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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to elections; amending s. 99.061, 2
F.S.; revising the list of required items that must be 3
received by a specified officer for nomination and 4
election qualification; authorizing a candidate to be 5
removed from the ballot in certain circumstanc es; 6
providing a method to challenge the contents of 7
certain forms and statements; providing requirements 8
for certain candidates to qualify for office; 9
requiring the Department of State to adopt rules for 10
certain procedures and a required form; requiring th e 11
withdrawal of certain candidates in specified 12
circumstances; providing the exclusive method of 13
withdrawal; prohibiting a qualifying officer from 14
accepting certain items outside of a specified period; 15
declaring that any papers or items accepted after the 16
deadline are not valid and that the candidate must be 17
disqualified; providing a method for challenging the 18
qualification for certain candidates; specifying 19
procedures for bringing an action in circuit court, 20
the filing of responses and scheduling of procee dings; 21
amending s. 101.69, F.S.; revising where secure ballot 22
intake stations may be placed and when they may be 23
accessed; amending s. 103.081, F.S.; revising who is 24
required to give approval and permission to use names, 25
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abbreviations, and symbols of polit ical parties; 26
authorizing a political party to adopt certain rules; 27
revising requirements for an exception; amending s. 28
103.121, F.S.; revising powers and duties of executive 29
committees; providing for retroactive application; 30
amending s. 106.1436, F.S.; re vising the definition of 31
the term "voter guide"; revising who may represent 32
that a voter guide is the official publication of a 33
political party; revising required disclaimers on 34
voter guides; prohibiting voter guides from advocating 35
for a candidate unless certain conditions are met; 36
providing that certain voter guides are an in -kind 37
contribution and should be valued in a certain manner; 38
providing an exception; increasing the maximum fine 39
amount for a certain violation; providing an effective 40
date. 41
42
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 43
44
Section 1. Present subsection (11) of section 99.061, 45
Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (12), paragraph 46
(d) is added to subsection (7), a new subsection (11) and 47
subsection (13) are added to that section, and paragraph (a) of 48
subsection (7) of that section is amended, to read: 49
99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to 50
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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
federal, state, county, or district office. — 51
(7)(a) In order for a candidate to be qualified, the 52
following items must be received by the filing officer by the 53
end of the qualifying period: 54
1. A properly executed check drawn upon the candidate's 55
campaign account for the office the candidate is qualifying for, 56
payable to the person or entity as presc ribed by the filing 57
officer in an amount not less than the fee required by s. 58
99.092, unless the candidate obtained the required number of 59
signatures on petitions pursuant to s. 99.095. The filing fee 60
for a special district candidate is not required to be drawn 61
upon the candidate's campaign account. If a candidate's check is 62
returned by the bank for any reason, the filing officer shall 63
immediately notify the candidate and the candidate shall have 64
until the end of qualifying to pay the fee with a cashier's 65
check purchased from funds of the campaign account. Failure to 66
pay the fee as provided in this subparagraph shall disqualify 67
the candidate. 68
2. The candidate's oath required by s. 99.021, which must 69
contain the name of the candidate as it is to appear on t he 70
ballot; the office sought, including the district or group 71
number if applicable; and the signature of the candidate, which 72
must be verified under oath or affirmation pursuant to s. 73
92.525(1)(a). 74
3. If the office sought is partisan, the written stateme nt 75
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of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b); or 76
if the candidate is running without party affiliation for a 77
partisan office, the written statement required by s. 78
99.021(1)(c). If an order of a court that has become final 79
determines that a candidate failed to file an accurate written 80
statement as provided in this subparagraph, the candidate shall 81
be disqualified and removed from the ballot. 82
4. The completed form for the appointment of campaign 83
treasurer and designation of campaign deposit ory, as required by 84
s. 106.021. The contents of the form required under this 85
subparagraph may only be challenged by filing a complaint with 86
the Florida Elections Commission. 87
5. The full and public disclosure or statement of 88
financial interests required b y subsection (5). A public officer 89
who has filed the full and public disclosure or statement of 90
financial interests with the Commission on Ethics before 91
qualifying for office may file a copy of that disclosure or a 92
verification or receipt of electronic fil ing as provided in 93
subsection (5) at the time of qualifying. The contents of the 94
disclosure or statement required under this subparagraph may 95
only be challenged by filing a complaint with the Commission on 96
Ethics. 97
(d) As a condition precedent to a candid ate filing or 98
qualifying for another office, the candidate must withdraw from 99
the first office by filing a form with the qualifying officer. 100
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The department shall adopt procedures to administer this 101
paragraph, including the development of the form. The form and 102
rules developed by the department are the exclusive method for 103
withdrawal from office under this paragraph, and any other 104
attempted method of withdrawal may not be considered valid. A 105
qualifying officer may not qualify a candidate for another 106
office if the candidate has failed to properly withdraw from the 107
first office as provided in this paragraph. 108
(11) The qualifying officer may not accept any qualifying 109
papers or any items required under this section after the 110
qualifying period has ended. Any qual ifying papers or items 111
accepted by the qualifying officer after the qualifying period 112
has ended are not valid and the candidate must be disqualified. 113
(13)(a) A candidate may challenge the validity of his or 114
her opponent's qualification under this section . A political 115
party may challenge the validity of any candidate's 116
qualification under this section. 117
(b) A complainant may bring an action for declaratory and 118
injunctive relief with the circuit court in a county where the 119
alleged violation occurred within 10 days after the qualifying 120
period has ended. 121
(c) The candidate whose validity is being challenged and 122
the qualifying officer are indispensable party defendants. 123
(d) Within 10 days after the complaint has been served, 124
each named defendant must file a response. If the candidate 125
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whose validity is being challenged fails to file a timely 126
response, the court must disqualify the candidate and order the 127
candidate removed from the ballot, absent a showing of good 128
cause for the delay. 129
(e) Unless a scheduling order has been issued by the 130
court, the parties must file at least one proposed scheduling 131
order with the court within 10 days after the complaint has been 132
served. 133
(f) A matter brought under this subsection and any appeals 134
shall be considered on an expedited basis that will be least 135
disruptive to the upcoming election. 136
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 137
101.69, Florida Statutes, is amended to r ead: 138
101.69 Voting in person; return of vote -by-mail ballot.— 139
(2)(a) The supervisor shall allow an elector who has 140
received a vote-by-mail ballot to physically return a voted 141
vote-by-mail ballot to the supervisor by placing the return mail 142
envelope containing his or her marked ballot in a secure ballot 143
intake station. Secure ballot intake stations shall be placed at 144
the main office of the supervisor, at each permanent branch 145
office of the supervisor which meets the criteria set forth in 146
s. 101.657(1)(a) for branch offices used for early voting and 147
which is open for at least the minimum number of hours 148
prescribed by s. 98.015(4), and at each early voting site. 149
Secure ballot intake stations may also be placed at any other 150
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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
site that would otherwise qualify as an early voting site under 151
s. 101.657(1). Secure ballot intake stations must be 152
geographically located so as to provide all voters in the county 153
with an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is 154
practicable. Except for secure ballot intake stati ons at an 155
office of the supervisor, a secure ballot intake station may 156
only be used during the county's early voting hours of operation 157
and must be monitored in person by an employee of the 158
supervisor's office. A secure ballot intake station at an office 159
of the supervisor may only be made available during early voting 160
hours or during normal office hours and must be continuously 161
monitored in person by an employee of the supervisor's office 162
when the secure ballot intake station is accessible for deposit 163
of ballots. 164
Section 3. Section 103.081, Florida Statutes, is amended 165
to read: 166
103.081 Use of party name , abbreviation, or symbol ; 167
political advertising. — 168
(1) No person shall use any the name, abbreviation, or 169
symbol of any political party, the name, abb reviation, or symbol 170
of which is filed with the Department of State, in political 171
advertising in newspapers, other publications, handbills, radio 172
or television, or any other form of advertising in connection 173
with any political activities in support of a ca ndidate of any 174
other party, unless such person shall first obtain the written 175
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permission of the chair of the state executive committee of the 176
party the name, abbreviation, or symbol of which is to be used. 177
(2) No person or group of persons shall use any the name, 178
abbreviation, or symbol of any political party, the name, 179
abbreviation, or symbol of which is filed with the Department of 180
State, in connection with any club, group, association, or 181
organization of any kind unless approval and permission have 182
been given in writing by the chair of the state executive 183
committee of such party. A political party may provide by rule a 184
process for requesting approval and permission under this 185
subsection. This subsection shall not apply to county executive 186
committees of such parties and organizations which are chartered 187
by the state executive committee or national executive committee 188
of the party the name, abbreviation, or symbol of which is to be 189
used, or to organizations which at the time of the political 190
party filing the name with the Department of State have been 191
continuously using the name of any political party which 192
organizations have and have continuously been in existence and 193
organized on a statewide basis for a period of 10 years. 194
(3) A political party may file with the Department of 195
State names of groups or committees associated with the 196
political party for which approval and permission have been 197
given under this section . Such Filed names of groups or 198
committees associated with the political party may not be used 199
without first obtaining the written permission of the chair of 200
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the state executive committee of the party. 201
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the 202
contrary, an affiliated party committee shall be entitled to use 203
any the name, abbreviation, or symbol of the political party of 204
its leader as defined in s. 103.092. 205
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 206
103.121, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 207
103.121 Powers and duties of executive committees. — 208
(1)(a) Each state a nd county executive committee of a 209
political party shall have the power and duty: 210
1. To adopt a constitution by two -thirds vote of the full 211
committee. 212
2. To adopt such bylaws and rules as it may deem necessary 213
by majority vote of the full committee. 214
3. To conduct its meetings according to generally accepted 215
parliamentary practice. 216
4. To make party nomination when required by law. 217
5. To conduct campaigns for party nominees. 218
6. To raise and expend party funds. Such funds may not be 219
expended or committed to be expended except after written 220
authorization by the chair of the state or county executive 221
committee. 222
7. To sue and be sued and appear and defend in all actions 223
and proceedings in its party name to the same extent as a 224
natural person. 225
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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
8. To make contracts and guaranties, incur liabilities, 226
borrow money at such rates of interest as the party may 227
determine, issue its notes, bonds, and other obligations, and 228
secure its obligations by mortgage and pledge of all or any of 229
its property, franchises , or income. 230
9. To purchase, take, receive, lease, take by gift, 231
devise, or bequest, or otherwise acquire, own, hold improve, 232
use, or otherwise deal in and with real or personal property, or 233
any interest therein, wherever situated. 234
10. To acquire, enjo y, use, and dispose of patents, 235
copyrights, and trademarks and any licenses and other rights or 236
interest thereunder or therein. 237
11. To sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, 238
transfer, or otherwise dispose of all or any part of its 239
property and assets. 240
12. To have and exercise all powers necessary or 241
convenient to effect any and all the purposes for which the 242
party is organized. 243
Section 5. The amendments made by this act to s. 103.121, 244
Florida Statutes, apply to all proceedings pending on o r before, 245
or commenced after, the effective date of this act. 246
Section 6. Section 106.1436, Florida Statutes, is amended 247
to read: 248
106.1436 Voter guide; disclaimers; violations. — 249
(1) As used in this section, the term "voter guide" means 250
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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
direct mail that is either an electioneering communication , or a 251
political advertisement , or a miscellaneous advertisement of a 252
political nature distributed sent for the purpose of supporting 253
or opposing two or more advocating for or endorsing particular 254
issues or candidates by recommending or not recommending 255
specific electoral choices to the voter or by indicating issue 256
or candidate selections on an unofficial ballot. The term does 257
not include communications apply to direct mail or publications 258
made by governmental e ntities or government officials in their 259
official capacity or to any political advertisement using an 260
expenditure described in s. 106.021(3)(d) . 261
(2) A person other than the state executive committee or a 262
county executive committee of a political party or an affiliated 263
party committee may not, directly or indirectly, represent that 264
a voter guide is an official publication of a political party 265
unless such person is given written permission by the chair of 266
the state executive committee of the political party and the 267
voter guide is approved by the political party pursuant to s. 268
103.081. 269
(3)(a) In addition to any other disclaimers required by 270
law, a voter guide distributed circulated before, or on the day 271
of, an election must , in bold font with a font size of at least 272
12 points, prominently: 273
(a) Display the following disclaimer at the top of the 274
first page of the voter guide : 275
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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
1. If the voter guide is not approved by a political party 276
or affiliated party committee: "Voter guide approved by ...(Name 277
of person paying for communication)...., not affiliated with any 278
political party." an electioneering communication, the 279
disclaimer required under s. 106.1439 ; or 280
2. If the voter guide is approved by a political party or 281
affiliated party committee, the following disclaimer: "Voter 282
guide approved by ...(Name of the political party or affiliated 283
party committee)...." a political advertisement, the disclaimer 284
required under s. 106.143 . 285
(b)1. For a printed communication, the voter guide 286
disclaimer must appear at the top of the first page of the 287
communication in boldface type of at least 12 points and with a 288
reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and 289
the disclaimer. 290
2. For a text message, if an exchange consists of a 291
sequence of multiple text mess ages sent on the same day, the 292
voter guide disclaimer is only required to be included with the 293
first text message of the day. The disclaimer may be in the form 294
of a working hyperlink or a uniform resource locator to a 295
website containing the disclaimer. Suc h website must remain 296
online and available to the public for at least 30 days after 297
the election for which the website was created. 298
3. For a television or video communication, the voter 299
guide disclaimer must be clearly readable, appear at the 300
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beginning or end of the communication for a period of at least 4 301
seconds, occupy at least 4 percent of the vertical picture 302
height, and be accompanied by an audio statement of the 303
disclaimer spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner. 304
4. For an Internet pu blic communication that includes text 305
or graphic components, the voter guide disclaimer must be 306
viewable without the user taking any action and be large enough 307
to be clearly readable. 308
5. For a telephone call, the voter guide disclaimer be 309
read aloud at the beginning or end of the telephone call in a 310
clearly audible manner. 311
6. For any audio component of a communication, the voter 312
guide disclaimer appear at the beginning or end of the of the 313
audio portion of the communication, be at least 3 seconds in 314
length, and be read aloud in a clearly audible and intelligible 315
manner. 316
7. For a graphic communication, the voter guide disclaimer 317
must appear at the top of the graphic, be large enough to be 318
clearly readable, and be at least 4 percent of the vertical 319
height of the communication Be marked "Voter Guide" with such 320
text appearing immediately below the disclaimer required in 321
paragraph (a). 322
(4) Any voter guide which expressly advocates for a 323
candidate requires prior written authorization by such 324
candidate. A copy of such written authorization must be placed 325
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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
on file with the qualifying officer by the candidate before the 326
voter guide is distri buted. A voter guide under this section is 327
an in-kind contribution to the candidate under s. 106.055, and 328
should be valued in consideration of the percentage of the voter 329
guide devoted to the candidate. This subsection does not apply 330
to a voter guide paid for by an independent expenditure. 331
(5)(4)(a) In addition to any other penalties provided by 332
law, a person who fails to comply with this section commits a 333
misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 334
775.082 or by a fine of not less than $25 for each individual 335
voter guide distributed. 336
(b) Any fine imposed pursuant to paragraph (a) may not 337
exceed $10,000 $2,500 in the aggregate in any calendar month. 338
Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 339