23. Section 104.21, Florida Statutes, is amended 2763
to read: 2764
104.21 Changing electors' ballots or voter certificate 2765
envelopes.— 2766
(1) Whoever fraudulently changes or attempts to change the 2767
vote or ballot of any elector, by which actions such elector is 2768
prevented from voting such ballot or from voting such ballot as 2769
the elector intended, is guilty of a felony of the third degree, 2770
punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s . 775.083, or s. 775.084. 2771
(2) An election worker who changes any information or 2772
marking on a voter certificate envelope in an attempt to cure an 2773
envelope deficiency commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, 2774
punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 77 5.083. 2775
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Section 24. Section 104.291, Florida Statutes, is created 2776
to read: 2777
104.291 False representation of poll watcher 2778
identification.—A poll watcher who wears a poll watcher 2779
identification badge that belongs to another person commits a 2780
misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 2781
775.082 or s. 775.083. 2782
Section 25. Section 104.30, Florida Statutes, is amended 2783
to read: 2784
104.30 Voting system; unlawful possession; tampering. — 2785
(1) Any unauthorized person who unlawfully has possess ion 2786
of any voting system, components, or key thereof commits is 2787
guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as 2788
provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 2789
(2) Any person who tampers or attempts to tamper with or 2790
destroy any voting system or equipment with the intention of 2791
interfering with the election process or the results thereof 2792
commits is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as 2793
provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 2794
(3) Any person who without lawful authorization prints a 2795
ballot or voter certificate envelope that appears to be a valid 2796
ballot or voter certificate envelope in this state commits a 2797
felony of the third degree, puni shable as provided in s. 2798
775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 2799
Section 26. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 2800