Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1486 By Senator Polsky 30-01455-25 20251486__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to elections affected by disasters; 3 amending s. 101.733, F.S.; requiring that a certain 4 notice be posted on affected municipalities websites; 5 requiring supervisors of elections to also notify 6 voters using specified means; requiring the Division 7 of Elections to provide and present a certain 8 contingency plan to the Legislature; providing that 9 such presentation is a public record; requiring the 10 Secretary of State to consider certain sectors when 11 assessing the impact on their jurisdiction and the 12 ability of voters to participate in elections; 13 requiring that voters be able to perform specified 14 actions under certain conditions; requiring the 15 division to perform specified actions under certain 16 conditions; requiring that certain information be 17 provided in a specified manner and updated in real 18 time as changes are made; requiring the division to 19 maintain a specified number of strategic elections 20 equipment reserves in specified locations; requiring 21 that such reserves be deployed for certain purposes; 22 requiring that the reserves include certain equipment; 23 authorizing the division to contract with a state 24 approved vendor for such equipment; requiring that, 25 under specified conditions, election officials be able 26 to perform specified actions; requiring certain 27 counties and municipalities to update their websites 28 to include specified information; providing that 29 specified criminal penalties do not apply under 30 specified conditions; amending s. 101.62, F.S.; 31 providing that the use of the uniform statewide ballot 32 application may not be required for requests for vote 33 by-mail ballots from certain voters; conforming 34 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 35 101.657, F.S.; authorizing that certain locations be 36 designated as early voting locations; conforming 37 provisions to changes made by the act; amending s. 38 102.141, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 39 by the act; amending s. 104.0616, F.S.; providing an 40 exemption from criminal penalties to conform to 41 changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 42 43 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 44 45 Section 1.Section 101.733, Florida Statutes, is amended to 46 read: 47 101.733Election emergency; purpose; elections emergency 48 contingency plan; voter protections.Because of the existing and 49 continuing possibility of an emergency or common disaster 50 occurring before or during a regularly scheduled or special 51 election, and in order to ensure maximum citizen participation 52 in the electoral process and provide a safe and orderly 53 procedure for persons seeking to exercise their right to vote, 54 generally to minimize to whatever degree possible a persons 55 exposure to danger during declared states of emergency, and to 56 protect the integrity of the electoral process, it is hereby 57 found and declared to be necessary to designate a procedure for 58 the emergency suspension or delay and rescheduling of elections. 59 (1)The Governor may, upon issuance of an executive order 60 declaring a state of emergency or impending emergency, suspend 61 or delay any election. The Governor may take such action 62 independently or at the request of the Secretary of State, a 63 supervisor of elections from a county affected by the emergency 64 circumstances, or a municipal clerk from a municipality affected 65 by the emergency circumstances. 66 (2)The Governor, upon consultation with the Secretary of 67 State, shall reschedule any election suspended or delayed due to 68 an emergency. The election shall be held within 10 days after 69 the date of the suspended or delayed election or as soon 70 thereafter as is practicable. Notice of the election must be 71 published on the affected countys website and on the affected 72 municipalitys website as provided in s. 50.0311, on the 73 affected supervisors website;, or at least once in a newspaper 74 of general circulation in the affected area; and, if where 75 practicable, broadcast as a public service announcement on radio 76 and television stations at least 1 week before the date the 77 election is to be held. Supervisors of elections shall also 78 notify voters in their respective county through other available 79 and regularly used means of communication, including, but not 80 limited to, the use of social media, e-mails, telephone calls, 81 and text message. 82 (3)The Division of Elections of the Department of State 83 shall adopt, by rule, an elections emergency contingency plan, 84 which shall contain goals and policies that give specific 85 direction to state and local elections officials when an 86 election has been suspended or delayed due to an emergency. The 87 division must provide and prepare this contingency plan to the 88 Legislature each year that an election is conducted. The 89 presentation is a public record. The contingency plan must shall 90 be statewide in scope and must shall address, but not be limited 91 to, the following concerns: 92 (a)Providing a procedure for state and local elections 93 officials to follow when an election has been suspended or 94 delayed to ensure notice of the suspension or delay to the 95 proper authorities, the electorate, the communications media, 96 poll workers, and the custodians of polling places. 97 (b)Providing a procedure for the orderly conduct of a 98 rescheduled election, whether municipal, county, district, or 99 statewide in scope; coordinating those efforts with the 100 appropriate elections official, and the members of the governing 101 body holding such election, if appropriate; and working with the 102 appropriate emergency management officials in determining the 103 safety of existing polling places or designating additional 104 polling places. 105 (c)Providing a procedure for the release and certification 106 of election returns to the department for elections suspended or 107 delayed and subsequently rescheduled under the provisions of ss. 108 101.731-101.74. 109 (4)When assessing impacts on jurisdictions and the ability 110 of all voters to participate in elections, the secretary shall 111 consider impacts on housing, transportation, utilities, Internet 112 access, the United States Postal Service, and accessibility 113 needs and shall proactively consult with supervisors and county 114 emergency management agencies, county public services and 115 utilities, social services, and community-based nongovernmental 116 organizations in the affected jurisdictions. At a minimum, in 117 any county designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency 118 as eligible for individual assistance or designated as being in 119 a state of emergency by the Governor in an executive order, a 120 voter must be able to do all of the following: 121 (a)Request a vote-by-mail ballot by telephone, in writing, 122 or by e-mail to be mailed to an address other than the voters 123 address on file, without requiring the voter to complete the 124 statewide vote-by-mail request form. 125 (b)Have the vote-by-mail ballot sent via forwardable mail, 126 such that displaced voters who have provided a forwarding 127 address to the United States Postal Service do not need to 128 request a new ballot. 129 (c)Return the completed vote-by-mail ballot to any county 130 and have the supervisor of that county forward that ballot to 131 the supervisor of the appropriate county. 132 (d)Drop the vote-by-mail ballot off at any polling place 133 or the supervisor of elections office on election day. 134 (e)Request that a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to the 135 voter 10 days before election day, and request a vote-by-mail 136 ballot for pickup during early voting without an emergency 137 excuse. 138 (f)Have the vote-by-mail ballot counted, as long as it is 139 postmarked by or on election day and received within 2 days 140 after election day. 141 (g)Receive additional time, up to 5 p.m. on the fourth day 142 after the election, to cure any issues with the signature on the 143 vote-by-mail ballot. 144 (h)Obtain accurate and timely information about disaster 145 related changes to the voters voting options on a clearly and 146 prominently designated page on their supervisors website and, 147 for municipal and county elections on the respective website. 148 (5)At a minimum, if a county in this state is designated 149 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as eligible for 150 public or individual assistance or is designated as being in a 151 state of emergency by the Governor in an executive order, and 152 there is a regularly scheduled or special election in that 153 county within 90 days after the designation, the division must: 154 (a)Create a page on the divisions website where voters 155 registered in any affected county can submit a vote-by-mail 156 request using a statewide phone number and online request form. 157 (b)Provide an emergency allocation to ensure that all 158 affected counties can pay for return paid postage for vote-by 159 mail ballots, additional staffing needs and other costs for 160 extended early voting hours, and additional early voting sites, 161 additional secure ballot intake stations and staffing to monitor 162 them, and voter education about changes to voting processes and 163 locations. 164 (c)Extend mandatory early voting hours in affected 165 counties from 8 to 12 hours per day throughout the early voting 166 period, and provide financial support, if necessary. 167 (d)Extend relevant election deadlines to accommodate 168 extended ballot return and ballot cure timeframes. 169 (e)Update the website and require that the Division of 170 Emergency Management and all other emergency pages include 171 information regarding changes to voting procedures or locations 172 in affected counties through election day. The following 173 information must be presented in a user-friendly format, written 174 in plain language, publicly promoted, and updated in real-time 175 as changes are made: 176 1.How to vote by mail for voters in affected counties, 177 including, but not limited to: 178 a.How voters can obtain and cast a vote-by-mail ballot if 179 unable to access their mailing address. 180 b.How voters can obtain and cast a vote-by-mail ballot if 181 they have recently requested one, but cannot locate it. 182 c.How voters can verify whether a vote-by-mail ballot that 183 was mailed back to the supervisor was received or if it was lost 184 or destroyed. 185 2.The dates, hours, and locations for vote-by-mail drop 186 off at secure ballot intake stations in affected counties. 187 3.The days and hours during which affected supervisor of 188 elections offices will be open and fully functional, including 189 locations and contact information for the supervisor 190 highlighting any changes. 191 4.The dates, hours, and locations for early voting in 192 affected counties and highlighting any changes. 193 5.The list of acceptable forms of voter identification 194 with instruction on how to obtain a new driver license or 195 Florida identification card for those who lost documentation as 196 a result of the emergency. 197 6.How to vote in person at early voting sites during the 198 early voting period or, if relevant, on election day, including 199 whether displaced voters can vote at these locations if outside 200 the precinct. 201 (f)Instruct supervisors in affected counties to update 202 their websites and social media through election day to 203 prominently display information about all the changes to 204 election procedures. 205 (g)Provide prominent links on the divisions website 206 containing voting and election information related to the 207 emergency and require the Division of Emergency Management and 208 any affected county or municipality include such links on their 209 websites. 210 (6)The division shall maintain at least three strategic 211 elections equipment reserves of voting systems: at least one in 212 the northern part of the state, at least one in the central part 213 of the state, and at least one in the southern part of the 214 state. Such reserves must be deployed to provide affected 215 counties with additional or replacement equipment necessary to 216 ensure adequate execution of elections in the aftermath of a 217 disaster. Such reserves must include tabulation equipment and 218 other necessary equipment, including, but not limited to, 219 ballot-on-demand printers and other printers that are in use by 220 each supervisor, accessible voting equipment, electronic poll 221 books, uninterrupted power supplies, generators, cabling, and 222 power cords. In lieu of maintaining a physical reserve of such 223 equipment, the division may contract with a state-approved 224 vendor of voting equipment to provide such equipment on an 225 emergency as-needed basis. 226 (7)At a minimum, in a county that is designated by the 227 Federal Emergency Management Agency as eligible for individual 228 or public assistance or designated by the Governor as being in a 229 state of emergency in an executive order, election officials 230 must be able to: 231 (a)Conduct early voting beginning 15 days before the 232 election through election day. 233 (b)Designate up to three early voting sites that are not 234 otherwise eligible early voting sites, as long as they are 235 geographically located so as to provide all voters in that area 236 with an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is 237 practicable, and provide sufficient nonpermitted parking to 238 accommodate the anticipated number of voters. 239 (c)Use mobile polling locations. 240 (d)Expand the use of secure ballot intake stations by 241 allowing voters to drop their ballots off at all polling places 242 and supervisor of elections offices on election day and by 243 allowing counties to offer secure ballot intake stations beyond 244 the hours that sites are open during early voting. 245 (e)Forward any paper vote-by-mail requests submitted to 246 them from a voter registered in another county to the supervisor 247 of elections office in the appropriate county. 248 (f)Extend the deadline to cure vote-by-mail ballots by 2 249 days to 5 p.m. on the fourth day after the election. 250 (g)Offer early voting through election day so that all 251 voters registered in a county may vote countywide on election 252 day. 253 (h)If post offices are impacted, hold local ballots at the 254 supervisors office, so long as the supervisor notifies voters 255 by all available means that this service is being offered. 256 (i)Receive supplies and equipment shared by other counties 257 and access supplies and equipment from the states emergency 258 equipment warehouses. 259 (8)Affected counties and municipalities shall update their 260 websites to prominently display information regarding changes to 261 voting dates, procedures, or locations and include links to the 262 countys supervisor of elections website containing election 263 information related to the emergency. 264 (9)In order to facilitate voters who require assistance in 265 casting their vote-by-mail ballot in the aftermath of a 266 disaster, in a county that is designated by the Federal 267 Emergency Management Agency as eligible for individual or public 268 assistance or designated by the Governor as being in a state of 269 emergency in an executive order, criminal penalties pursuant to 270 s. 104.0616(2) do not apply, provided that secure ballot intake 271 stations are monitored in person by an employee of the 272 supervisors office in accordance with s. 101.69(2)(a). 273 Section 2.Subsection (1) of section 101.62, Florida 274 Statutes, is amended to read: 275 101.62Request for vote-by-mail ballots. 276 (1)REQUEST. 277 (a)The supervisor shall accept a request for a vote-by 278 mail ballot only from a voter or, if directly instructed by the 279 voter, a member of the voters immediate family or the voters 280 legal guardian. A request may be made in person, in writing, by 281 telephone, or through the supervisors website. The department 282 shall prescribe by rule by October 1, 2023, a uniform statewide 283 application to make a written request for a vote-by-mail ballot 284 which includes fields for all information required in this 285 subsection. The use of the uniform statewide ballot application 286 may not be required for vote-by-mail ballot requests from a 287 county that is affected by an emergency defined in ss. 101.732 288 and 101.733. One request is deemed sufficient to receive a vote 289 by-mail ballot for all elections through the end of the calendar 290 year of the next regularly scheduled general election, unless 291 the voter or the voters designee indicates at the time the 292 request is made the elections within such period for which the 293 voter desires to receive a vote-by-mail ballot. The supervisor 294 must cancel a request for a vote-by-mail ballot when any first 295 class mail or nonforwardable mail sent by the supervisor to the 296 voter is returned as undeliverable. If the voter requests a 297 vote-by-mail ballot thereafter, the voter must provide or 298 confirm his or her current residential address. 299 (b)The supervisor may accept a request for a vote-by-mail 300 ballot to be mailed to a voters address on file in the Florida 301 Voter Registration System from the voter, or, if directly 302 instructed by the voter, a member of the voters immediate 303 family or the voters legal guardian. If an in-person or a 304 telephonic request is made, the voter must provide the voters 305 Florida driver license number, the voters Florida 306 identification card number, or the last four digits of the 307 voters social security number, whichever may be verified in the 308 supervisors records. Except as provided in s. 101.733, if the 309 ballot is requested to be mailed to an address other than the 310 voters address on file in the Florida Voter Registration 311 System, the request must be made in writing. A written request 312 must be signed by the voter and include the voters Florida 313 driver license number, the voters Florida identification card 314 number, or the last four digits of the voters social security 315 number. However, an absent uniformed services voter or an 316 overseas voter seeking a vote-by-mail ballot is not required to 317 submit a signed, written request for a vote-by-mail ballot that 318 is being mailed to an address other than the voters address on 319 file in the Florida Voter Registration System. The person making 320 the request must disclose: 321 1.The name of the voter for whom the ballot is requested. 322 2.The voters address. 323 3.The voters date of birth. 324 4.The voters Florida driver license number, the voters 325 Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of 326 the voters social security number, whichever may be verified in 327 the supervisors records. If the voters registration record 328 does not already include the voters Florida driver license 329 number or Florida identification card number or the last four 330 digits of the voters social security number, the number 331 provided must be recorded in the voters registration record. 332 5.The requesters name. 333 6.The requesters address. 334 7.The requesters driver license number, the requesters 335 identification card number, or the last four digits of the 336 requesters social security number, if available. 337 8.The requesters relationship to the voter. 338 9.The requesters signature (written requests only). 339 (c)Upon receiving a request for a vote-by-mail ballot from 340 an absent voter, the supervisor of elections shall notify the 341 voter of the free access system that has been designated by the 342 department for determining the status of his or her vote-by-mail 343 ballot. 344 (d)For purposes of this section, the term immediate 345 family refers to the following, as applicable: 346 1.The voters spouse, parent, child, grandparent, 347 grandchild, or sibling, or the parent, child, grandparent, 348 grandchild, or sibling of the voters spouse. 349 2.The designees spouse, parent, child, grandparent, 350 grandchild, or sibling, or the parent, child, grandparent, 351 grandchild, or sibling of the designees spouse. 352 Section 3.Subsection (1) of section 101.657, Florida 353 Statutes, is amended to read: 354 101.657Early voting. 355 (1)(a)As a convenience to the voter, the supervisor of 356 elections shall allow an elector to vote early in the main or 357 branch office of the supervisor. The supervisor shall mark, 358 code, indicate on, or otherwise track the voters precinct for 359 each early voted ballot. In order for a branch office to be used 360 for early voting, it shall be a permanent facility of the 361 supervisor and shall have been designated and used as such for 362 at least 1 year prior to the election. The supervisor may also 363 designate any city hall, permanent public library facility, 364 fairground, civic center, courthouse, county commission 365 building, stadium, convention center, government-owned senior 366 center, or government-owned community center as an early voting 367 site; however, if so designated, the sites must be 368 geographically located so as to provide all voters in the county 369 an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is 370 practicable, and must provide sufficient nonpermitted parking to 371 accommodate the anticipated amount of voters. In addition, a 372 supervisor may designate one early voting site per election in 373 an area of the county that does not have any of the eligible 374 early voting locations. Locations that are not otherwise 375 eligible early voting locations may also be designated as early 376 voting locations as provided in s. 101.733. Such additional 377 early voting site must be geographically located so as to 378 provide all voters in that area with an equal opportunity to 379 cast a ballot, insofar as is practicable, and must provide 380 sufficient nonpermitted parking to accommodate the anticipated 381 amount of voters. Each county shall, at a minimum, operate the 382 same total number of early voting sites for a general election 383 which the county operated for the 2012 general election. The 384 results or tabulation of votes cast during early voting may not 385 be made before the close of the polls on election day. Results 386 shall be reported by precinct. 387 (b)Except as provided in s. 101.733, the supervisor shall 388 designate each early voting site by no later than the 30th day 389 prior to an election and shall designate an early voting area, 390 as defined in s. 97.021, at each early voting site. Except as 391 provided in s. 101.733, the supervisor shall provide to the 392 division no later than the 30th day before an election the 393 address of each early voting site and the hours that early 394 voting will occur at each site. 395 (c)All early voting sites in a county shall allow any 396 person in line at the closing of an early voting site to vote. 397 (d)Except as provided in s. 101.733, early voting shall 398 begin on the 10th day before an election that contains state or 399 federal races and end on the 3rd day before the election, and 400 shall be provided for no less than 8 hours and no more than 12 401 hours per day at each site during the applicable period. In 402 addition, early voting may be offered at the discretion of the 403 supervisor of elections on the 15th, 14th, 13th, 12th, 11th, or 404 2nd day before an election that contains state or federal races 405 for at least 8 hours per day, but not more than 12 hours per 406 day. The supervisor of elections may provide early voting for 407 elections that are not held in conjunction with a state or 408 federal election. However, the supervisor has the discretion to 409 determine the hours of operation of early voting sites in those 410 elections. 411 (e)Notwithstanding the requirements of s. 100.3605, 412 municipalities may provide early voting in municipal elections 413 that are not held in conjunction with county or state elections. 414 If a municipality provides early voting, it may designate as 415 many sites as necessary and shall conduct its activities in 416 accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (a)-(c). The 417 supervisor is not required to conduct early voting if it is 418 provided pursuant to this subsection. 419 (f)Notwithstanding the requirements of s. 189.04, special 420 districts may provide early voting in any district election not 421 held in conjunction with county or state elections. If a special 422 district provides early voting, it may designate as many sites 423 as necessary and shall conduct its activities in accordance with 424 the provisions of paragraphs (a)-(c). The supervisor is not 425 required to conduct early voting if it is provided pursuant to 426 this subsection. 427 Section 4.Subsection (5) of section 102.141, Florida 428 Statutes, is amended to read: 429 102.141County canvassing board; duties. 430 (5)Except as provided in s. 101.733, the canvassing board 431 shall submit on forms or in formats provided by the division 432 unofficial returns to the Department of State for each federal, 433 statewide, state, or multicounty office or ballot measure no 434 later than noon on the third day after any primary election and 435 no later than noon on the fourth day after any general or other 436 election. Such returns shall include the canvass of all ballots 437 as required by subsection (2). 438 Section 5.Subsection (2) of section 104.0616, Florida 439 Statutes, is amended to read: 440 104.0616Vote-by-mail ballots and voting; violations. 441 (2)Any person who distributes, orders, requests, collects, 442 delivers, or otherwise physically possesses more than two vote 443 by-mail ballots per election in addition to his or her own 444 ballot or a ballot belonging to an immediate family member, 445 except as provided in ss. 101.6105-101.694 and 101.733, 446 including supervised voting at assisted living facilities and 447 nursing home facilities as authorized under s. 101.655, commits 448 a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 449 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 450 Section 6.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.