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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. 20.10, F.S.; 2
requiring that the Secretary of State be elected 3
rather than appointed and serve a specified term; 4
specifying when such election must occur; amending s. 5
20.32, F.S.; requiring the Florida Commission on 6
Offender Review to develop and maintain a database for 7
a specified purpose; specifying database requirements; 8
requiring specified entities to provide specified 9
information to the commission on a monthly basis; 10
requiring the Department of Management Servic es, 11
acting through the Florida Digital Service, to provide 12
technical assistance to the commission in developing 13
and maintaining the database; authorizing the 14
Department of Management Services to adopt rules; 15
requiring the commission to make the database pu blicly 16
available on a website by a specified date; requiring 17
the commission to update the database monthly; 18
requiring the commission to publish certain 19
instructions on the website; requiring the commission 20
to submit a certain comprehensive plan to the Gove rnor 21
and the Legislature by a specified date; specifying 22
requirements for the comprehensive plan; providing 23
that certain persons who register to vote are 24
prohibited from being charged with certain crimes as a 25
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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
result of such registration or voting; requirin g the 26
commission to adopt rules; amending s. 97.021, F.S.; 27
defining terms; providing construction; repealing s. 28
97.022, F.S., relating to the Office of Election 29
Crimes and Security; repealing s. 97.0291, F.S., 30
relating to prohibiting the use of private fun ds for 31
election-related expenses; creating s. 97.0556, F.S.; 32
authorizing a person who meets certain requirements to 33
register to vote at an early voting site or at his or 34
her polling place and to cast a ballot immediately 35
thereafter; amending s. 97.057, F.S .; authorizing the 36
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to 37
preregister certain individuals to vote; providing 38
that driver license or identification card 39
applications, driver license or identification card 40
renewal applications, and applications f or changes of 41
address for existing driver licenses or identification 42
cards submitted to the department serve as voter 43
registration applications; providing that an applicant 44
is deemed to have consented to the use of his or her 45
signature for voter registrati on purposes unless a 46
declination is made; requiring that specified 47
applications include a voter registration component, 48
subject to approval by the Department of State; 49
providing requirements for the voter registration 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
component; requiring the Department of Highway Safety 51
and Motor Vehicles to transmit voter registration 52
information electronically to the Department of State 53
within a specified timeframe; requiring the Department 54
of State to provide such information to supervisors of 55
elections; deleting provis ions prohibiting persons 56
providing voter registration services for a driver 57
license office from making changes to an applicant's 58
party affiliation without the applicant's consent and 59
separate signature; deleting obsolete language; making 60
technical changes; amending s. 97.0575, F.S.; revising 61
the information a third -party voter registration 62
organization is required to provide to the Division of 63
Elections of the Department of State; deleting a 64
provision that provides for the expiration of such 65
organization's registration at the conclusion of the 66
general election cycle for which the organization is 67
registered; deleting provisions requiring such 68
organizations to provide a specified receipt to 69
applicants; revising the timeframe within which such 70
organizations must deliver completed applications to 71
the division or a supervisor of elections; revising 72
certain penalties; revising the aggregate limit of 73
such penalties; deleting provisions providing criminal 74
penalties for the unlawful copying of voter 75
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registration applications or retaining of a voter's 76
personal information; deleting provisions providing 77
criminal and administrative penalties; deleting 78
provisions requiring the division to adopt certain 79
rules; deleting provisions that prohibit providing 80
applicants a pre-filled voter registration application 81
and a specified fine for such action; deleting 82
provisions providing for retroactive application; 83
creating part III of ch. 97, F.S., entitled "Florida 84
Voting Rights Act"; creating s. 97.21, F.S.; 85
prohibiting local governme nts, state agencies, and 86
state officials from implementing, imposing, or 87
enforcing election policies, practices, or actions 88
that result in, will result in, or are intended to 89
result in specified disparities or impairments; 90
providing that it is not a violat ion if such entities 91
demonstrate by a specified evidentiary standard 92
certain conditions; providing that it is always a 93
violation if specified circumstances exist; 94
prohibiting local governments from employing methods 95
of election that have the effect, will l ikely have the 96
effect, or are motivated in part by the intent of 97
diluting the vote of protected class members; 98
providing the requirements to establish a violation; 99
providing the relevant factors to evaluate the 100
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totality of circumstances related to voter su ppression 101
and vote dilution; providing construction; providing 102
that such factors are most probative under a specified 103
condition; providing the circumstances used to 104
determine whether elections in the local government 105
exhibit racially polarized voting; prov iding 106
construction; providing the circumstances that are 107
never relevant to violations of specified provisions; 108
providing that a state interest in preventing voter 109
fraud or bolstering voter confidence in the integrity 110
of elections is relevant under specifie d 111
circumstances; providing that evidence concerning the 112
intent of electors, elected officials, and public 113
officials is not required for such violations; 114
providing that voting habits of protected class 115
members may be relevant to certain violations; 116
requiring a prospective plaintiff, before filing a 117
certain action against a local government, to send a 118
notification letter, by specified means, to the local 119
government; prohibiting a party from filing an action 120
under specified circumstances; authorizing a local 121
government to adopt a specified resolution within a 122
specified timeframe; providing that if the proposed 123
remedy in such resolution is barred by state or local 124
law, or a legislatively body lacks the authority or 125
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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
the local government is a covered jurisdiction, the 126
proposed remedy may be approved by the Florida Voting 127
Rights Act Commission if certain conditions are met; 128
authorizing a party that sent a notification letter to 129
seek reimbursement from the local government under 130
specified circumstances; authorizing a party to bring 131
a cause of action for a specified violation under 132
specified circumstances; requiring local governments 133
to take certain action; requiring the commission to 134
post notification letters and resolutions on its 135
website; authorizing the commission to adopt certain 136
rules; prohibiting local governments from asserting 137
specified defenses; authorizing specified entities to 138
file certain enforcement actions; prohibiting certain 139
entities from being compelled to disclose the identity 140
of a member; providing c onstruction; creating s. 141
97.22, F.S.; creating the Florida Voting Rights Act 142
Commission within the Department of State; providing 143
that such commission is a separate budget entity and 144
must submit a budget in accordance with specified 145
provisions; providing d uties and responsibilities of 146
the commission; providing for the composition of the 147
commission; providing that such commissioners serve 148
staggered terms; requiring that commissioners be 149
compensated at a specified hourly rate; requiring the 150
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formation of a nominating committee; providing for the 151
appointment and removal of nominating committee 152
members; requiring the nominating committee to select 153
a chair; requiring that commissioners be selected 154
using a specified process; requiring that 155
commissioners initially b e selected by lot and 156
randomly assigned term lengths for purposes of 157
achieving staggered terms; authorizing the commission 158
to take specified actions in any action or 159
investigation to enforce specified provisions; 160
authorizing the commission to hire staff an d make 161
expenditures for a specified purpose; authorizing the 162
commission to adopt rules; creating s. 97.23, F.S.; 163
requiring the commission to enter into agreements with 164
one or more postsecondary educational institutions to 165
create the Florida Voting and Elec tions Database and 166
Institute for a specified purpose; requiring the 167
parties to the agreement to enter into a memorandum of 168
understanding that includes the process for selecting 169
a director; authorizing the database and institute to 170
perform specified actions ; requiring the database and 171
institute to make election and voting data records for 172
a specified timeframe available to the public at no 173
cost and to maintain such records in an electronic 174
format; requiring the database and institute to use 175
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certain methodologies when preparing estimates; 176
specifying the data and records that must be 177
maintained; requiring state agencies and local 178
governments to provide any information requested by 179
the director of the database and institute; requiring 180
local governments to transm it specified information to 181
the database and institute within a certain timeframe; 182
requiring specified entities to provide data, 183
statistics, and other information annually to the 184
database and institute; authorizing specified entities 185
to file enforcement ac tions; prohibiting certain 186
entities from being compelled to disclose the identity 187
of a member for a certain purpose; providing 188
construction; providing that enforcement actions may 189
be filed in accordance with the Florida Rules of Civil 190
Procedure or in a spe cified venue; requiring the 191
database and institute to publish a certain report; 192
requiring the database and institute to provide 193
nonpartisan technical assistance to specified 194
entities; providing that a rebuttable presumption 195
exists that data, estimates, or other information from 196
the database and institute is valid; creating s. 197
97.24, F.S.; defining terms; requiring the Florida 198
Voting Rights Act Commission to designate languages 199
other than English for which language assistance must 200
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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
be provided by a local gove rnment, if certain 201
conditions exist; providing the circumstances under 202
which the commission must designate languages other 203
than English for voting and elections; requiring the 204
commission to publish specified information annually 205
on its website and distribu te such information to 206
local governments; requiring local governments to 207
provide language assistance for specified purposes if 208
the commission makes a certain determination; 209
specifying the materials that must be provided in such 210
language; requiring that cer tain information be given 211
orally to voters; requiring that translated materials 212
convey a specified intent and meaning; prohibiting 213
local governments from relying on automatic 214
translation services; requiring that live translation 215
be used if available; requi ring the commission to 216
establish a specified review process; providing 217
requirements for such review process; authorizing 218
specified entities to file enforcement actions; 219
prohibiting certain entities from being compelled to 220
disclose the identity of a member for a certain 221
purpose; providing construction; requiring that 222
enforcement actions be filed in accordance with the 223
Florida Rules of Civil Procedure or in a specified 224
venue; creating s. 97.25, F.S.; providing that the 225
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enactment or implementation of a covered policy by a 226
covered jurisdiction is subject to preclearance by the 227
commission; specifying actions by a local government 228
which are covered policies; requiring that if a 229
covered jurisdiction does not make changes to its 230
method of election, such method is de emed a covered 231
policy that must be submitted to the commission; 232
specifying which local governments are covered 233
jurisdictions; requiring the commission to determine 234
and publish annually a list of local governments that 235
are covered jurisdictions on its websi te; requiring a 236
covered jurisdiction, if seeking preclearance, to 237
submit the covered policy to the commission in 238
writing; requiring the commission to review the 239
covered policy and grant or deny preclearance; 240
providing that the covered jurisdiction bears th e 241
burden of proof in the preclearance process; providing 242
that the commission may deny preclearance only if it 243
makes a certain determination; providing that if 244
preclearance is denied, the covered policy may not be 245
enacted or implemented; requiring the commi ssion to 246
provide a written explanation for a denial; 247
authorizing a covered jurisdiction to immediately 248
enact or implement a covered policy granted 249
preclearance; providing that such determination is not 250
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admissible and may not be considered by a court in a 251
subsequent action challenging the covered policy; 252
providing that a covered policy is deemed precleared 253
and may be implemented or enacted by the covered 254
jurisdiction if the commission fails to approve or 255
deny the covered policy within specified timeframes; 256
requiring the commission to grant or deny preclearance 257
within specified timeframes; authorizing the 258
commission to invoke a specified number of extensions 259
of a specified timeframe to determine preclearance; 260
providing that any denial of preclearance may be 261
appealed only by the covered jurisdiction in a 262
specified venue; authorizing specified entities to 263
enjoin the enactment or implementation of specified 264
policies and seek sanctions against covered 265
jurisdictions in specified circumstances; authorizing 266
specified entities to file enforcement actions; 267
prohibiting certain entities from being compelled to 268
disclose the identity of a member for a certain 269
purpose; providing construction; specifying that 270
enforcement actions must be filed in accordance with 271
the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure or in a specified 272
venue; requiring the commission to adopt rules; 273
creating s. 97.26, F.S.; prohibiting a person from 274
engaging in acts of intimidation, deception, or 275
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obstruction or any other tactic that has the effect, 276
or will reasonably have the effect, of interfering 277
with another person's right to vote; specifying acts 278
that are deemed a violation; providing a rebuttable 279
presumption; authorizing specified entities to file a 280
civil action to enforce specified provisions; 281
prohibiting certain entities from being compelled to 282
disclose the identity of a member for a certain 283
purpose; providing construction; requiring that courts 284
order specified remedies; creating s. 97.27, F.S.; 285
providing construction; providing applicability; 286
creating s. 97.28, F.S.; requiring a court to order 287
specified appropriate remedies for violations of the 288
act; requiring the court to consider remedies proposed 289
by specified parties; prohibiting the court from 290
giving deference to a remedy proposed by the state or 291
local government; providing that the court is 292
empowered to require local governments to implement 293
certain remedies under specified conditions; requiring 294
the courts to grant a temporary injunction or other 295
preliminary relief requested under specified 296
conditions; requiring the court to award attorney fees 297
and litigation costs in actions to enforce specified 298
provisions; amending s. 98.045, F.S.; conforming a 299
cross-reference; amending s. 98.255, F.S.; revising 300
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the standards the Department of State is required to 301
prescribe by rule for nonpartisan voter education; 302
requiring that supervisors provide public -facing voter 303
information in plain language to be understood by 304
certain persons; creating s. 100.51, F.S.; 305
establishing General Election Day as a paid holiday; 306
providing that a voter may absent himself or herself 307
from service or employment at a specific time on 308
General Election Day and may not be penalized or have 309
salary or wages deducted for such absence; creating s. 310
101.016, F.S.; requiring the Division of Elections to 311
maintain a strategic elections equipment reserve of 312
voting systems and other equipment for specified 313
purposes; requiring that such reserve include 314
specified equipment; authorizing the division to 315
contract with specified entities rather than 316
physically maintain such reserve; repealing s. 317
101.019, F.S., relating to the prohibition of ranked -318
choice voting; amending s. 101.048, F.S.; providing 319
that a voter may cast a provisional ballot at any 320
precinct in the county in which the voter claims to be 321
registered; making technical changes; amending s. 322
101.62, F.S.; providing that a request for a vote -by-323
mail ballot is valid until the voter cancels the 324
request; revising the timeframe during which the 325
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supervisor must mail vote -by-mail ballots before 326
election day; deleting requirements for a person 327
designated by a voter to pick up the voter's vote -by-328
mail ballot; providing for extension of deadlines 329
under certain conditions; amending s. 101.64, F.S.; 330
requiring supervisors of elections to enclose a 331
postage prepaid mailing en velope with each vote -by-332
mail ballot; providing that vote -by-mail ballot voter 333
certificates may be signed with the last four digits 334
of the voter's social security number; making 335
technical changes; amending s. 101.65, F.S.; revising 336
the instructions that mu st be provided with a vote -by-337
mail ballot; amending s. 101.68, F.S.; requiring 338
supervisors of elections to compare the signature or 339
last four digits of the social security number on a 340
voter's certificate with the signature or last four 341
digits of the social security number in the 342
registration books or precinct register when 343
canvassing a vote-by-mail ballot; requiring a 344
canvassing board to compare the signature or last four 345
digits of the social security number on a voter's 346
certificate or vote-by-mail ballot cure affidavit with 347
the signature or last four digits of the social 348
security number in the registration books or precinct 349
register when canvassing a vote -by-mail ballot; 350
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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
deleting the authorization for certain persons to file 351
a protest against the canvass of a ballot; amending s. 352
101.69, F.S.; deleting provisions providing that 353
specified secure ballot intake stations be used only 354
during specified timeframes and be monitored by an 355
employee of the supervisor's office; requiring that 356
secure ballot intake station s be monitored by the 357
supervisor's office during specified timeframes 358
instead of continuously monitored in person by an 359
employee; deleting a provision authorizing a certain 360
civil penalty; making technical changes; amending s. 361
104.42, F.S.; conforming a pro vision to changes made 362
by the act; providing an effective date. 363
364
WHEREAS, Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore were the first 365
true civil rights activists of the modern civil rights era in 366
this state, and 367
WHEREAS, the Moores, and the organizations they hel ped 368
found and lead, were instrumental in registering more than 369
100,000 black voters in this state, and 370
WHEREAS, the Moores paid the ultimate price for the 371
freedoms they fought to secure for their community when members 372
of the Ku Klux Klan bombed their hom e in Mims on Christmas Day 373
in 1951, and 374
WHEREAS, at the time of their death, Florida had the most 375
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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
registered black voters, outpacing any other state in the South, 376
and 377
WHEREAS, the purpose of this act is to encourage maximum 378
participation of all eligible voters in this state's electoral 379
process, and 380
WHEREAS, electoral systems that deny race, color, or 381
language minority groups an equal opportunity to elect 382
candidates of their choice and influence the outcome of an 383
election are inconsistent with the right t o equal treatment 384
before the law as provided in Articles I and II of the State 385
Constitution as well as protections found in the 14th and 15th 386
Amendments to the United States Constitution, and 387
WHEREAS, this act expands voting rights granted under the 388
federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and reaffirms the well -389
established principle of "one person, one vote," and 390
WHEREAS, following decisions by the United States Supreme 391
Court in Shelby County v. Holder and Brnovich v. Democratic 392
National Committee, the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 has 393
been severely diminished in its ability to protect the freedom 394
and opportunity of black and brown voters to participate fully 395
in the political process of our democratic republic, and 396
WHEREAS, this act builds on the historica l work of the 397
named and nameless Floridians who fought for their right to the 398
elective franchise, NOW, THEREFORE, 399
400
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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
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 401
402
Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 20.10, Florida 403
Statutes, is amended to read: 404
20.10 Department of State. —There is created a Department 405
of State. 406
(1) The head of the Department of State is the Secretary 407
of State. The Secretary of State shall be elected at the 408
statewide general election at which the Governor, Lieutenant 409
Governor, and Cabinet officers are elected as provided in s. 5, 410
Art. IV of the State Constitution, and shall serve a term of 4 411
years beginning on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 412
January of the year following such election appointed by the 413
Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and shall serve 414
at the pleasure of the Governor . The Secretary of State shall 415
perform the functions conferred by the State Constitution upon 416
the custodian of state records. 417
Section 2. Subsection (4) is added to section 20.32, 418
Florida Statutes, to read: 419
20.32 Florida Commission on Offender Review. — 420
(4)(a) For the purpose of assisting a person who has been 421
disqualified from voting based on a felony conviction, other 422
than a conviction for murder or a felony s exual offense, in 423
determining whether he or she has met the requirements under s. 424
98.0751 to have his or her voting rights restored pursuant to s. 425
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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
4, Art. VI of the State Constitution, the commission shall 426
develop and maintain a database that contains for each such 427
person all of the following information: 428
1. His or her name and any other personal identifying 429
information. 430
2. The remaining length of any term of supervision, 431
including, but not limited to, probation, community control, or 432
parole, ordered by a court as part of his or her sentence. 433
3. The remaining amount of any restitution he or she owes 434
to a victim as ordered by a court as part of his or her 435
sentence. 436
4. The remaining amount due of any fines or fees that were 437
initially ordered by a court as part of his or her sentence or 438
as a condition of any form of supervision, including, but not 439
limited to, probation, community control, or parole. 440
5. The completion status of any other term ordered by a 441
court as a part of his or her sentence. 442
6. Any other information needed to determine whether he or 443
she has met the requirements for restoration of voting rights 444
under s. 98.0751. 445
(b) The Department of State, the Department of 446
Corrections, the clerks of the circuit court, the county 447
comptrollers, and the Board of Executive Clemency shall provide 448
to the commission on a monthly basis any information required 449
under paragraph (a). 450
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(c) The Department of Management Services, acting through 451
the Florida Digital Service, shall provide any technical 452
assistance necessary for the commission to develop and maintain 453
the database. The Department of Management Services may adopt 454
rules governing the provision of such assistance. 455
(d) By July 1, 2027, the commission shall make the 456
database available on a public websi te. The commission must 457
update the database monthly with the information received from 458
each governmental entity under paragraph (b). The commission 459
shall publish on the website clear instructions that a person 460
who has been disqualified from voting based on a felony 461
conviction, other than for murder or a felony sexual offense, 462
may follow to have his or her voting rights restored and to 463
register to vote. 464
(e) By July 1, 2025, the commission shall provide a 465
comprehensive plan to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 466
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which includes 467
all of the following: 468
1. The governmental entities from which and the methods by 469
which the commission shall collect, centralize, analyze, and 470
secure the information required to b e included in the database. 471
2. A description of any infrastructure and services, 472
including, but not limited to, software, hardware, and 473
information technology services, which may be necessary to 474
create and maintain the database. 475
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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
3. The anticipated numb er of additional employees 476
necessary for: 477
a. The commission to develop and maintain the database. 478
b. A governmental entity to provide the information 479
required under paragraph (b). 480
c. The Florida Digital Service to provide the assistance 481
required under paragraph (c). 482
4. The anticipated initial cost to develop the database; 483
the annual cost to maintain the database; and the annual 484
appropriation required to fund the anticipated costs incurred by 485
the commission, each governmental entity, and the Florida 486
Digital Service. 487
5. Any legal authority necessary for the commission to 488
develop and maintain the database. 489
6. Draft legislation to implement the comprehensive plan. 490
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who registers 491
to vote or who votes in rea sonable reliance on information 492
contained in the database indicating that his or her voting 493
rights have been restored pursuant to s. 4, Art. VI of the State 494
Constitution has an affirmative right to register and to vote 495
and may not be charged with a violati on of any criminal law of 496
this state related to fraudulently voting or registering to 497
vote. 498
(g) The commission shall adopt rules to implement this 499
subsection. 500
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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
Section 3. Section 97.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to 501
read: 502
97.021 Definitions. —For the purposes of this code, except 503
where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term: 504
(1) "Absent elector" means any registered and qualified 505
voter who casts a vote -by-mail ballot. 506
(2) "Absent uniformed services voter" means: 507
(a) A member of a uniformed service on active duty who, by 508
reason of such active duty, is absent from the place of 509
residence where the member is otherwise qualified to vote; 510
(b) A member of the merchant marine who, by reason of 511
service in the merchant marine, is absent fr om the place of 512
residence where the member is otherwise qualified to vote; or 513
(c) A spouse or dependent of a member referred to in 514
paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) who, by reason of the active duty 515
or service of the member, is absent from the place of resi dence 516
where the spouse or dependent is otherwise qualified to vote. 517
(3) "Address of legal residence" means the legal 518
residential address of the elector and includes all information 519
necessary to differentiate one residence from another, 520
including, but not limited to, a distinguishing apartment, 521
suite, lot, room, or dormitory room number or other identifier. 522
(4) "Alternative formats" has the meaning ascribed in the 523
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101 -336, 42 524
U.S.C. ss. 12101 et seq., including specifically the technical 525
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assistance manuals promulgated thereunder, as amended. 526
(5) "Automatic tabulating equipment" means an apparatus 527
that automatically examines, counts, and records votes. 528
(6) "Ballot" or "official ballot" when used in r eference 529
to: 530
(a) "Electronic or electromechanical devices" means a 531
ballot that is voted by the process of electronically 532
designating, including by touchscreen, or marking with a marking 533
device for tabulation by automatic tabulating equipment or data 534
processing equipment. 535
(b) "Marksense ballots" means that printed sheet of paper, 536
used in conjunction with an electronic or electromechanical vote 537
tabulation voting system, containing the names of candidates, or 538
a statement of proposed constitutional amendmen ts or other 539
questions or propositions submitted to the electorate at any 540
election, on which sheet of paper an elector casts his or her 541
vote. 542
(7) "Candidate" means any person to whom any one or more 543
of the following applies: 544
(a) Any person who seeks to qualify for nomination or 545
election by means of the petitioning process. 546
(b) Any person who seeks to qualify for election as a 547
write-in candidate. 548
(c) Any person who receives contributions or makes 549
expenditures, or gives his or her consent for any other person 550
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to receive contributions or make expenditures, with a view to 551
bringing about his or her nomination or election to, or 552
retention in, public office. 553
(d) Any person who appoints a treasurer and designates a 554
primary depository. 555
(e) Any person who f iles qualification papers and 556
subscribes to a candidate's oath as required by law. 557
558
However, this definition does not include any candidate for a 559
political party executive committee. 560
(8) "Database and institute" means the Florida Voting and 561
Elections Database and Institute. 562
(9) "Department" means the Department of State. 563
(10)(9) "Division" means the Division of Elections of the 564
Department of State. 565
(11)(10) "Early voting" means casting a ballot prior to 566
election day at a location designated by the supervisor of 567
elections and depositing the voted ballot in the tabulation 568
system. 569
(12)(11) "Early voting area" means the area designated by 570
the supervisor of el ections at an early voting site at which 571
early voting activities occur, including, but not limited to, 572
lines of voters waiting to be processed, the area where voters 573
check in and are processed, and the area where voters cast their 574
ballots. 575
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(13)(12) "Early voting site" means those locations 576
specified in s. 101.657 and the building in which early voting 577
occurs. 578
(14)(13) "Election" means any primary election, special 579
primary election, special election, general election, or 580
presidential preference primary e lection. 581
(15)(14) "Election board" means the clerk and inspectors 582
appointed to conduct an election. 583
(16)(15) "Election costs" shall include, but not be 584
limited to, expenditures for all paper supplies such as 585
envelopes, instructions to voters, affidavit s, reports, ballot 586
cards, ballot booklets for vote -by-mail voters, postage, notices 587
to voters; advertisements for registration book closings, 588
testing of voting equipment, sample ballots, and polling places; 589
forms used to qualify candidates; polling site re ntal and 590
equipment delivery and pickup; data processing time and 591
supplies; election records retention; and labor costs, including 592
those costs uniquely associated with vote -by-mail ballot 593
preparation, poll workers, and election night canvass. 594
(17) "Election policy or practice" includes any 595
qualification to be an elector, prerequisite to voting, or 596
method of election, as well as any law, statute, ordinance, 597
resolution, charter code or provision, regulation, rule, policy, 598
practice, procedure, standard, or ac tion, with respect to voting 599
or the administration or schedule of elections. 600
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(18)(16) "Elector" is synonymous with the word "voter" or 601
"qualified elector or voter," except where the word is used to 602
describe presidential electors. 603
(19) "Federal Voting R ights Act" means the federal Voting 604
Rights Act of 1965, 52 U.S.C. s. 10301 et seq., as amended. 605
(20) "FLVRA Commission" means the Florida Voting Rights 606
Act Commission. 607
(21)(17) "General election" means an election held on the 608
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the even -609
numbered years, for the purpose of filling national, state, 610
county, and district offices and for voting on constitutional 611
amendments not otherwi se provided for by law. 612
(22) "Government enforcement action" means any denial of 613
administrative or judicial preclearance by the state or the 614
Federal Government; pending litigation filed by a state or 615
federal entity; or final judgment or adjudication, con sent 616
decree, or other similar formal action. 617
(23) "Legislative body" means a commission, council, 618
school board, or other similar body, by whatever name known, of 619
local government. 620
(24)(18) "Lists of registered electors" means names and 621
associated information of registered electors maintained by the 622
department in the statewide voter registration system or 623
generated or derived from the statewide voter registration 624
system. Lists may be produced in printed or electronic format. 625
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(25) "Local government" mea ns any county, municipality, 626
school district, special district, supervisor of elections or 627
other governmental entity that administers elections, or any 628
other political subdivision in this state in which elections are 629
conducted. 630
(26)(19) "Member of the Merchant Marine" means an 631
individual, other than a member of a uniformed service or an 632
individual employed, enrolled, or maintained on the Great Lakes 633
for the inland waterways, who is: 634
(a) Employed as an officer or crew member of a vessel 635
documented under the laws of the United States, a vessel owned 636
by the United States, or a vessel of foreign -flag registry under 637
charter to or control of the United States; or 638
(b) Enrolled with the United States for employment or 639
training for employment, or maintained by the United States for 640
emergency relief service, as an officer or crew member of such 641
vessel. 642
(27) "Method of election" means the method by which 643
candidates are elected to a governmental body of a local 644
government, and includes any at -large, district-based, share-645
based, or other method of election, as well as any districting 646
or redistricting plan used to elect candidates to the 647
governmental body. Methods of election include: 648
(a) "At-large method of election" which means a method of 649
election in which cand idates are voted on by all voters in the 650
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local government's jurisdiction, voters are allowed or required 651
to cast as many votes as there are seats to fill, and voters may 652
not cast more than one vote for a given candidate. 653
(b) "District-based method of election" which means a 654
method of election in which the local government is divided into 655
districts, each district is represented by a single 656
representative, and a candidate is voted on only by voters 657
residing in his or her district. 658
(c) "Other method of ele ction" which means a method of 659
election other than an at -large, district-based, or share-based 660
method of election, or any combination of methods of election. 661
(d) "Share-based method of election" means a method of 662
election in which more than one candidate is to be elected and 663
different groups of voters may each elect their preferred 664
candidates to the seats to fill based on their relative share of 665
the votes cast. Share -based methods of election include, but are 666
not limited to, the single transferable vote, cumulative voting, 667
limited voting, and party -list or state-list systems. 668
(28)(20) "Minor political party" is any group as specified 669
in s. 103.095 which on January 1 preceding a primary election 670
does not have registered as members 5 percent of the total 671
registered electors of the state. 672
(29)(21) "Newspaper of general circulation" means a 673
newspaper printed in the language most commonly spoken in the 674
area within which it circulates and which is readily available 675
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for purchase by all inhabitants in the area of circulation, but 676
does not include a newspaper intended primarily for members of a 677
particular professional or occupational group, a newspaper the 678
primary function of which is to carry legal notices, or a 679
newspaper that is given away primarily to distribu te 680
advertising. 681
(30)(22) "Nominal value" means having a retail value of 682
$10 or less. 683
(31)(23) "Nonpartisan office" means an office for which a 684
candidate is prohibited from campaigning or qualifying for 685
election or retention in office based on party aff iliation. 686
(32)(24) "Office that serves persons with disabilities" 687
means any state office that takes applications either in person 688
or over the telephone from persons with disabilities for any 689
program, service, or benefit primarily related to their 690
disabilities. 691
(33) "Organization" means a person other than an 692
individual. 693
(34)(25) "Overseas voter" means: 694
(a) An absent uniformed services voter who, by reason of 695
active duty or service, is absent from the United States on the 696
date of the election involve d; 697
(b) A person who resides outside the United States and is 698
qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was 699
domiciled before leaving the United States; or 700
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(c) A person who resides outside the United States and, 701
but for such residence, woul d be qualified to vote in the last 702
place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the 703
United States. 704
(35)(26) "Overvote" means that the elector marks or 705
designates more names than there are persons to be elected to an 706
office or designates more th an one answer to a ballot question, 707
and the tabulator records no vote for the office or question. 708
(36)(27) "Persons with disabilities" means individuals who 709
have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits 710
one or more major life activities. 711
(37)(28) "Petition circulator" means an entity or 712
individual who collects signatures for compensation for the 713
purpose of qualifying a proposed constitutional amendment for 714
ballot placement. 715
(38)(29) "Polling place" is the building which contains 716
the polling room where ballots are cast. 717
(39)(30) "Polling room" means the actual room in which 718
ballots are cast on election day and during early voting. 719
(40)(31) "Primary election" means an election held 720
preceding the general election for the purpose of nominating a 721
party nominee to be voted for in the general election to fill a 722
national, state, county, or district office. 723
(41) "Protected class" means a class o f citizens who are 724
members of a race, color, or language minority group, as 725
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referenced in the federal Voting Rights Act. 726
(42)(32) "Provisional ballot" means a conditional ballot, 727
the validity of which is determined by the canvassing board. 728
(43)(33) "Public assistance" means assistance provided 729
through the food assistance program under the federal 730
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the Medicaid program; 731
the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and 732
Children; and the Temporary Cash Assistance Program. 733
(44)(34) "Public office" means any federal, state, county, 734
municipal, school, or other district office or position which is 735
filled by vote of the electors. 736
(45)(35) "Qualifying educational institution" means any 737
public or private educational institution receiving state 738
financial assistance which has, as its primary mission, the 739
provision of education or training to students who are at least 740
18 years of age, provided such institution has more than 200 741
students enrolled in classe s with the institution and provided 742
that the recognized student government organization has 743
requested this designation in writing and has filed the request 744
with the office of the supervisor of elections in the county in 745
which the institution is located. 746
(46) "Racially polarized voting" means voting in which the 747
candidate or electoral choice preferred by protected class 748
members diverges from the candidate or electoral choice 749
preferred by voters who are not protected class members. 750
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(47)(36) "Special election" is a special election called 751
for the purpose of voting on a party nominee to fill a vacancy 752
in the national, state, county, or district office. 753
(48)(37) "Special primary election" is a special 754
nomination election designated by the Governor, called f or the 755
purpose of nominating a party nominee to be voted on in a 756
general or special election. 757
(49)(38) "Supervisor" means the supervisor of elections. 758
(50)(39) "Tactile input device" means a device that 759
provides information to a voting system by means of a voter 760
touching the device, such as a keyboard, and that complies with 761
the requirements of s. 101.56062(1)(k) and (l). 762
(51)(40) "Third-party registration organization" means any 763
person, entity, or organization soliciting or collecting voter 764
registration applications. A third -party voter registration 765
organization does not include: 766
(a) A person who seeks only to register to vote or collect 767
voter registration applications from that person's spouse, 768
child, or parent; or 769
(b) A person engaged in registe ring to vote or collecting 770
voter registration applications as an employee or agent of the 771
division, supervisor of elections, Department of Highway Safety 772
and Motor Vehicles, or a voter registration agency. 773
(52)(41) "Undervote" means that the elector does not 774
properly designate any choice for an office or ballot question, 775
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and the tabulator records no vote for the office or question. 776
(53)(42) "Uniformed services" means the Army, Navy, Air 777
Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard, the 778
commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and the 779
commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 780
Administration. 781
(54) "Vote" or "voting" includes any action necessary to 782
cast a ballot and make such ballot effective in any election or 783
primary election, which actions include, but are not limited to, 784
registering to vote, requesting a vote -by-mail ballot, and any 785
other action required by law as a prerequisite to casting a 786
ballot and having such ballot counted, canvassed, or certified 787
properly and included in the appropriate totals of votes cast 788
with respect to candidates for election or nomination and to 789
referendum questions. 790
(55)(43) "Voter interface device" means any device that 791
communicates voting instructions and ballot information to a 792
voter and allows the voter to select and vote for candidates and 793
issues. A voter interface device may not be used to tabulate 794
votes. Any vote tabulation must be based upon a subsequent scan 795
of the marked marksense ballot or the voter -verifiable paper 796
output after the voter interface device process has been 797
completed. 798
(56)(44) "Voter registration agency" means any office that 799
provides public assistance, any office that serves persons with 800
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disabilities, any center for independent living, or any public 801
library. 802
(57)(45) "Voter registration official" means any 803
supervisor of elections or individual authorized by the 804
Secretary of State to accept voter registration applications and 805
execute updates to the statewide voter registration system. 806
(58)(46) "Voting booth" or "booth" means that booth or 807
enclosure wherein an elector casts his or her ballot for 808
tabulation by an electronic or electromechanical device. 809
(59)(47) "Voting system" means a method of casting and 810
processing votes that functions wholly or partly by use of 811
electromechanical or electronic apparatus or by use of marksense 812
ballots and includes, but is not limited to, the procedures for 813
casting and processing votes and the programs, operating 814
manuals, supplies, printouts, and other software necessary for 815
the system's operation. 816
817
Terms used in this code which are not defined in this section 818
but are used in the federal Voting Rights Act and interpreted in 819
relevant case law, including, but not limited to, "political 820
process" and "prerequisite to voting," must be co nstrued in a 821
manner consistent with such usage and interpretation. 822
Section 4. Section 97.022, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 823
Section 5. Section 97.0291, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 824
Section 6. Section 97.0556, Florida Statutes, is created 825
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to read: 826
97.0556 Same-day voter registration. —A person who meets 827
the qualifications specified in s. 97.041 to register to vote 828
and who provides the information required under s. 97.052 for 829
the uniform statewide voter registration application may 830
register at an early voting site or at his or her polling place 831
and immediately thereafter cast a ballot. 832
Section 7. Section 97.057, Florida Statutes, is amended to 833
read: 834
97.057 Voter registration by the Department of Highway 835
Safety and Motor Vehicles. — 836
(1)(a) Each of the following serves as an application The 837
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide 838
the opportunity to preregister to vote, register to vote, or to 839
update a voter registration record when submitted to the 840
Department of Highwa y Safety and Motor Vehicles to each 841
individual who comes to an office of that department to : 842
1.(a) An application for or renewal of Apply for or renew 843
a driver license; 844
2.(b) An application for or renewal of Apply for or renew 845
an identification card pursuant to chapter 322; or 846
3.(c) An application for a change of an address on an 847
existing driver license or identification card. 848
(b) Unless the applicant declines to register or 849
preregister to vote, he or she is deemed to have consented to 850
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the use of the signature from his or her driver license or 851
identification card application for voter registration purposes. 852
(2) An application for a driver license or an 853
identification card must include a voter registration component. 854
The voter registration component must be approved by the 855
Department of State and must include all of the following: 856
(a) The minimum amount of information necessary to prevent 857
duplicate voter registrations and to preserve the ability of the 858
department and super visors of elections to assess the 859
eligibility of the applicant and administer voter registration 860
and other provisions of this code. 861
(b) A statement setting forth voter eligibility 862
requirements. 863
(c) An explanation that the applicant is consenting to the 864
use of his or her signature from the applicant's driver license 865
or identification card application for voter registration 866
purposes. By consenting to the use of his or her signature, the 867
applicant is deemed to have subscribed to the oaths required by 868
s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051 and to 869
have sworn and affirmed that the voter registration information 870
contained in the application is true under penalty for false 871
swearing pursuant to s. 104.011. 872
(d) An option that allows the applicant to choose or 873
update a party affiliation. An applicant who is initially 874
registering to vote and does not exercise such option must be 875
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sent a notice by the supervisor of elections in accordance with 876
s. 97.053(5)(b). 877
(e) An option that allows the applicant to decline to 878
register to vote or preregister to vote. The Department of 879
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall note any such 880
declination in its records and forward the declination to the 881
Department of State. A declination may be used only for voter 882
registration purposes and is confidential and exempt from public 883
records requirements as provided in s. 97.0585. 884
(3) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 885
shall: 886
(a) Develop a voter registration component for 887
applications which meets the requi rements set forth in 888
subsection (2). 889
(b) Electronically transmit the voter registration 890
component of an applicant's driver license or identification 891
card application to the Department of State within 24 hours 892
after receipt. Upon receipt of the voter regi stration component, 893
the Department of State shall provide the information to the 894
supervisor of the county in which the applicant is registering 895
or preregistering to vote or updating his or her voter 896
registration record. 897
(2) The Department of Highway Safe ty and Motor Vehicles 898
shall: 899
(a) Notify each individual, orally or in writing, that: 900
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1. Information gathered for the completion of a driver 901
license or identification card application, renewal, or change 902
of address can be automatically transferred to a voter 903
registration application; 904
2. If additional information and a signature are provided, 905
the voter registration application will be completed and sent to 906
the proper election authority; 907
3. Information provided can also be used to update a voter 908
registration record, except that party affiliation will not be 909
changed unless the individual designates a change in party 910
affiliation and separately consents to such change in writing; 911
4. All declinations will remain confidential and may be 912
used only for voter registration purposes; and 913
5. The particular driver license office in which the 914
person applies to register to vote or updates a voter 915
registration record will remain confidential and may be used 916
only for voter registration purposes. 917
(b) Require a driver license examiner to inquire orally 918
or, if the applicant is hearing impaired, inquire in writing 919
whether the applicant wishes to register to vote or update a 920
voter registration record during the completion of a driver 921
license or identification card appli cation, renewal, or change 922
of address. 923
1. If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to 924
update a voter registration record: 925
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a. All applicable information received by the Department 926
of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course of filling 927
out the forms necessary under subsection (1) must be transferred 928
to a voter registration application. 929
b. The additional necessary information must be obtained 930
by the driver license examiner and must not duplicate any 931
information already obtained while comple ting the forms required 932
under subsection (1). 933
c. A voter registration application with all of the 934
applicant's voter registration information required to establish 935
the applicant's eligibility pursuant to s. 97.041 must be 936
presented to the applicant to rev iew and verify the voter 937
registration information received and provide an electronic 938
signature affirming the accuracy of the information provided. 939
d. The voter registration application may not be used to 940
change the party affiliation of the applicant unle ss the 941
applicant designates a change in party affiliation and provides 942
a separate signature consenting to the party affiliation change. 943
e. After verifying the voter registration information and 944
providing his or her electronic signature, the applicant mus t be 945
provided with a printed receipt that includes such information 946
and documents any change in party affiliation. 947
2. If the applicant declines to register to vote, update 948
the applicant's voter registration record, or change the 949
applicant's address by either orally declining or by failing to 950
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sign the voter registration application, the Department of 951
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must note such declination on 952
its records and shall forward the declination to the statewide 953
voter registration system. 954
(3) For the purpose of this section, the Department of 955
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, with the approval of the 956
Department of State, shall prescribe: 957
(a) A voter registration application that is the same in 958
content, format, and size as the uniform statewide voter 959
registration application prescribed under s. 97.052; and 960
(b) A form that will inform applicants under s ubsection 961
(1) of the information contained in paragraph (2)(a). 962
(4) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 963
must electronically transmit completed voter registration 964
applications within 24 hours after receipt to the statewide 965
voter registration system. Completed paper voter registration 966
applications received by the Department of Highway Safety and 967
Motor Vehicles shall be forwarded within 5 days after receipt to 968
the supervisor of the county where the office that processed or 969
received that application is located. 970
(5) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 971
must send, with each driver license renewal extension 972
application authorized pursuant to s. 322.18(8), a uniform 973
statewide voter registration application, the voter registration 974
application prescribed under paragraph (3)(a), or a voter 975
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registration application developed especially for the purposes 976
of this subsection by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 977
Vehicles, with the approval of the Department of State, which 978
must meet the requirements of s. 97.052. 979
(4)(6) A person providing voter registration services for 980
a driver license office may not: 981
(a) Make any change to an applicant's party affiliation 982
unless the applicant provides a separate signature consenting to 983
the party affiliation change or discuss or Seek to influence an 984
applicant's political preference or party registration; 985
(b) Display any political preference or party allegiance; 986
(c) Make any statement to an applicant or take any action 987
the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant 988
from registering to vote; or 989
(d) Disclose any applicant's voter registration 990
information except as needed for the administration of voter 991
registration. 992
(5)(7) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 993
shall collect data determined necessary by the Department of 994
State for program evaluation and reporting to the Election 995
Assistance Commission pursuant to federal law. 996
(6)(8) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 997
shall must ensure that all voter registration services provided 998
by driver license offices are in compliance with the federal 999
Voting Rights Act of 1965. 1000
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(7)(9) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 1001
shall retain complete records of voter registration i nformation 1002
received, processed, and submitted to the Department of State 1003
statewide voter registration system by the Department of Highway 1004
Safety and Motor Vehicles. The retention of such These records 1005
is shall be for the explicit purpose of supporting audi t and 1006
accounting controls established to ensure accurate and complete 1007
electronic transmission of records between the Department of 1008
State statewide voter registration system and the Department of 1009
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 1010
(8)(10) The Department of State shall provide the 1011
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles with an 1012
electronic database of street addresses valid for use as the 1013
address of legal residence as required in s. 97.053(5). The 1014
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall compare 1015
the address provided by the applicant against the database of 1016
valid street addresses. If the address provided by the applicant 1017
does not match a valid street address in the database, the 1018
applicant will be asked to verify the address provided. The 1019
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles may shall not 1020
reject any application for voter registration for which a valid 1021
match cannot be made. 1022
(9)(11) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor 1023
Vehicles shall enter into an agreement with the Departme nt of 1024
State to match information in the statewide voter registration 1025
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system with information in the database of the Department of 1026
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to the extent required to 1027
verify the accuracy of the driver license number, Florida 1028
identification number, or last four digits of the social 1029
security number provided on applications for voter registration 1030
as required in s. 97.053. 1031
(10)(12) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor 1032
Vehicles shall enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of 1033
Social Security as required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 1034
to verify the last four digits of the social security number 1035
provided in applications for voter registration as required in 1036
s. 97.053. 1037
(11)(13) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor 1038
Vehicles shall must assist the Department of State in regularly 1039
identifying changes in residence address on the driver license 1040
or identification card of a voter. The Department of State shall 1041
must report each such change to the appropriate supervisor of 1042
elections who must change the voter's registration records in 1043
accordance with s. 98.065(4). 1044
(14) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 1045
shall ensure that information technology processes and updates 1046
do not alter an applicant's party affiliation without the 1047
written consent of the applicant. 1048
Section 8. Section 97.0575, Florida Statutes, is amended 1049
to read: 1050
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97.0575 Third-party voter registration organizations. — 1051
(1) Before engaging in any voter registration activities, 1052
a third-party voter registration organization must register and 1053
provide to the division, in an electronic format, the following 1054
information: 1055
(a) The names of the officers of the organization and the 1056
name and permanent address of the organization. 1057
(b) The name and address of the organization's registered 1058
agent in the state. 1059
(c) The names, permanent addresses, and temporary 1060
addresses, if any, of each registration agent registering 1061
persons to vote in this state on behalf of the organization. 1062
This paragraph does not apply to p ersons who only solicit 1063
applications and do not collect or handle voter registration 1064
applications. 1065
(d) Beginning November 6, 2024, the specific general 1066
election cycle for which the third -party voter registration 1067
organization is registering persons to vot e. 1068
(e) An affirmation that each person collecting or handling 1069
voter registration applications on behalf of the third -party 1070
voter registration organization has not been convicted of a 1071
felony violation of the Election Code, a felony violation of an 1072
offense specified in s. 825.103, a felony offense specified in 1073
s. 98.0751(2)(b) or (c), or a felony offense specified in 1074
chapter 817, chapter 831, or chapter 837. A third -party voter 1075
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registration organization is liable for a fine in the amount of 1076
$50,000 for each such person who has been convicted of a felony 1077
violation of the Election Code, a felony violation of an offense 1078
specified in s. 825.103, a felony offense specified in s. 1079
98.0751(2)(b) or (c), or a felony offense specified in chapter 1080
817, chapter 831, or c hapter 837 who is collecting or handling 1081
voter registration applications on behalf of the third -party 1082
voter registration organization. 1083
(f) An affirmation that each person collecting or handling 1084
voter registration applications on behalf of the third -party 1085
voter registration organization is a citizen of the United 1086
States of America. A third -party voter registration organization 1087
is liable for a fine in the amount of $50,000 for each such 1088
person who is not a citizen and is collecting or handling voter 1089
registration applications on behalf of the third -party voter 1090
registration organization. 1091
(2) Beginning November 6, 2024, the registration of a 1092
third-party voter registration organization automatically 1093
expires at the conclusion of the specific general election cy cle 1094
for which the third-party voter registration organization is 1095
registered. 1096
(3) The division or the supervisor of elections shall make 1097
voter registration forms available to third -party voter 1098
registration organizations. All such forms must contain 1099
information identifying the organization to which the forms are 1100
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provided. The division shall maintain a database of all third -1101
party voter registration organizations and the voter 1102
registration forms assigned to the third -party voter 1103
registration organization. Each supervisor of elections shall 1104
provide to the division information on voter regi stration forms 1105
assigned to and received from third -party voter registration 1106
organizations. The information must be provided in a format and 1107
at times as required by the division by rule. The division shall 1108
update information on third -party voter registratio ns daily and 1109
make the information publicly available. 1110
(4) A third-party voter registration organization that 1111
collects voter registration applications shall provide a receipt 1112
to an applicant upon accepting possession of his or her 1113
application. The divisio n shall adopt by rule a uniform format 1114
for the receipt by October 1, 2023. The format must include, but 1115
need not be limited to, the name of the applicant, the date the 1116
application is received, the name of the third -party voter 1117
registration organization, th e name of the registration agent, 1118
the applicant's political party affiliation, and the county in 1119
which the applicant resides. 1120
(3)(a)(5)(a) A third-party voter registration organization 1121
that collects voter registration applications serves as a 1122
fiduciary to the applicant and shall ensure that any voter 1123
registration application entrusted to the organization, 1124
irrespective of party affiliation, race, ethnicity, or gender, 1125
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is promptly delivered to the division or the supervisor of 1126
elections in the county in whi ch the applicant resides within 14 1127
10 days after the application is completed by the applicant, but 1128
not after registration closes for the next ensuing election. If 1129
a voter registration application collected by any third -party 1130
voter registration organizatio n is not promptly delivered to the 1131
division or supervisor of elections in the county in which the 1132
applicant resides, the third-party voter registration 1133
organization is liable for the following fines: 1134
1. A fine in the amount of $50 per each day late, up t o 1135
$2,500, for each application received by the division or the 1136
supervisor of elections in the county in which the applicant 1137
resides more than 10 days after the applicant delivered the 1138
completed voter registration application to the third -party 1139
voter registration organization or any person, entity, or agent 1140
acting on its behalf. A fine in the amount of $250 $2,500 for 1141
each application received if the third -party voter registration 1142
organization or person, entity, or agency acting on its behalf 1143
acted willfully. 1144
2. A fine in the amount of $100 per each day late, up to 1145
$5,000, for each application collected by a thir d-party voter 1146
registration organization or any person, entity, or agent acting 1147
on its behalf, before book closing for any given election for 1148
federal or state office and received by the division or the 1149
supervisor of elections in the county in which the appl icant 1150
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resides after the book -closing deadline for such election. A 1151
fine in the amount of $500 $5,000 for each application received 1152
if the third-party voter registration organization or any 1153
person, entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully. 1154
3. A fine in the amount of $500 for each application 1155
collected by a third -party voter registration organization or 1156
any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf, which is not 1157
submitted to the division or supervisor of elections in the 1158
county in which the applicant resides. A fine in the amount of 1159
$1,000 $5,000 for any application not submitted if the third -1160
party voter registration organization or person, entity, or 1161
agency acting on its behalf acted willfully. 1162
1163
The aggregate fine which may be assessed pur suant to this 1164
paragraph against a third -party voter registration organization, 1165
including affiliate organizations, for violations committed in a 1166
calendar year is $1,000 $250,000. 1167
(b) A showing by the third -party voter registration 1168
organization that the fa ilure to deliver the voter registration 1169
application within the required timeframe is based upon force 1170
majeure or impossibility of performance shall be an affirmative 1171
defense to a violation of this subsection. The secretary may 1172
waive the fines described in this subsection upon a showing that 1173
the failure to deliver the voter registration application 1174
promptly is based upon force majeure or impossibility of 1175
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performance. 1176
(6) If a person collecting voter registration applications 1177
on behalf of a third -party voter registration organization 1178
alters the voter registration application of any other person, 1179
without the other person's knowledge and consent, in violation 1180
of s. 104.012(4) and is subsequently convicted of such offense, 1181
the applicable third -party voter registration organization is 1182
liable for a fine in the amount of $5,000 for each application 1183
altered. 1184
(7) If a person collecting voter registration applications 1185
on behalf of a third -party voter registration organization 1186
copies a voter's application or retains a voter's personal 1187
information, such as the voter's Florida driver license number, 1188
Florida identification card number, social security number, or 1189
signature, for any reason other than to provide such application 1190
or information to the third -party voter registration 1191
organization in compliance with this section, the person commits 1192
a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 1193
775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 1194
(4)(8) If the Secretary of State reasonably believes that 1195
a person has committed a vio lation of this section, the 1196
secretary may refer the matter to the Attorney General for 1197
enforcement. The Attorney General may institute a civil action 1198
for a violation of this section or to prevent a violation of 1199
this section. An action for relief may includ e a permanent or 1200
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temporary injunction, a restraining order, or any other 1201
appropriate order. 1202
(9) The division shall adopt by rule a form to elicit 1203
specific information concerning the facts and circumstances from 1204
a person who claims to have been registered to vote by a third-1205
party voter registration organization but who does not appear as 1206
an active voter on the voter registration rolls. The division 1207
shall also adopt rules to ensure the integrity of the 1208
registration process, including controls to ensure that all 1209
completed forms are promptly delivered to the division or a 1210
supervisor in the county in which the applicant resides. 1211
(5)(10) The date on which an applicant signs a voter 1212
registration application is presumed to be the date on which the 1213
third-party voter registration organization received or 1214
collected the voter registration application. 1215
(11) A third-party voter registration organization may not 1216
mail or otherwise provide a voter registration application upon 1217
which any information about an applicant ha s been filled in 1218
before it is provided to the applicant. A third -party voter 1219
registration organization that violates this section is liable 1220
for a fine in the amount of $50 for each such application. 1221
(12) The requirements of this section are retroactive f or 1222
any third-party voter registration organization registered with 1223
the department as of July 1, 2023, and must be complied with 1224
within 90 days after the department provides notice to the 1225
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third-party voter registration organization of the requirements 1226
contained in this section. Failure of the third -party voter 1227
registration organization to comply with the requirements within 1228
90 days after receipt of the notice shall automatically result 1229
in the cancellation of the third -party voter registration 1230
organization's registration. 1231
Section 9. Part III of chapter 97, Florida Statutes, 1232
consisting of sections 97.21 -97.28, Florida Statutes, is created 1233
and entitled "Florida Voting Rights Act." 1234
Section 10. Section 97.21, Florida Statutes, is created to 1235
read: 1236
97.21 Prohibitions on voter suppression and vote 1237
dilution.— 1238
(1) PROHIBITING VOTER SUPPRESSION. — 1239
(a) A local government, state agency, or state official 1240
may not implement, impose, or enforce any election policy or 1241
practice, or take any other action or fail to take any action, 1242
which results in, will result in, or is intended to result in 1243
any of the following: 1244
1. A material disparity in voter participation, access to 1245
voting opportunities, or the opportunity or ability to 1246
participate in the political process bet ween protected class 1247
members and other members of the electorate. 1248
2. Based on the totality of the circumstances, an 1249
impairment of the equal opportunity or ability of protected 1250
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class members to participate in any stage of the political 1251
process. 1252
(b) It is not a violation of paragraph (a) if a local 1253
government, state agency, or state official demonstrates by 1254
clear and convincing evidence that: 1255
1. The election policy or practice is necessary to 1256
significantly further an important and particularized 1257
governmental interest; and 1258
2. There is no alternative election policy or practice 1259
that results in a smaller disparity between protected class 1260
members and other members of the electorate. 1261
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), a violation always 1262
exists under paragraph (a) if: 1263
1. The local government, state agency, or state official 1264
takes action intended to result in a material disparity; or 1265
2. The material disparity results from: 1266
a. The closure, relocation, or consolidation of, or 1267
failure to provide, one or more polling places, early voting 1268
sites, or secure ballot intake stations; or the reassignment of 1269
voters to precincts or polling places or of precincts to polling 1270
places; 1271
b. The local government's selection of or change to the 1272
time or date of an election ; 1273
c. The local government conducting elections on dates that 1274
do not align with federal or state elections; 1275
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d. The date the local government selects for a special 1276
election, and there exists an alternate date in a reasonable 1277
timeframe in which the dispar ity would be materially less 1278
significant; or 1279
e. The failure to schedule a special election in a 1280
reasonable timeframe, allowing a vacancy in an office where 1281
protected class members are generally able to elect candidates 1282
of their choice. 1283
(2) PROHIBITING VOTE DILUTION.— 1284
(a) A local government may not employ an at -large method 1285
of election, a district -based method of election, a share -based 1286
method of election, or other method of election for any office 1287
which has the effect, will likely have the effect, or is 1288
motivated in part by the intent of diluting the vote of 1289
protected class members. 1290
(b) To establish a violation under paragraph (a), it must 1291
be established that: 1292
1.a. Elections in the local government exhibit racially 1293
polarized voting resulting in an impairment of the equal 1294
opportunity or ability of protected class members to nominate or 1295
elect candidates of their choice; or 1296
b. Based on the totality of the circumstances, the equal 1297
opportunity or ability of protected class members to nominate or 1298
elect candidates of their choice is impaired; and 1299
2. Another method of election or changes to the existing 1300
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method of election which could be constitutionally adopted or 1301
ordered under s. 97.28 would likely mitigate the impairment. For 1302
the purpose of satisfying such requirement, it is not necessary 1303
for the total number or share of protected class members to 1304
exceed any numerical threshold in any district or in the local 1305
government as a whole. 1306
(3) GUIDELINES AND RELEVANT CIRCUMSTANCES FOR EVALUATING 1307
VOTER SUPPRESSION AND VOTE DILUTION. — 1308
(a)1. To evaluate the totality of circumstances under 1309
subparagraph (1)(a)2. or sub -subparagraph (2)(b)1.b., the 1310
following factors may be relevant: 1311
a. The history of discrimination; 1312
b. The extent to which the protected class m embers have 1313
been elected to office; 1314
c. The use of any election policy or practice that may 1315
enhance the dilutive effective of a method of election in the 1316
local government. 1317
d. The extent to which protected class members or 1318
candidates experienced any hist ory of unequal access to 1319
election-administration or campaign finance processes that 1320
determine which candidates will receive access to the ballot or 1321
receive financial or other support in a given election for an 1322
office of the local government; 1323
e. The extent to which protected class members have 1324
historically made expenditures as defined in s. 106.011 at lower 1325
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rates than other voters; 1326
f. The extent to which protected class members vote at 1327
lower rates than other voters; 1328
g. The extent to which protected cla ss members are 1329
disadvantaged or otherwise bear the effects of public or private 1330
discrimination in areas that may hinder their ability to 1331
participate effectively in any stage of the political process, 1332
such as education, employment, health, criminal justice, 1333
housing, transportation, land use, or environmental protection; 1334
h. The use of overt or subtle racial appeals in political 1335
campaigns by governmental officials or in connection with the 1336
adoption or maintenance of the election policy or practice; 1337
i. The extent to which candidates face hostility or 1338
barriers while campaigning due to their membership in a 1339
protected class; 1340
j The lack of responsiveness by elected officials to the 1341
particular needs of protected class members or a community of 1342
protected class members; 1343
k. Whether the election policy or practice was designed to 1344
advance, and does materially advance, a valid and substantial 1345
state interest; and 1346
l. Other factors deemed relevant. 1347
2. A set number or combination of the factors in 1348
subparagraph 1. are not required to determine that a violation 1349
occurred. 1350
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3. Evidence of these factors is most probative if it 1351
relates to the local government in which the alleged violation 1352
occurred, but still holds probative value if it relates to the 1353
geographic region in which the local government is located or to 1354
this state. 1355
(b) To determine whether elections in the local government 1356
exhibit racially polarized voting under sub -subparagraph 1357
(2)(b)1.a.: 1358
1. Racially polarized voting must be assessed based on 1359
relevant election results, which may include, but are not 1360
limited to, elections for offices of the local government; 1361
elections held in the local government for other offices, such 1362
as state or federal offices; ballot measures; and other 1363
electoral choices that bear on t he rights and privileges of the 1364
protected class. 1365
a. A set number or combination of elections may not be 1366
required to establish the existence of racially polarized 1367
voting. 1368
b. Evidence of nonpolarized voting in election for offices 1369
outside the local government may not preclude a finding of 1370
racially polarized voting based on elections for offices of the 1371
local government. 1372
c. Nonstatistical or nonquantitative evidence may not 1373
preclude a finding of racially polarized voting based on 1374
statistical or quant itative evidence. 1375
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d. Low turnout or registration rates among protected class 1376
members may not preclude a finding of racially polarized voting. 1377
2. Racially polarized voting may be assessed based only on 1378
the combined electoral preferences of members of a protected 1379
class or classes. There is no requirement that the electoral 1380
preferences of each protected class or any subgroup within a 1381
protected class be separately polarized from those of other 1382
voters. 1383
3. The causes of or reasons for racially polarized vot ing, 1384
including partisan explanations or discriminatory intent, are 1385
not relevant. 1386
(c)1. If evaluating whether a violation of subsection (1) 1387
or subsection (2) is present, the following circumstances are 1388
never relevant to such a violation: 1389
a. The total number or share of protected class members on 1390
whom the election policy or practice does not impose a material 1391
burden. 1392
b. The degree to which the election policy or practice has 1393
a long pedigree or was in widespread use at some earlier date. 1394
c. The use of an identical or similar election policy or 1395
practice in other jurisdictions. 1396
d. The availability of forms of voting unimpacted by the 1397
election policy or practice. 1398
2. A state interest in preventing voter fraud or 1399
bolstering voter confidence in the integr ity of elections is not 1400
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relevant to an evaluation of whether a violation of subsection 1401
(1) or subsection (2) occurred unless there is substantial 1402
evidence of a number of instances that criminal activity by 1403
individual electors has occurred in the local gove rnment and the 1404
connection between the election policy or practice and a state 1405
interest in preventing voter fraud or bolstering voter 1406
confidence in the integrity of elections is supported by 1407
substantial evidence. 1408
3. Evidence concerning the intent of elect ors, elected 1409
officials, or public officials to discriminate against protected 1410
class members is never required under subsections (1) and (2). 1411
4. Whether protected class members typically elect 1412
candidates of their choice to the governmental body of a local 1413
government in approximate proportion to their total number or 1414
share of the population may be relevant under subsection (2). 1415
(4) Before filing an action against a local government 1416
pursuant to this section, a prospective plaintiff must send, by 1417
certified mail, return receipt requested, a notification letter 1418
to the local government asserting that the local government may 1419
be in violation of the provisions of this act. Such letter must 1420
be referred to as an "FLVRA notification letter." 1421
(a) Except as noted in paragraph (e), a party may not file 1422
an action against a local government pursuant to this section 1423
earlier than 50 days after sending an FLVRA notification letter 1424
to the local government. 1425
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(b) Before receiving an FLVRA notification letter, or not 1426
later than 50 days after any FLVRA notification letter is sent 1427
to a local government, a local government may adopt a resolution 1428
that must be referred to as the "FLVRA Resolution" and that does 1429
all of the following: 1430
1. Identifies a potential violation of this sec tion by the 1431
local government. 1432
2. Identifies a specific remedy to the potential 1433
violation. 1434
3. Affirms the local government's intent to enact and 1435
implement a remedy for a potential violation. 1436
4. Sets forth specific measures the local government will 1437
take to enact and implement the remedy. 1438
5. Provides a schedule for the enactment and 1439
implementation of the remedy. 1440
(c) Except as noted in paragraph (e), a party that has 1441
sent an FLVRA notification letter may not file an action 1442
pursuant to this section ea rlier than 90 days after the adoption 1443
of an FLVRA Resolution. 1444
(d) If the remedy identified in an FLVRA Resolution is 1445
barred by state or local law, or a legislative body of a local 1446
government lacks authority under state or local law to enact or 1447
implement a remedy identified in an FLVRA Resolution within 90 1448
days after the adoption of such resolution, or if the local 1449
government is a covered jurisdiction under s. 97.25, the local 1450
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government may nonetheless enact and implement the remedy 1451
identified in such res olution upon approval of the FLVRA 1452
Commission, which may provide approval only if it finds that the 1453
local government may be in violation of this act, the proposed 1454
remedy would address a potential violation, and implementation 1455
of the proposed remedy is feas ible. The approval of a remedy by 1456
the FLVRA Commission does not bar an action to challenge the 1457
remedy. 1458
(e) If, pursuant to this subsection, a local government 1459
enacts or implements a remedy or the FLVRA Commission approves a 1460
proposed remedy, a party that sent an FLVRA notification letter 1461
may submit a claim for reimbursement from the local government 1462
for the costs associated with producing and sending such 1463
notification letter. The party must submit the claim in writing 1464
and substantiate the claim with financ ial documentation, 1465
including a detailed invoice for any demography services or 1466
analysis of voting patterns in the local government. If a party 1467
and local government fail to agree to a reimbursement amount, 1468
either the party or local government may file an ac tion for a 1469
declaratory judgment for a clarification of rights. 1470
(f) Notwithstanding this subsection, a party may bring a 1471
cause of action for a violation of this section under any of the 1472
following circumstances: 1473
1. The action is commenced within 1 year a fter the 1474
adoption of a challenged method of election, ordinance, 1475
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resolution, rule, policy, standard, regulation, procedure, or 1476
law. 1477
2. The prospect of obtaining relief under this section 1478
would be futile. 1479
3. Another party has already submitted a notification 1480
letter under this subsection alleging a substantially similar 1481
violation and that party is eligible to bring a cause of action 1482
under this subsection. 1483
4. Following the party's submission of an FLVRA 1484
notification letter, the local government has adopted an FLVRA 1485
Resolution that identifies a remedy that would not cure the 1486
violation identified in the notification letter. 1487
5. The party is seeking preliminary relief with respect to 1488
an upcoming election in accordance with s. 97.28. 1489
(g) Any local government that receives an FLVRA 1490
notification letter or adopts an FLVRA Resolution must provide a 1491
copy to the FLVRA Commission within 1 day after receipt or 1492
adoption. The FLVRA Commission shall promptly post all FLVRA 1493
notification letters and FLVRA Resol utions on its website. The 1494
FLVRA Commission may adopt rules identifying other materials and 1495
information that must be provided to the FLVRA Commission by 1496
local governments, as well as procedures for transmittal of 1497
materials and information from local govern ments to the FLVRA 1498
Commission. 1499
(5) A local government may not assert the doctrine of 1500
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laches as a defense to claims brought under this section. A 1501
local government may not assert that plaintiffs have failed to 1502
comply with any notice, exhaustion, or other p rocedural 1503
requirements under state law, other than the requirements in 1504
this section, as a defense to claims brought under this section. 1505
(6) An individual or entity aggrieved by a violation of 1506
this section, the Attorney General, or the FLVRA Commission ma y 1507
file an action alleging a violation of this section to enforce 1508
compliance with this section. An entity aggrieved by a violation 1509
of this section includes, but is not limited to, any entity 1510
whose membership includes individuals aggrieved by a violation 1511
of this section or whose mission would be frustrated by a 1512
violation of this section, including, but not limited to, an 1513
entity that would expend or divest resources to fulfill its 1514
mission as a result of such violation or must expend greater 1515
resources or efforts to advocate before an elected body that is 1516
less responsible to the entity or its members due to the alleged 1517
violation. An entity may not be compelled to disclose the 1518
identity of any specific member to pursue a claim on behalf of 1519
its members. This subsect ion shall be liberally construed to 1520
confer standing as broadly as the State Constitution allows. 1521
Such a claim may be filed pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil 1522
Procedure or in the Second Judicial Circuit of Florida. Members 1523
of two or more protected class es that are politically cohesive 1524
in a local government may jointly file an action. In an action 1525
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involving a districting plan, any individual who resides in the 1526
defendant jurisdiction and is a member of the affected class or 1527
classes, whether he or she resid es in any particular district, 1528
may challenge the districting plan as a whole. 1529
Section 11. Section 97.22, Florida Statutes, is created to 1530
read: 1531
97.22 Florida Voting Rights Act Commission. — 1532
(1) There is created the Florida Voting Rights Act (FLVRA) 1533
Commission within the Department of State. The FLVRA Commission 1534
is a separate budget entity, as provided in the General 1535
Appropriations Act, and shall prepare and submit a budget 1536
request in accordance with chapter 216. The FLVRA Commission is 1537
responsible for administering the Florida Voting Rights Act. The 1538
FLVRA Commission must have its own staff, including management, 1539
research, and enforcement personnel, and is not subject to 1540
control, supervision, or direction by the Department of State. 1541
(2)(a) The FLVRA Commission shall be composed of five 1542
commissioners, each of whom shall serve a staggered 5 -year term. 1543
Commissioners must be compensated for their actual time spent on 1544
the FLVRA Commission's business at an hourly rate equivalent to 1545
the rate of an assistant a ttorney general. 1546
1. A nominating committee shall identify qualified 1547
candidates to serve as commissioners. The nominating committee 1548
shall be composed of nominating organizations that are selected 1549
as follows: 1550
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a. Organizations may apply to the Secretary o f State to be 1551
certified as organizational nominators for 5 -year terms, after 1552
which the organizations may be recertified. The Secretary of 1553
State must certify any organization that applies to be an 1554
organizational nominator if it meets all of the following 1555
qualifications: 1556
(I) Has demonstrated commitment to the purposes of this 1557
act and securing the voting rights of protected class members, 1558
such as referencing such class members in the organization's 1559
mission statement, involvement in numerous voting rights cas es 1560
brought in this state on behalf of members of protected classes, 1561
or advocacy in support of this act. 1562
(II) Is registered as a nonprofit corporation with the 1563
Secretary of State. 1564
(III) Has been in continuous operation as a nonprofit 1565
organization under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or 1566
as a nonprofit corporation registered with the Secretary of 1567
State for at least 20 years. 1568
b. If the Secretary of State fails to timely certify an 1569
organization that satisfies the qualifications specified in sub -1570
subparagraph a. following the organization's application as an 1571
organizational nominator, the organization may file an action 1572
against the Secretary of State for a declaratory judgment 1573
certifying the organization as an organizational nominator. 1574
2. An organizational nominator may be removed for cause by 1575
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a majority vote of all fellow nominators. 1576
3. If there are fewer than 16 organizational nominators 1577
certified by the Secretary of State, the nominating committee 1578
must be composed of all such organizational no minators. If there 1579
are 16 or more organizational nominators certified by the 1580
Secretary of State, the nominating committee must be composed of 1581
15 organizational nominators randomly selected from all the 1582
nominators by lot on an annual basis. 1583
4. The nominating committee shall select its own chair to 1584
preside over meetings and votes. 1585
(b) Commissioners shall be selected as follows: 1586
1. The nominating committee shall solicit applications to 1587
serve on the FLVRA Commission from across this state. A 1588
commissioner must satisfy all of the following criteria: 1589
a. Is a resident of this state. 1590
b. Is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar with at 1591
least 5 years of legal experience. 1592
c. Has experience representing or advocating on behalf of 1593
members of protected c lasses. 1594
d. Has not served in elected office within the preceding 5 1595
years. 1596
e. Is not currently serving in any governmental office or 1597
holding any political party office. 1598
2. The nominating committee shall maintain a qualified 1599
candidate pool composed of 30 candidates to serve on the FLVRA 1600
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Commission. Individuals may be added to the qualified applicant 1601
pool only upon a vote of three -fifths of the nominating 1602
committee. 1603
3. All members of the FLVRA Commission must be randomly 1604
selected from the qualified can didate pool. Upon the initial 1605
formation of the FLVRA Commission, five commissioners must be 1606
selected by lot from the qualified candidate pool and randomly 1607
assigned to term lengths of 5 years, 4 years, 3 years, 2 years, 1608
and 1 year. At least 60 days in advan ce of the conclusion of 1609
each commissioner's term, a new commissioner must be randomly 1610
selected by lot from the qualified candidate pool to serve a 5 -1611
year term upon the conclusion of the commissioner's term. If a 1612
vacancy occurs, a new commissioner must be r andomly selected by 1613
lot from the qualified candidate pool within 30 days after the 1614
vacancy occurring to complete the vacated term. 1615
(3) In any action or investigation to enforce this 1616
section, the FLVRA Commission may subpoena witnesses; administer 1617
oaths; examine individuals under oath; determine material facts; 1618
and compel the production of records, books, papers, contracts, 1619
and other documents in accordance with the Florida Rules of 1620
Civil Procedure. 1621
(4) The FLVRA Commission may hire any staff and make an y 1622
expenditure necessary to fulfill its responsibilities. 1623
(5) The FLVRA Commission may adopt rules to administer and 1624
enforce this part. 1625
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Section 12. Section 97.23, Florida Statutes, is created to 1626
read: 1627
97.23 Statewide database and institute. — 1628
(1) The FLVRA Commission shall enter into an agreement 1629
with one or more postsecondary educational institutions in this 1630
state to create the Florida Voting and Elections Database and 1631
Institute, to maintain and administer a central repository of 1632
elections and voting data available to the public from all local 1633
governments in this state, and to foster, pursue, and sponsor 1634
research on existing laws and best practices in voting and 1635
elections. The parties to that agreement shall enter into a 1636
memorandum of understanding that includes the process for 1637
selecting the director of the database and institute. 1638
(2) The database and institute shall provide a center for 1639
research, training, and information on voting systems and 1640
election administration. The database and institute m ay do any 1641
of the following: 1642
(a) Conduct noncredit classes and classes for credit. 1643
(b) Organize interdisciplinary groups of scholars to 1644
research voting and elections in this state. 1645
(c) Conduct seminars involving voting and elections. 1646
(d) Establish a nonpartisan centralized database in order 1647
to collect, archive, and make publicly available, at no cost, 1648
accessible data pertaining to elections, voter registration, and 1649
ballot access in this state. 1650
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(e) Assist in the dissemination of election data to the 1651
public. 1652
(f) Publish books and periodicals on voting and elections 1653
in this state. 1654
(g) Provide nonpartisan technical assistance to local 1655
governments, scholars, and the general public seeking to use the 1656
resources of the database and institute. 1657
(3) The database and institute shall make available, and 1658
maintain in an electronic format, all relevant election and 1659
voting data and records for at least the previous 12 -year 1660
period. The data, information, and estimates maintained by the 1661
database and institute mus t be posted online and made available 1662
to the public at no cost. Maps, polling places, and vote -by-mail 1663
ballot secure intake stations must be made available in a 1664
geospatial file format. The database and institute shall prepare 1665
any estimates made under this section by applying the most 1666
advanced and validated peer -reviewed methodologies available. 1667
Data and records that must be maintained include, but are not 1668
limited to, all of the following: 1669
(a) Estimates of the total population, voting age 1670
population, and citizen voting age population by racial, color, 1671
or language minority group and disability status, broken down by 1672
precinct level on a year -by-year basis, for every local 1673
government in this state, based on data from the United States 1674
Census Bureau or the Amer ican Community Survey or data of 1675
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comparable quality collected by a public office. 1676
(b) Election results at the precinct level for every 1677
federal, state, and local election held in every local 1678
government in this state. 1679
(c) Contemporaneous voter registration lists, voter 1680
history files, polling places, and vote -by-mail secure ballot 1681
intake stations for every election in every local government in 1682
this state. 1683
(d) Contemporaneous maps or other documentation of the 1684
configuration of precincts. 1685
(e) Lists of polling places, including, but not limited 1686
to, lists of precincts assigned to each polling place, if 1687
applicable. 1688
(f) Adopted district or redistricting plans for every 1689
election in every local government in this state. 1690
(g) A current record, updat ed monthly, of persons eligible 1691
to register to vote who have a prior criminal conviction and 1692
whose eligibility has been restored in compliance with s. 1693
98.0751. 1694
(h) Any other data that the director of the database and 1695
institute considers necessary to main tain in furtherance of the 1696
purposes of the database and institute. 1697
(4) All state agencies and local governments shall timely 1698
provide the director of the database and institute with any 1699
information requested by the director. No later than 90 days 1700
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after an election, each local government shall transmit to the 1701
database and institute copies of all of the following: 1702
(a) Election results at the precinct level. 1703
(b) Contemporaneous voter registration lists. 1704
(c) Voter history files. 1705
(d) Maps, descriptions, and shapefiles for election 1706
districts. 1707
(e) Lists of polling places, shapefiles, or descriptions 1708
of the precincts assigned to each polling place. 1709
(f) Any other data as requested by the database and 1710
institute. 1711
(5) Any state entity identified by the di rector of the 1712
database and institute as possessing data, statistics, or other 1713
information required by the database and institute to carry out 1714
its duties and responsibilities shall provide such data, 1715
statistics, or information annually to the database and 1716
institute at the request of the director. 1717
(6) If a state agency or local government fails to provide 1718
any information to the database and institute as required by 1719
this section, the director of the database and institute, the 1720
Attorney General, or the FLVRA Commission may file an action to 1721
enforce compliance with this section. An entity aggrieved by a 1722
violation of this section includes, but is not limited to, any 1723
entity whose membership includes individuals aggrieved by this 1724
section or whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of 1725
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this section, including, but not limited to, an entity that 1726
would expend or divest resources to fulfill its mission as a 1727
result of such violation or must expend greater resources or 1728
efforts to advocate before an elected body that is less 1729
responsive to the entity or its members due to the alleged 1730
violation. An entity may not be compelled to disclose the 1731
identity of any specific member to pursue a claim on behalf of 1732
its members. This section must be liberally construed to confer 1733
standing as broadly as the State Constituti on allows. Such claim 1734
may be filed pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure or 1735
in the Second Judicial Circuit. 1736
(7) No later than 90 days after the end of each state 1737
fiscal year, the database and institute shall publish a report 1738
on the priorities and finances of the database and institute. 1739
(8) The database and institute shall provide nonpartisan 1740
technical assistance to local governments, researchers, and 1741
members of the public seeking to use the resources of the 1742
database. 1743
(9) There is a rebuttab le presumption that the data, 1744
estimates, or other information maintained by the database and 1745
institute is valid. 1746
Section 13. Section 97.24, Florida Statutes, is created to 1747
read: 1748
97.24 Language access. — 1749
(1) As used in this section, the term: 1750
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(a) "Limited English proficient individual" means an 1751
individual who does not speak English as his or her primary 1752
language and who speaks, reads, or understands the English 1753
language other than "very well" in accordance with United States 1754
Census Bureau data or da ta of comparable quality collected by a 1755
governmental entity. 1756
(b) "Native American" includes any person recognized by 1757
the United States Census Bureau or the state as "American 1758
Indian." 1759
(2) The FLVRA Commission must designate one or more 1760
languages, other than English, for which assistance in voting 1761
and elections must be provided in a local government if the 1762
FLVRA Commission finds that a significant and substantial need 1763
exists for such assistance. 1764
(3) Based on the best available data, which may include 1765
information from the United States Census Bureau's American 1766
Community Survey or data of comparable quality collected by a 1767
governmental entity, the FLVRA Commission must find that a 1768
significant and substantial need exists if: 1769
(a) More than 2 percent, but n o fewer than 200 citizens of 1770
voting age, of a local government speak a language other than 1771
English and are limited English proficient individuals. 1772
(b) More than 4,000 citizens of voting age of a local 1773
government speak a language other than English and ar e limited 1774
English proficient individuals. 1775
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(4) In the case of a local government that contains any 1776
part of a Native American reservation, if more than 2 percent of 1777
the Native American citizens of voting age within the Native 1778
American reservation are profi cient in a language other than 1779
English and are limited English proficient individuals, the 1780
local government must provide materials in such language. 1781
(5)(a) On an annual basis, the FLVRA Commission shall 1782
publish on its website a list of all of the followi ng: 1783
1. Each local government in which assistance in voting and 1784
elections in a language other than English must be provided. 1785
2. Each language in which such assistance must be provided 1786
in each local government. 1787
(b) The FLVRA Commission's determinations under this 1788
section are effective upon publication, and the FLVRA Commission 1789
must distribute this information to each affected local 1790
government. 1791
(6) Each local government described in paragraph (5)(a) 1792
must provide assistance in voting and elections, incl uding 1793
related materials, in any language designated by the FLVRA 1794
Commission under paragraph (5)(a) to voters in a local 1795
government who are limited English proficient individuals. 1796
(7) Whenever the FLVRA Commission determines that, 1797
pursuant to this section , language assistance must be provided 1798
by a local government, the local government must provide 1799
competent assistance in each designated language and provide 1800
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related materials in English and in each designated language, 1801
including voter registration or votin g notices, forms, 1802
instructions, assistance, ballots, or other materials or 1803
information relating to the electoral process. However, in the 1804
case of a language that is oral or unwritten, including 1805
historically unwritten languages, as may be the case for some 1806
Native Americans, a local government may provide only oral 1807
instructions, assistance, or other information on the electoral 1808
process in such language. All materials provided in a designated 1809
language must be of an equal quality to the corresponding 1810
English materials. All provided translations must convey the 1811
intent and essential meaning of the original text or 1812
communication and may not rely solely on automatic translation 1813
services. If available, language assistance must include live 1814
translation. 1815
(8) The FLVRA Commission shall establish a review process 1816
under which the FLVRA Commission determines, upon receipt of a 1817
request submitted under this subsection, whether a significant 1818
and substantial need exists in a local government for a language 1819
to be designated for language access and assistance in voting 1820
and elections if such need has not been found under subsection 1821
(3) or subsection (4). Such process, at a minimum, must include 1822
an opportunity for any voter or entity to submit a request for 1823
the commission to consi der designating a language in a local 1824
government; an opportunity for public comment; and a procedure 1825
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for determining that a local government must provide language 1826
assistance. 1827
(9) Any individual or entity aggrieved by a violation of 1828
this section, the Atto rney General, or the FLVRA Commission may 1829
file an action alleging a violation of this section. An entity 1830
aggrieved by a violation of this section includes, but is not 1831
limited to, any entity whose membership includes individuals 1832
aggrieved by this section or whose mission would be frustrated 1833
by a violation of this section, including, but not limited to, 1834
an entity that would expend or divest resources to fulfill its 1835
mission as a result of such violation or must expend greater 1836
resources or efforts to advocate b efore an elected body that is 1837
less responsive to the entity or its members due to the alleged 1838
violation. An entity may not be compelled to disclose the 1839
identity of any specific member to pursue a claim on behalf of 1840
its members. This section must be liberal ly construed to confer 1841
standing as broadly as the State Constitution allows. Such a 1842
claim may be filed pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil 1843
Procedure or in the Second Judicial Circuit. 1844
Section 14. Section 97.25, Florida Statutes, is created to 1845
read: 1846
97.25 Preclearance. — 1847
(1) The enactment or implementation of a covered policy by 1848
a covered jurisdiction is subject to preclearance by the FLVRA 1849
Commission. 1850
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(2) For purposes of this section, a covered policy 1851
includes any new or modified: 1852
(a) Election policy or practice. 1853
(b) Method of election, including districting or 1854
redistricting. 1855
(c) Form of government. 1856
(d) Annexation, incorporation, dissolution, consolidation, 1857
or division of a local government. 1858
(e) Removal of individuals from registry lists or 1859
enrollment lists and other activities concerning any such list. 1860
(f) Hours of any early voting site, or location or number 1861
of early voting sites, polling places, or secure ballot intake 1862
stations. 1863
(g) Assignment of voting precincts to polling pl aces or 1864
secure ballot intake station locations. 1865
(h) Assistance offered to protected class members. 1866
(i) Any additional subject matter the FLVRA Commission may 1867
identify for inclusion in this subsection, pursuant to FLVRA 1868
Commission rule, if the FLVRA Com mission determines that any 1869
election policy or practice may have the effect of diminishing 1870
the right to vote of any protected class member or have the 1871
effect of violating this act. 1872
(3) Following each decennial census, if a covered 1873
jurisdiction does not m ake changes to its method of election, 1874
including, but not limited to, maintaining an at -large method of 1875
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election or not making revisions to a district -based method of 1876
election, the method of election must be deemed a covered policy 1877
and must be submitted to the FLVRA Commission pursuant to this 1878
section. 1879
(4) A covered jurisdiction includes any of the following: 1880
(a) A local government that, within the preceding 25 1881
years, has been subject to a court order, government enforcement 1882
action, court-approved consent decree, or other settlement in 1883
which the local government conceded liability, based upon a 1884
violation of this act, the federal Voting Rights Act, the 15th 1885
Amendment to the United States Constitution, a voting -related 1886
violation of the 14th Amendment to th e United States 1887
Constitution, or any violation of any other state or federal 1888
election law, concerning discrimination against members of a 1889
protected class. 1890
(b) A local government that, within the preceding 25 1891
years, has been subject to any court order, go vernment 1892
enforcement action, court -approved consent decree, or any other 1893
settlement in which the local government conceded liability, 1894
based upon a violation of any state or federal civil rights law 1895
or the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, 1896
concerning discrimination against members of a protected class. 1897
(c) A local government that, during the preceding 3 years, 1898
has failed to comply with its obligation to provide data or 1899
information to the database pursuant to s. 97.23. 1900
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(d) A local governme nt that, during the preceding 25 1901
years, was found to have enacted or implemented a covered policy 1902
without obtaining preclearance for that policy pursuant to this 1903
section. 1904
(e) A local government that contains at least 1,000 1905
eligible voters of any protecte d class, or in which members of 1906
any protected class constitute at least 10 percent of the 1907
eligible voter population of the local government, and in which, 1908
in any year in the preceding 10 years, the percentage of voters 1909
of any protected class in a local gov ernment which participated 1910
in any general election for any local government office was at 1911
least 10 percentage points lower than the percentage of all 1912
voters in the local government who participated in such 1913
election. 1914
(f) A local government that contains a t least 1,000 1915
eligible voters of any protected class, or in which members of 1916
any protected class constitute at least 10 percent of the 1917
eligible voter population of the local government, and in which, 1918
in any year in the preceding 10 years, the percentage of 1919
eligible voters of that protected class who were registered to 1920
vote was at least 10 percentage points lower than the percentage 1921
of all eligible voters in the local government who registered to 1922
vote. 1923
(g) A local government that contains at least 1,000 1924
eligible voters of any protected class, or in which members of 1925
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any protected class constitute at least 10 percent of the 1926
eligible voter population of the local government, and in which, 1927
in any year in the preceding 10 years, based on data made 1928
available by the United States Census, the dissimilarity index 1929
of such protected class, calculated using census tracts, was in 1930
excess of 50 percent with respect to the race, color, or 1931
language minority group that comprises a plurality within the 1932
local government. 1933
(h) A local government that contains at least 1,000 1934
eligible voters of any protected class, or in which members of 1935
any protected class constitute at least 10 percent of the 1936
eligible voter population of the local government, and in which, 1937
in any year in the pre ceding 10 years, the poverty rate among 1938
the population of such protected class exceeded the poverty rate 1939
among the population of the local government as a whole by at 1940
least 10 percentage points. 1941
(i) A county that contains at least 1,000 eligible voters 1942
of any protected class, or in which members of any protected 1943
class constitute at least 10 percent of the eligible voter 1944
population of the county, and in which, in any year in the 1945
preceding 10 years, the arrest rate among members of such 1946
protected class exce eded the arrest rate among the population of 1947
the county as a whole by at least 10 percentage points. 1948
(j) Any school district that contains at least 1,000 1949
eligible voters of any protected class, or in which members of 1950
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any protected class constitute at lea st 10 percent of the 1951
eligible voter population of the school district, and in which, 1952
in any year in the preceding 10 years, the graduation rate of 1953
such protected class was lower than the graduation rate of the 1954
entire district student population by at least 10 percentage 1955
points. 1956
(5) The FLVRA Commission shall determine on an annual 1957
basis which local governments are covered jurisdictions and 1958
publish a list of such jurisdictions on its website. 1959
(6) If a covered jurisdiction seeks preclearance from the 1960
FLVRA Commission for the adoption or implementation of any 1961
covered policy, the covered jurisdiction must submit the covered 1962
policy to the FLVRA Commission in writing and may obtain 1963
preclearance in accordance with this section. 1964
(a) The FLVRA Commission shall review the covered policy 1965
submitted for preclearance, including any comments submitted by 1966
members of the public, and make a determination to grant or deny 1967
preclearance. The covered jurisdiction bears the burden of proof 1968
in any preclearance determinations. 1969
(b)1. The FLVRA Commission may deny preclearance to a 1970
submitted covered policy only if it determines that: 1971
a. The covered policy is more likely than not to diminish 1972
the opportunity or ability of protected class members to 1973
participate in the political p rocess and elect candidates of 1974
their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of elections; or 1975
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b. The covered policy is more likely than not to violate 1976
this act. 1977
2. If the FLVRA Commission denies preclearance, the 1978
applicable covered jurisdiction may n ot enact or implement the 1979
covered policy. The FLVRA Commission shall provide a written 1980
explanation for a denial. 1981
(c) If the FLVRA Commission grants preclearance to a 1982
covered policy, the covered jurisdiction may immediately enact 1983
or implement the covered policy. A determination by the FLVRA 1984
Commission to grant preclearance is not admissible in, and may 1985
not be considered by, a court in any subsequent action 1986
challenging the covered policy. If the FLVRA Commission fails to 1987
deny or grant preclearance to a subm itted covered policy within 1988
the time periods set forth in paragraph (d), the covered policy 1989
is deemed to be precleared, and the covered jurisdiction may 1990
enact or implement the covered policy. 1991
(d) If a covered policy concerns the method of election 1992
for a legislative body, districting or redistricting, the number 1993
of seats on the legislative body, or annexation, incorporation, 1994
dissolution, consolidation, or division of a local government, 1995
the FLVRA Commission must review the covered policy, including 1996
any comments submitted by members of the public, and make a 1997
determination to deny or grant preclearance within 60 days after 1998
the submission of the covered policy. The FLVRA Commission may 1999
invoke up to two extensions of 90 days each to make such a 2000
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determination. For all other covered policies, the FLVRA 2001
Commission shall review the covered policy, including any public 2002
comment, and make a determination to deny or grant preclearance 2003
within 30 days after the submission of the covered policy. The 2004
FLVRA Commission may in voke an extension of 60 days to make such 2005
a determination. 2006
(e) Any denial of preclearance under this section may be 2007
appealed only by the covered jurisdiction and must be filed in 2008
the Second Judicial Circuit. Other parties may not file an 2009
action to appeal a denial of preclearance or intervene in any 2010
such action brought by the covered jurisdiction. 2011
(7) If any covered jurisdiction enacts or implements any 2012
covered policy without obtaining preclearance for such covered 2013
policy in accordance with this section, any individual or entity 2014
aggrieved by such a violation, the director of the database and 2015
institute, the Attorney General, or the FLVRA Commission may 2016
file an action to enjoin enactment or implementation and seek 2017
sanctions against the covered jurisdiction for violations of 2018
this section. An entity aggrieved by a violation of this section 2019
includes, but is not limited to, any entity whose membership 2020
includes individuals aggrieved by this section or whose mission 2021
would be frustrated by a violation of this secti on, including, 2022
but not limited to, an entity that would expend or divest 2023
resources to fulfill its mission as a result of such violation 2024
or must expend greater resources or efforts to advocate before 2025
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an elected body that is less responsive to the entity or its 2026
members due to the alleged violation. An entity may not be 2027
compelled to disclose the identity of any specific member to 2028
pursue a claim on behalf of its members. This section must be 2029
liberally construed to confer standing as broadly as the State 2030
Constitution allows. Such a claim may be filed pursuant to the 2031
Florida Rules of Civil Procedure or in the Second Judicial 2032
Circuit. A claim under this subsection does not preclude, bar, 2033
or limit in any way any other claims that may be brought 2034
regarding the covered policy, including claims brought under 2035
other sections of this act. 2036
(8) If the FLVRA Commission approves preclearance for a 2037
covered policy in violation of this section, identifies or fails 2038
to identify a list of local governments that are covered 2039
jurisdictions in violation of this section, or otherwise fails 2040
to properly implement this section, any individual or entity 2041
aggrieved by such a violation may file an action seeking 2042
appropriate relief, including, but not limited to, injunctive 2043
relief on the FLVRA Commission or any other party, as the court 2044
deems necessary to enforce this section. An entity aggrieved by 2045
a violation of this section includes, but is not limited to, any 2046
entity whose membership includes individuals aggrieved by this 2047
section or whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of 2048
this section, including, bu t not limited to, an entity that 2049
would expend or divest resources to fulfill its mission as a 2050
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result of such violation or must expend greater resources or 2051
efforts to advocate before an elected body that is less 2052
responsive to the entity or its members due t o the alleged 2053
violation. An entity may not be compelled to disclose the 2054
identity of any specific member to pursue a claim on behalf of 2055
its members. This section must be liberally construed to confer 2056
standing as broadly as the State Constitution allows. Suc h a 2057
claim may be filed pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil 2058
Procedure or in the Second Judicial Circuit. A claim under this 2059
subsection does not preclude, bar, or limit any other claims 2060
that may be brought regarding any covered policy, including 2061
claims brought under other sections of this act. 2062
(9) The FLVRA Commission shall adopt rules to implement 2063
this section, including rules concerning the content of and 2064
procedure for preclearance submission, procedures for public 2065
comment and transparency regarding pr eclearance determinations, 2066
and procedures for expedited and emergency preclearance 2067
determinations which deviate from the timelines provided in 2068
paragraph (6)(d), provided that such preclearance determinations 2069
are preliminary. 2070
Section 15. Section 97.26, Florida Statutes, is created to 2071
read: 2072
97.26 Voter intimidation, deception, and obstruction. — 2073
(1) A person may not, whether acting under color of law or 2074
otherwise, engage in acts of intimidation, deception, or 2075
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obstruction, or any other tactic that has t he effect of or may 2076
reasonably have the effect of interfering with another person's 2077
right to vote. 2078
(2) A violation of subsection (1) includes any of the 2079
following: 2080
(a) The use of force or threats to use force, or the use 2081
of any other conduct to practic e intimidation, which causes or 2082
will reasonably have the effect of causing interference with an 2083
individual's right to vote. 2084
(b) Knowingly using a deceptive or fraudulent device, 2085
contrivance, or communication that causes or will reasonably 2086
have the effect of causing interference with an individual's 2087
right to vote. 2088
(c) The obstruction of, impediment to, or interference 2089
with access to any early voting site, polling place, secure 2090
ballot intake station, or office of the supervisor of elections 2091
in a manner that causes or will reasonably have the effect of 2092
causing interference with an individual's right to vote or 2093
causing any delay in voting or the voting process. 2094
(3)(a) In any action to enforce this section, there is a 2095
rebuttable presumption that a person ha s violated this section 2096
if he or she openly carries or brandishes a firearm, an 2097
imitation firearm, a toy gun, a machete, an axe, a sword, or any 2098
weapon as defined in s. 790.001 while: 2099
1. Interacting with or observing any person voting or 2100
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attempting to vote; 2101
2. Urging or aiding any person to vote or attempt to vote, 2102
whether as part of official election administration activities 2103
or unofficial activities; or 2104
3. Exercising any power or duty in administering 2105
elections, including, but not limited to, vote c ounting, 2106
canvassing, or certifying returns. 2107
(b) Law enforcement officers acting within the scope of 2108
their official duties are not subject to the presumption under 2109
paragraph (a), but a court may nonetheless consider a law 2110
enforcement officer's possession of a firearm in determining 2111
whether the officer violated this section. 2112
(4) Any individual or entity aggrieved by a violation of 2113
this section, the Attorney General, or the FLVRA Commission may 2114
file a civil action alleging a violation of this section. An 2115
entity aggrieved by a violation of this section includes, but is 2116
not limited to, any entity whose membership includes individuals 2117
aggrieved by this section or whose mission would be frustrated 2118
by a violation of this section, including, but not limited to, 2119
an entity that would expend or divest resources to fulfill its 2120
mission as a result of such violation or must expend greater 2121
resources or efforts to advocate before an elected body that is 2122
less responsive to the entity or its members due to the alleged 2123
violation. An entity may not be compelled to disclose the 2124
identity of any specific member to pursue a claim on behalf of 2125
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its members. This section must be liberally construed to confer 2126
standing as broadly as the State Constitution allows. Such a 2127
claim may be filed pursuant to the Florida Rules of Civil 2128
Procedure or in the Second Ju dicial Circuit. 2129
(5) In addition to any remedies that may be imposed under 2130
s. 97.28, if the court finds a violation of this section, the 2131
court must order appropriate remedies that are tailored to 2132
addressing the violation, including, but not limited to, 2133
providing for additional time for individuals to vote in an 2134
election, a primary, or a referendum and awarding nominal 2135
damages for any violation and compensatory or punitive damages 2136
for any willful violation. 2137
Section 16. Section 97.27, Florida Statutes, i s created to 2138
read: 2139
97.27 Democracy canon. — 2140
(1) Any provision of this code and any regulation, 2141
charter, home rule ordinance, or other enactment of the state or 2142
any local government relating to the right to vote must be 2143
liberally construed in favor of th e rights enumerated in 2144
paragraphs (a)-(e), as follows: 2145
(a) Protecting the right to cast a ballot and make the 2146
ballot valid. 2147
(b) Ensuring eligible individuals seeking voter 2148
registration are not impaired in being registered. 2149
(c) Ensuring voters are not impaired in voting, including, 2150
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but not limited to, having their votes counted. 2151
(d) Making the fundamental right to vote more accessible 2152
to eligible voters. 2153
(e) Ensuring equitable access for protected class members 2154
to opportunities to be registered to vote and to vote. 2155
(2) It is the policy of the state that courts should 2156
exercise their discretion on any issue, including, but not 2157
limited to, questions of discovery, procedure, admissibility of 2158
evidence, or remedies, in favor of the rights enumerated in 2159
paragraphs (1)(a)-(e) to the extent allowable by law. 2160
Furthermore, it is the policy of the state to promote the free 2161
flow of documents and information concerning the intent of 2162
public officials in actions concerning the right to vote. 2163
Accordingly, in any ac tion under this act, the federal Voting 2164
Rights Act, or a voting -related claim under the State 2165
Constitution or the United States Constitution, sovereign, 2166
governmental, executive, legislative, or deliberative immunities 2167
and privileges, including any evidenti ary privileges, may not be 2168
asserted. However, this section does not apply to any attorney -2169
client or attorney work -product privileges. 2170
Section 17. Section 97.28, Florida Statutes, is created to 2171
read: 2172
97.28 Remedies.— 2173
(1) If a court finds a violation of this act, the court 2174
must order appropriate remedies that are tailored to address 2175
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such violation and to ensure protected class members have 2176
equitable opportunities to fully participate in the political 2177
process and that the remedies can be implemented in a manner 2178
that will not unduly disrupt the administration of an ongoing or 2179
imminent election. Appropriate remedies include, but need not be 2180
limited to, any of the following: 2181
(a) Another method of election or changes to the existing 2182
method of election. 2183
(b) Elimination of staggered elections so that all members 2184
of the legislative body are elected at the same time. 2185
(c) Reasonably increasing the size of the legislative 2186
body. 2187
(d) Additional voting days or hours. 2188
(e) Additional polling places and early voting sites. 2189
(f) Additional opportunities to return ballots. 2190
(g) Holding special elections. 2191
(h) Expanded opportunities for voter registration. 2192
(i) Additional voter education. 2193
(j) The restoration or addition of individuals to registry 2194
lists. 2195
(k) Retaining jurisdiction for such a period of time as 2196
the court deems appropriate. 2197
(2) The court shall consider remedies proposed by any 2198
party to the action or by interested nonparties. The court may 2199
not give deference or priority to a proposed remedy b ecause it 2200
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is proposed by the state or local government. 2201
(3) If necessary to remedy a violation of this act, the 2202
court is empowered to require a local government to implement 2203
remedies that are inconsistent with any other law and any 2204
special act, charter o r home rule ordinance, or other enactment 2205
of the state or local government. 2206
(4) Notwithstanding the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 2207
or any other law, the court must grant a temporary injunction 2208
and any other preliminary relief requested under this secti on 2209
with respect to an upcoming election if the court determines 2210
that the party is more likely than not to succeed on the merits 2211
and that it is possible to implement an appropriate temporary 2212
remedy that would resolve the violation alleged under this 2213
section before the next general election. 2214
(5) In any action to enforce this act, the court shall 2215
award reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs, including, 2216
but not limited to, expert witness fees and expenses, to the 2217
party that filed an action, other than a state or local 2218
government, and that prevailed in such action. The party that 2219
filed the action is deemed to have prevailed when, as a result 2220
of litigation, the party against whom the action was filed has 2221
yielded some or all of the relief sought in the act ion. In the 2222
case of a party against whom an action was filed and who 2223
prevailed, the court may not award the party any costs unless 2224
the court finds the action to be frivolous, unreasonable, or 2225
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without foundation. 2226
Section 18. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 2227
98.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2228
98.045 Administration of voter registration. — 2229
(4) STATEWIDE ELECTRONIC DATABASE OF VALID RESIDENTIAL 2230
STREET ADDRESSES.— 2231
(b) The department shall make the statewide database of 2232
valid street addresses available to the Department of Highway 2233
Safety and Motor Vehicles as provided in s. 97.057(8) s. 2234
97.057(10). The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 2235
shall use the database for purposes of validating the legal 2236
residential addresses prov ided in voter registration 2237
applications received by the Department of Highway Safety and 2238
Motor Vehicles. 2239
Section 19. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 98.255, 2240
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2241
98.255 Voter education programs. — 2242
(1) The Department of State shall adopt rules prescribing 2243
minimum standards for nonpartisan voter education. The standards 2244
shall, at a minimum, address: 2245
(a) Voter registration; 2246
(b) Balloting procedures, by mail and polling place; 2247
(c) Voter rights and responsibiliti es; 2248
(d) Distribution of sample ballots; and 2249
(e) Public service announcements ; and 2250
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(f) Plain writing standards consistent with official 2251
federal guidelines for the Plain Writing Act of 2010 and United 2252
States Election Assistance Commission best practice s for 2253
designing effective voter education materials . 2254
(2) Each county supervisor shall implement the minimum 2255
voter education standards, and shall conduct additional 2256
nonpartisan education efforts as necessary to ensure that voters 2257
have a working knowledge of the voting process. This includes 2258
providing, as far as possible, public -facing voter information 2259
in plain language reasonably calculated to be understood by 2260
persons with an 8th grade reading level or lower. 2261
Section 20. Section 100.51, Florida Statut es, is created 2262
to read: 2263
100.51 General Election Day paid holiday. —In order to 2264
encourage civic participation, enable more individuals to serve 2265
as poll workers, and provide additional time for the resolution 2266
of any issue that arises while a voter is casting his or her 2267
ballot, General Election Day shall be a paid holiday. A voter is 2268
entitled to absent himself or herself from any service or 2269
employment in which he or she is engaged or employed during the 2270
time the polls are open on General Election Day. A voter who 2271
absents himself or herself under this section may not be 2272
penalized in any way, and a deduction may not be made from his 2273
or her usual salary or wages, on account of his or her absence. 2274
Section 21. Section 101.016, Florida Statutes, is created 2275
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to read: 2276
101.016 Strategic elections equipment reserve. —The 2277
Division of Elections shall maintain a strategic elections 2278
equipment reserve of voting systems that may be deployed in the 2279
event of an emergency as defined in s. 101.732 or upon the 2280
occurrence of equipment capacity issues due to unexpected voter 2281
turnout. The reserve must include tabulation equipment and any 2282
other necessary equipment, including, but not limited to, 2283
printers, which are in use by each supervisor of elections. In 2284
lieu of maintaining a physical reserve of such equipment, the 2285
division may contract with a vendor of voting equipment to 2286
provide such equipment on an as -needed basis. 2287
Section 22. Section 101.019, Florida Statutes, is 2288
repealed. 2289
Section 23. Subsections (1) and (2) of s ection 101.048, 2290
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2291
101.048 Provisional ballots. — 2292
(1) At all elections, a voter claiming to be properly 2293
registered in this the state and eligible to vote at the 2294
precinct in the election but whose eligibility cannot be 2295
determined, a person whom an election official asserts is not 2296
eligible, including, but not limited to, a person to whom notice 2297
has been sent pursuant to s. 98.075(7), but for whom a final 2298
determination of eligibility has not been made, and other 2299
persons specified in the code shall be entitled to vote a 2300
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provisional ballot at any precinct in the county in which the 2301
voter claims to be registered . Once voted, the provisional 2302
ballot must be placed in a secrecy envelope and thereafter 2303
sealed in a provisional bal lot envelope. The provisional ballot 2304
must be deposited in a ballot box. All provisional ballots must 2305
remain sealed in their envelopes for return to the supervisor of 2306
elections. The department shall prescribe the form of the 2307
provisional ballot envelope. A p erson casting a provisional 2308
ballot has the right to present written evidence supporting his 2309
or her eligibility to vote to the supervisor of elections by not 2310
later than 5 p.m. on the second day following the election. 2311
(2)(a) The county canvassing board sh all examine each 2312
Provisional Ballot Voter's Certificate and Affirmation to 2313
determine if the person voting that ballot was entitled to vote 2314
in the county in which at the precinct where the person cast a 2315
vote in the election and that the person had not alrea dy cast a 2316
ballot in the election. In determining whether a person casting 2317
a provisional ballot is entitled to vote, the county canvassing 2318
board shall review the information provided in the Voter's 2319
Certificate and Affirmation, written evidence provided by t he 2320
person pursuant to subsection (1), information provided in any 2321
cure affidavit and accompanying supporting documentation 2322
pursuant to subsection (6), any other evidence presented by the 2323
supervisor, and, in the case of a challenge, any evidence 2324
presented by the challenger. A ballot of a person casting a 2325
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provisional ballot must shall be canvassed pursuant to paragraph 2326
(b) unless the canvassing board determines by a preponderance of 2327
the evidence that the person was not entitled to vote. 2328
(b) If it is determi ned that the person was registered and 2329
entitled to vote in the county in which at the precinct where 2330
the person cast a vote in the election, the canvassing board 2331
must compare the signature on the Provisional Ballot Voter's 2332
Certificate and Affirmation or th e provisional ballot cure 2333
affidavit with the signature on the voter's registration or 2334
precinct register. A provisional ballot may be counted only if: 2335
1. The signature on the voter's certificate or the cure 2336
affidavit matches the elector's signature in the registration 2337
books or the precinct register; however, in the case of a cure 2338
affidavit, the supporting identification listed in subsection 2339
(6) must also confirm the identity of the elector; or 2340
2. The cure affidavit contains a signature that does not 2341
match the elector's signature in the registration books or the 2342
precinct register, but the elector has submitted a current and 2343
valid Tier 1 form of identification confirming his or her 2344
identity pursuant to subsection (6). 2345
2346
For purposes of this paragraph, any ca nvassing board finding 2347
that signatures do not match must be by majority vote and beyond 2348
a reasonable doubt. 2349
(c) Any provisional ballot not counted must remain in the 2350
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envelope containing the Provisional Ballot Voter's Certificate 2351
and Affirmation, and the envelope must shall be marked "Rejected 2352
as Illegal." 2353
(d) If a provisional ballot is validated following the 2354
submission of a cure affidavit, the supervisor must make a copy 2355
of the affidavit, affix it to a voter registration application, 2356
and immediately process it as a valid request for a signature 2357
update pursuant to s. 98.077. 2358
Section 24. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraphs 2359
(c) and (d) of subsection (3) of section 101.62, Florida 2360
Statutes, are amended, and subsection (7) is added to that 2361
section, to read: 2362
101.62 Request for vote -by-mail ballots.— 2363
(1) REQUEST.— 2364
(a) The supervisor shall accept a request for a vote -by-2365
mail ballot only from a voter or, if directly instructed by the 2366
voter, a member of the voter's immediate family or the vote r's 2367
legal guardian. A request may be made in person, in writing, by 2368
telephone, or through the supervisor's website. The department 2369
shall prescribe by rule by October 1, 2023, a uniform statewide 2370
application to make a written request for a vote -by-mail ballot 2371
which includes fields for all information required in this 2372
subsection. One request is deemed sufficient to receive a vote -2373
by-mail ballot for all elections until the voter or the voter's 2374
designee notifies the supervisor that the voter cancels such 2375
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request through the end of the calendar year of the next 2376
regularly scheduled general election , unless the voter or the 2377
voter's designee indicates at the time the request is made the 2378
elections within such period for which the voter desires to 2379
receive a vote-by-mail ballot. The supervisor must cancel a 2380
request for a vote-by-mail ballot when any first -class mail or 2381
nonforwardable mail sent by the supervisor to the voter is 2382
returned as undeliverable. If the voter requests a vote -by-mail 2383
ballot thereafter, the voter m ust provide or confirm his or her 2384
current residential address. 2385
(3) DELIVERY OF VOTE -BY-MAIL BALLOTS.— 2386
(c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (a) or 2387
paragraph (b), the supervisor shall mail vote -by-mail ballots 2388
within 2 business days after receiv ing a request for such a 2389
ballot, but no later than the 11th 10th day before election day. 2390
The deadline to submit a request for a ballot to be mailed is 5 2391
p.m. local time on the 12th day before an upcoming election. 2392
(d) Upon a request for a vote -by-mail ballot, the 2393
supervisor shall provide a vote -by-mail ballot to each voter by 2394
whom a request for that ballot has been made, by one of the 2395
following means: 2396
1. By nonforwardable, return -if-undeliverable mail to the 2397
voter's current mailing address on file with the supervisor or 2398
any other address the voter specifies in the request. The 2399
envelopes must be prominently marked "Do Not Forward." 2400
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2. By forwardable mail, e -mail, or facsimile machine 2401
transmission to absent uniformed services voters and overseas 2402
voters. The absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter 2403
may designate in the vote -by-mail ballot request the preferred 2404
method of transmission. If the voter does not designate the 2405
method of transmission, the vote -by-mail ballot must be mailed. 2406
3. By personal delivery to the voter after vote -by-mail 2407
ballots have been mailed and up to 7 p.m. on election day upon 2408
presentation of the identification required in s. 101.043. 2409
4. By delivery to the voter's designee after vote -by-mail 2410
ballots have been mailed and u p to 7 p.m. on election day. Any 2411
voter may designate in writing a person to pick up the ballot 2412
for the voter; however, the person designated may not pick up 2413
more than two vote-by-mail ballots per election, other than the 2414
designee's own ballot, except that additional ballots may be 2415
picked up for members of the designee's immediate family . The 2416
designee shall provide to the supervisor the written 2417
authorization by the voter and a picture identification of the 2418
designee and must complete an affidavit. The designe e shall 2419
state in the affidavit that the designee is authorized by the 2420
voter to pick up that ballot and shall indicate if the voter is 2421
a member of the designee's immediate family and, if so, the 2422
relationship. The department shall prescribe the form of the 2423
affidavit. If the supervisor is satisfied that the designee is 2424
authorized to pick up the ballot and that the signature of the 2425
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voter on the written authorization matches the signature of the 2426
voter on file, the supervisor must give the ballot to that 2427
designee for delivery to the voter. 2428
5. Except as provided in s. 101.655, the supervisor may 2429
not deliver a vote-by-mail ballot to a voter or a voter's 2430
designee pursuant to subparagraph 3. or subparagraph 4., 2431
respectively, during the mandatory early voting period and up to 2432
7 p.m. on election day, unless there is an emergency, to the 2433
extent that the voter will be unable to go to a designated early 2434
voting site in his or her county or to his or her assigned 2435
polling place on election day. If a vote -by-mail ballot is 2436
delivered, the voter or his or her designee must execute an 2437
affidavit affirming to the facts which allow for delivery of the 2438
vote-by-mail ballot. The department shall adopt a rule providing 2439
for the form of the affidavit. 2440
(7) DEADLINE EXTENSION. —If a deadline under this section 2441
falls on a day when the office of the supervisor is scheduled to 2442
be closed, the deadline must be extended until the next business 2443
day. 2444
Section 25. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and 2445
subsections (2) and (4) of section 101.64, Flor ida Statutes, are 2446
amended to read: 2447
101.64 Delivery of vote -by-mail ballots; envelopes; form. — 2448
(1)(a) The supervisor shall enclose with each vote -by-mail 2449
ballot two envelopes: a secrecy envelope, into which the absent 2450
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voter must elector shall enclose his or her marked ballot; and a 2451
postage prepaid mailing envelope, into which the absent voter 2452
must elector shall then place the secrecy envelope, which must 2453
shall be addressed to the supervisor and also bear on the back 2454
side a certificate in subst antially the following form: 2455
Note: Please Read Instructions Carefully Before 2456
Marking Ballot and Completing Voter's Certificate. 2457
VOTER'S CERTIFICATE 2458
I, ...., do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a qualified 2459
and registered voter of .... County, Florida, an d that I have 2460
not and will not vote more than one ballot in this election. I 2461
understand that if I commit or attempt to commit any fraud in 2462
connection with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot, or vote more 2463
than once in an election, I can be convicted of a felo ny of the 2464
third degree and fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 2465
5 years. I also understand that failure to sign this certificate 2466
will invalidate my ballot. 2467
...(Date)... 2468
...(Voter's Signature or Last Four Digits of Social Security 2469
Number)... 2470
...(E-Mail Address)... ...(Home Telephone Number)... 2471
...(Mobile Telephone Number)... 2472
(2) The certificate must shall be arranged on the back of 2473
the mailing envelope so that the line for the signature or last 2474
four digits of the social security number of the voter absent 2475
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elector is across the seal of the envelope; however, a no 2476
statement may not shall appear on the envelope which indicates 2477
that a signature or the last four digits of the social security 2478
number of the voter must cross the seal of the envelope. The 2479
voter must absent elector shall execute the certificate on the 2480
envelope. 2481
(4) The supervisor shall mark, code, indicate on, or 2482
otherwise track the precinct of the voter absent elector for 2483
each vote-by-mail ballot. 2484
Section 26. Section 101.65, Florida Statutes, is amended 2485
to read: 2486
101.65 Instructions to absent electors. —The supervisor 2487
shall enclose with each vote -by-mail ballot separate printed 2488
instructions in substantially the following form; howe ver, where 2489
the instructions appear in capitalized text, the text of the 2490
printed instructions must be in bold font: 2491
2492
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY 2493
BEFORE MARKING BALLOT. 2494
2495
1. VERY IMPORTANT. In order to ensure that your vote -by-2496
mail ballot will be coun ted, it should be completed and returned 2497
as soon as possible so that it can reach the supervisor of 2498
elections of the county in which your precinct is located no 2499
later than 7 p.m. on the day of the election. However, if you 2500
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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
are an overseas voter casting a b allot in a presidential 2501
preference primary or general election, your vote -by-mail ballot 2502
must be postmarked or dated no later than the date of the 2503
election and received by the supervisor of elections of the 2504
county in which you are registered to vote no lat er than 10 days 2505
after the date of the election. Note that the later you return 2506
your ballot, the less time you will have to cure any signature 2507
deficiencies, which may cause your ballot not to be counted is 2508
authorized until 5 p.m. on the 2nd day after the el ection. 2509
2. Mark your ballot in secret as instructed on the ballot. 2510
You must mark your own ballot unless you are unable to do so 2511
because of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write. 2512
3. Mark only the number of candidates or issue choices for 2513
a race as indicated on the ballot. If you are allowed to "Vote 2514
for One" candidate and you vote for more than one candidate, 2515
your vote in that race will not be counted. 2516
4. Place your marked ballot in the enclosed secrecy 2517
envelope. 2518
5. Insert the secrecy envelope into the enclosed mailing 2519
envelope which is addressed to the supervisor. 2520
6. Seal the mailing envelope and completely fill out the 2521
Voter's Certificate on the back of the mailing envelope. 2522
7. VERY IMPORTANT. In order for your vote -by-mail ballot 2523
to be counted, you must sign your name or print the last four 2524
digits of your social security number on the line above (Voter's 2525
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Signature or Last Four Digits of Social Security Number ). A 2526
vote-by-mail ballot will be considered illegal and not be 2527
counted if the signature or the last four digits of the social 2528
security number on the voter's certificate do does not match the 2529
signature or social security number on record. The signature on 2530
file at the time the supervisor of elections in the county in 2531
which your precinct is located receives your vote -by-mail ballot 2532
is the signature that will be used to verify your signature on 2533
the voter's certificate. If you need to update your signature 2534
for this election, send your signature update on a voter 2535
registration applicat ion to your supervisor of elections so that 2536
it is received before your vote -by-mail ballot is received . 2537
8. VERY IMPORTANT. If you are an overseas voter, you must 2538
include the date you signed the Voter's Certificate or printed 2539
the last four digits of your social security number on the line 2540
above (Date) or your ballot may not be counted. 2541
9. Mail, deliver, or have delivered the completed mailing 2542
envelope. Be sure there is sufficient postage if mailed. THE 2543
COMPLETED MAILING ENVELOPE CAN BE DELIVERED TO THE O FFICE OF THE 2544
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS OF THE COUNTY IN WHICH YOUR PRECINCT IS 2545
LOCATED OR DROPPED OFF AT AN AUTHORIZED SECURE BALLOT INTAKE 2546
STATION, AVAILABLE AT EACH EARLY VOTING LOCATION. 2547
10. FELONY NOTICE. It is a felony under Florida law to 2548
accept any gift, payment, or gratuity in exchange for your vote 2549
for a candidate. It is also a felony under Florida law to vote 2550
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in an election using a false identity or false address, or under 2551
any other circumstances making your ballot false or fraudulent. 2552
Section 27. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1), 2553
paragraph (c) of subsection (2), and paragraphs (a), (c), and 2554
(d) of subsection (4) of section 101.68, Florida Statutes, are 2555
amended to read: 2556
101.68 Canvassing of vote -by-mail ballot.— 2557
(1)(a) The supervisor of the county where the absent 2558
elector resides shall receive the voted ballot, at which time 2559
the supervisor shall compare the signature or the last four 2560
digits of the social security number of the elector on the 2561
voter's certificate w ith the signature or the last four digits 2562
of the social security number of the elector in the registration 2563
books or the precinct register to determine whether the elector 2564
is duly registered in the county and must record on the 2565
elector's registration record that the elector has voted. During 2566
the signature comparison process, the supervisor may not use any 2567
knowledge of the political affiliation of the elector whose 2568
signature is subject to verification. 2569
(b) An elector who dies after casting a vote -by-mail 2570
ballot but on or before election day must shall remain listed in 2571
the registration books until the results have been certified for 2572
the election in which the ballot was cast. The supervisor shall 2573
safely keep the ballot unopened in his or her office until the 2574
county canvassing board canvasses the vote pursuant to 2575
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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
subsection (2). 2576
(2) 2577
(c)1. The canvassing board must, if the supervisor has not 2578
already done so, compare the signature or the last four digits 2579
of the social security number of the elector on the voter 's 2580
certificate or on the vote -by-mail ballot cure affidavit as 2581
provided in subsection (4) with the signature or last four 2582
digits of the social security number of the elector in the 2583
registration books or the precinct register to see that the 2584
elector is duly registered in the county and to determine the 2585
legality of that vote -by-mail ballot. A vote-by-mail ballot may 2586
only be counted if: 2587
a. The signature or last four digits of the social 2588
security number on the voter's certificate or the cure affidavit 2589
match matches the elector's signature or last four digits of the 2590
social security number in the registration books or precinct 2591
register; however, in the case of a cure affidavit, the 2592
supporting identification listed in subsection (4) must also 2593
confirm the identity of the elector; or 2594
b. The cure affidavit contains a signature or the last 2595
four digits of a social security number which do that does not 2596
match the elector's signature or last four digits of the social 2597
security number in the registration books or precinc t register, 2598
but the elector has submitted a current and valid Tier 1 2599
identification pursuant to subsection (4) which confirms the 2600
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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
identity of the elector. 2601
2602
For purposes of this subparagraph, any canvassing board finding 2603
that an elector's signatures or last four digits of the 2604
elector's social security number do not match must be by 2605
majority vote and beyond a reasonable doubt. 2606
2. The ballot of an elector who casts a vote -by-mail 2607
ballot shall be counted even if the elector dies on or before 2608
election day, as long as, before the death of the voter, the 2609
ballot was postmarked by the United States Postal Service, date -2610
stamped with a verifiable tracking number by a common carrier, 2611
or already in the possession of the supervisor. 2612
3. A vote-by-mail ballot is not con sidered illegal if the 2613
signature or last four digits of the social security number of 2614
the elector do does not cross the seal of the mailing envelope. 2615
4. If any elector or candidate present believes that a 2616
vote-by-mail ballot is illegal due to a defect ap parent on the 2617
voter's certificate or the cure affidavit, he or she may, at any 2618
time before the ballot is removed from the envelope, file with 2619
the canvassing board a protest against the canvass of that 2620
ballot, specifying the precinct, the voter's certificat e or the 2621
cure affidavit, and the reason he or she believes the ballot to 2622
be illegal. A challenge based upon a defect in the voter's 2623
certificate or cure affidavit may not be accepted after the 2624
ballot has been removed from the mailing envelope. 2625
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5. If the canvassing board determines that a ballot is 2626
illegal, a member of the board must, without opening the 2627
envelope, mark across the face of the envelope: "rejected as 2628
illegal." The cure affidavit, if applicable, the envelope, and 2629
the ballot therein must shall be preserved in the manner that 2630
official ballots are preserved. 2631
(4)(a) As soon as practicable, the supervisor shall, on 2632
behalf of the county canvassing board, attempt to notify an 2633
elector who has returned a vote -by-mail ballot that does not 2634
include the elector's signature or last four digits of the 2635
elector's social security number or contains a signature or the 2636
last four digits of a social security number that do does not 2637
match the elector's signature or last four digits of the 2638
elector's social security number in the registration books or 2639
precinct register by: 2640
1. Notifying the elector of the signature or last four 2641
digits of the social security number deficiency by e-mail and 2642
directing the elector to the cure affidavit and instructions on 2643
the supervisor's website; 2644
2. Notifying the elector of the signature or last four 2645
digits of the social security number deficiency by text message 2646
and directing the elector to the cure affidavit and instructions 2647
on the supervisor's website; or 2648
3. Notifying the elector of the signature or last four 2649
digits of the social security number deficiency by telephone and 2650
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directing the elector to the cure affidavit and instructions on 2651
the supervisor's website. 2652
2653
In addition to the notification required under subparagraph 1., 2654
subparagraph 2., or subparagraph 3., the supervisor must notify 2655
the elector of the signature or last four digits of the social 2656
security number deficiency by first-class mail and direct the 2657
elector to the cure affidavit and instructions on the 2658
supervisor's website. Beginning the day before the election, the 2659
supervisor is not required to provide notice of the signature 2660
deficiency by first-class mail, but shall continue to provide 2661
notice as required under subparagraph 1., subparagraph 2., or 2662
subparagraph 3. 2663
(c) The elector must complete a cure affidavit in 2664
substantially the following form: 2665
2666
VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT CURE AFFIDAVIT 2667
2668
I, ...., am a qualified voter in this election and 2669
registered voter of .... County, Florida. I do solemnly swear or 2670
affirm that I requested and returned the vote -by-mail ballot and 2671
that I have not and will not vote more than one ballot in this 2672
election. I understand that if I commit or attempt any fraud in 2673
connection with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot, or vote more 2674
than once in an election, I may be convicted of a felony of the 2675
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third degree and fined up to $5,000 and imprisoned for up to 5 2676
years. I understand that my failure to sign this affidavit means 2677
that my vote-by-mail ballot will be invalidated. 2678
2679
...(Voter's Signature or Last Four Digits of Social Security 2680
Number)... 2681
...(Address)... 2682
2683
(d) Instructions must accompany the cure affidavit in 2684
substantially the following form: 2685
2686
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE COMPLETING THE 2687
AFFIDAVIT. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS MAY CAUSE YOUR 2688
BALLOT NOT TO COUNT. 2689
2690
1. In order to ensure that your vote -by-mail ballot will 2691
be counted, your affidavit should be completed and returned as 2692
soon as possible so that it can reach the supervisor of 2693
elections of the county in which your precinct is l ocated no 2694
later than 5 p.m. on the 2nd day after the election. 2695
2. You must sign your name or print the last four digits 2696
of your social security number on the line above (Voter's 2697
Signature or Last Four Digits of Social Security Number ). 2698
3. You must make a copy of one of the following forms of 2699
identification: 2700
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a. Tier 1 identification. —Current and valid identification 2701
that includes your name and photograph: Florida driver license; 2702
Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway 2703
Safety and Motor Vehicles; United States passport; debit or 2704
credit card; military identification; student identification; 2705
retirement center identification; neighborhood association 2706
identification; public assistance identification; veteran health 2707
identification card issued by the United States Department of 2708
Veterans Affairs; a Florida license to carry a concealed weapon 2709
or firearm; or an employee identification card issued by any 2710
branch, department, agency, or entity of the Federal Government, 2711
the state, a county, or a municipality; or 2712
b. Tier 2 identification. —ONLY IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TIER 1 2713
FORM OF IDENTIFICATION, identification that shows your name and 2714
current residence address: current utility bill, bank statement, 2715
government check, paycheck, or government docum ent (excluding 2716
voter information card). 2717
4. Place the envelope bearing the affidavit into a mailing 2718
envelope addressed to the supervisor. Insert a copy of your 2719
identification in the mailing envelope. Mail (if time permits), 2720
deliver, or have delivered the completed affidavit along with 2721
the copy of your identification to your county supervisor of 2722
elections. Be sure there is sufficient postage if mailed and 2723
that the supervisor's address is correct. Remember, your 2724
information MUST reach your county supervisor of elections no 2725
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later than 5 p.m. on the 2nd day after the election, or your 2726
ballot will not count. 2727
5. Alternatively, you may fax or e -mail your completed 2728
affidavit and a copy of your identification to the supervisor of 2729
elections. If e-mailing, please provide these documents as 2730
attachments. 2731
Section 28. Section 101.69, Florida Statutes, is amended 2732
to read: 2733
101.69 Voting in person; return of vote -by-mail ballot.— 2734
(1) The provisions of this code may shall not be construed 2735
to prohibit any voter elector from voting in person at the 2736
voter's elector's precinct on the day of an election or at an 2737
early voting site, notwithstanding that the voter elector has 2738
requested a vote-by-mail ballot for that election. A voter An 2739
elector who has returned a voted vote -by-mail ballot to the 2740
supervisor, however, is deemed to have cast his or her ballot 2741
and is not entitled to vote another ballot or to have a 2742
provisional ballot counted by the county canvassing board. A 2743
voter An elector who has received a vote -by-mail ballot and has 2744
not returned the voted ballot to the supervisor, but desires to 2745
vote in person, shall return the ballot, whether voted or not, 2746
to the election board in the voter's elector's precinct or to an 2747
early voting site. The returned ballot must shall be marked 2748
"canceled" by the board and placed with other canceled ballots. 2749
However, if the voter elector does not return the ballot and the 2750
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election official: 2751
(a) Confirms that the supervisor has received the voter's 2752
elector's vote-by-mail ballot, the voter may elector shall not 2753
be allowed to vote in person. If the voter elector maintains 2754
that he or she has not returned the vote -by-mail ballot or 2755
remains eligible to vote, the voter must elector shall be 2756
provided a provisional ballot as provided in s. 101.048. 2757
(b) Confirms that the supervisor has not received the 2758
voter's elector's vote-by-mail ballot, the voter must elector 2759
shall be allowed to vote in person as provided in this code. The 2760
voter's elector's vote-by-mail ballot, if subsequently received, 2761
may shall not be counted and must shall remain in the mailing 2762
envelope, and the envelope must shall be marked "Rejected as 2763
Illegal." 2764
(c) Cannot determine whether the supervisor has received 2765
the voter's elector's vote-by-mail ballot, the voter elector may 2766
vote a provisional ballot as provided in s. 101.048. 2767
(2)(a) The supervisor shall allow a voter an elector who 2768
has received a vote-by-mail ballot to physically return a voted 2769
vote-by-mail ballot to the supervisor by placing the return mail 2770
envelope containing his or her marked ballot in a secure ballot 2771
intake station. Secure ballot intake stations must shall be 2772
placed at the main office of the supervisor, at each permanent 2773
branch office of the supervisor which meets the criteria set 2774
forth in s. 101.657(1)(a) for b ranch offices used for early 2775
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voting and which is open for at least the minimum number of 2776
hours prescribed by s. 98.015(4), and at each early voting site. 2777
Secure ballot intake stations may also be placed at any other 2778
site that would otherwise qualify as an early voting site under 2779
s. 101.657(1). Secure ballot intake stations must be 2780
geographically located so as to provide all voters in the county 2781
with an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is 2782
practicable. Except for secure ballot intake stations at an 2783
office of the supervisor, a secure ballot intake station may 2784
only be used during the county's early voting hours of operation 2785
and must be monitored in person by an employee of the 2786
supervisor's office. A secure ballot intake station at an office 2787
of the supervisor must be continuously monitored in person by an 2788
employee of the supervisor's office when the secure ballot 2789
intake station is accessible for deposit of ballots. 2790
(b) A supervisor shall designate each secure ballot intake 2791
station location at least 30 days before an election. The 2792
supervisor shall provide the address of each secure ballot 2793
intake station location to the division at least 30 days before 2794
an election. After a secure ballot intake station location has 2795
been designated, it may not be moved or changed except as 2796
approved by the division to correct a violation of this 2797
subsection. 2798
(c)1. On each day of early voting, all secure ballot 2799
intake stations must be emptied at the end of early voting hours 2800
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and all ballots retrieved from the secure ballo t intake stations 2801
must be returned to the supervisor's office. 2802
2. For secure ballot intake stations located at an office 2803
of the supervisor, all ballots must be retrieved before the 2804
secure ballot intake station is no longer monitored by an 2805
employee of the supervisor. 2806
3. Employees of the supervisor must comply with procedures 2807
for the chain of custody of ballots as required by s. 2808
101.015(4). 2809
(3) If any secure ballot intake station is left accessible 2810
for ballot receipt other than as authorized by this sec tion, the 2811
supervisor is subject to a civil penalty of $25,000. The 2812
division is authorized to enforce this provision. 2813
Section 29. Subsection (1) of section 104.42, Florida 2814
Statutes, is amended to read: 2815
104.42 Fraudulent registration and illegal voting ; 2816
investigation.— 2817
(1) The supervisor of elections is authorized to 2818
investigate fraudulent registrations and illegal voting and to 2819
report his or her findings to the local state attorney and the 2820
Office of Election Crimes and Security . 2821
Section 30. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 2822