Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1914



By Senator Taddeo





40-01686A-22 20221914__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to elections; amending s. 20.10, F.S.;
3 requiring the Secretary of State to be elected rather
4 than appointed; specifying when such election must
5 occur; amending s. 97.053, F.S.; requiring applicants
6 registering to vote to designate a party affiliation
7 or affirmatively select “No Party Affiliation”;
8 requiring supervisors of elections to provide a
9 certain notification; requiring the voter registration
10 application to note such requirement; creating s.
11 97.0556, F.S.; providing that a person who meets
12 certain requirements may register to vote at an early
13 voting site or at his or her polling place and
14 immediately thereafter cast a ballot; amending s.
15 97.057, F.S.; requiring the Department of Highway
16 Safety and Motor Vehicles to provide the opportunity
17 to preregister to vote to certain individuals;
18 revising procedures governing voter registration by
19 the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles;
20 providing that driver license or identification card
21 applications, driver license or identification card
22 renewal applications, and applications for changes of
23 address for existing driver licenses or identification
24 cards submitted to the department serve as voter
25 registration applications; providing that an applicant
26 is deemed to have consented to the use of his or her
27 signature for voter registration purposes unless a
28 declination is made; requiring specified applications
29 to include a voter registration component, subject to
30 approval by the Department of State; requiring such
31 applications to include certain information; requiring
32 the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
33 develop the voter registration component for
34 applications; requiring the Department of Highway
35 Safety and Motor Vehicles to electronically transmit
36 voter registration information to the Department of
37 State within a specified timeframe; requiring the
38 Department of State to provide such information to
39 supervisors of elections, as applicable; deleting
40 obsolete language; making technical changes; amending
41 s. 97.0575, F.S.; removing a requirement that a third
42 party voter registration organization provide certain
43 notice to an applicant; revising certain penalties for
44 third-party voter registration organizations; removing
45 the aggregate limit of such penalties; amending s.
46 98.045, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; amending
47 s. 98.065, F.S.; revising the conditions in which a
48 supervisor must designate a voter as inactive;
49 amending s. 99.061, F.S.; authorizing a candidate to
50 pay his or her qualification fee with a cashier’s
51 check; amending s. 100.371, F.S.; providing a
52 requirement for the delivery of certain petition
53 forms; creating s. 100.51, F.S.; establishing General
54 Election Day as a paid holiday; providing that any
55 elector may absent himself or herself from service or
56 employment at a specific time on a General Election
57 Day and may not be penalized or have pay reduced for
58 such absence; creating s. 101.016, F.S.; requiring the
59 Division of Elections to maintain a strategic
60 elections equipment reserve of voting systems and
61 other equipment for specified purposes; requiring such
62 reserve to include specified equipment; authorizing
63 the division to contract with specified entities
64 rather than physically maintain such reserve; amending
65 s. 101.048, F.S.; providing that a person may cast a
66 provisional vote at any precinct in the county in
67 which the voter claims to be registered; amending s.
68 101.151, F.S.; revising the order in which office
69 titles and names of candidates are placed on the
70 ballot; amending s. 101.5612, F.S.; requiring
71 supervisors of elections to annually file a specified
72 plan for operations to be implemented under certain
73 conditions; amending s. 101.62, F.S.; providing that a
74 request for a vote-by-mail ballot is valid until the
75 request is canceled by the elector making the request;
76 revising the deadline by which vote-by-mail ballots
77 must be received by supervisors; revising the period
78 during which supervisors of elections may deliver
79 certain ballots; providing for extension of deadlines
80 under certain conditions; amending s. 101.64, F.S.;
81 requiring supervisors of elections to enclose a
82 postage-paid mailing envelope with each vote-by-mail
83 ballot; providing that vote-by-mail ballot voter
84 certificates may be signed with the last four digits
85 of the voter’s social security number; amending s.
86 101.65, F.S.; revising instructions that must be
87 provided with a vote-by-mail ballot; amending s.
88 101.68, F.S.; requiring supervisors of elections to
89 compare the signature or last four digits of the
90 social security number on a voter’s certificate with
91 the signature or last four digits of the social
92 security number in the registration books or precinct
93 register when canvassing a vote-by-mail ballot;
94 requiring canvassing boards to compare the signature
95 or last four digits of the social security number on a
96 voter’s certificate or cure affidavit with the
97 signature or last four digits of the social security
98 number in the registration books or precinct register
99 when canvassing vote-by-mail ballots; amending s.
100 101.6952, F.S.; authorizing absent voters to submit a
101 federal write-in absentee ballot or vote-by-mail
102 ballot under certain circumstances; revising
103 requirements for the canvassing of specified ballots;
104 providing that a certain presumption applies to vote
105 by-mail ballots received from absent voters; requiring
106 a vote-by-mail ballot from an absent voter which is
107 postmarked or dated by a certain date to be counted;
108 amending s. 101.71, F.S.; prohibiting polling places
109 from being located within gated communities unless
110 certain conditions are met; amending s. 102.031, F.S.;
111 providing that a person may provide food, water, and
112 other items to certain voters; prohibiting the use of
113 devices that amplify sound in certain locations during
114 certain hours; amending s. 102.111, F.S.; revising the
115 dates by which the Elections Canvassing Commission
116 shall meet to certify certain election returns;
117 amending s. 102.112, F.S.; revising the deadlines for
118 submission of county returns to the Department of
119 State; creating s. 102.181, F.S.; authorizing certain
120 persons to file actions against a supervisor of
121 elections for noncompliance with the Florida Election
122 Code; providing that such persons are entitled to an
123 immediate hearing; providing for the waiver of fees
124 and costs and the awarding of attorney fees; providing
125 an effective date.
126
127 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
128
129 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 20.10, Florida
130 Statutes, is amended to read:
131 20.10 Department of State.—There is created a Department of
132 State.
133 (1) The head of the Department of State is the Secretary of
134 State. The Secretary of State shall be elected at the statewide
135 general election at which the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and
136 Cabinet officers are elected as provided in s. 5, Art. IV of the
137 State Constitution, for a term of 4 years beginning on the first
138 Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the year following
139 such election appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation
140 by the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
141 The Secretary of State shall perform the functions conferred by
142 the State Constitution upon the custodian of state records.
143 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
144 97.053, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
145 97.053 Acceptance of voter registration applications.—
146 (5)
147 (b) An applicant who fails to designate party affiliation
148 or affirmatively select “No Party Affiliation” may not must be
149 registered without party affiliation. The supervisor must notify
150 the voter by mail that the voter has not been registered without
151 party affiliation and that the voter must complete a new
152 registration application and designate a party affiliation or
153 affirmatively select “No Party Affiliation.” The voter
154 registration application must clearly denote this requirement
155 may change party affiliation as provided in s. 97.1031.
156 Section 3. Section 97.0556, Florida Statutes, is created to
157 read:
158 97.0556 Same-day voter registration.—A person who meets the
159 qualifications to register to vote in s. 97.041 and who provides
160 the information required for the statewide voter registration
161 application in s. 97.052 may register at an early voting site or
162 at his or her polling place and immediately thereafter cast a
163 ballot.
164 Section 4. Section 97.057, Florida Statutes, is amended to
165 read:
166 97.057 Voter registration by the Department of Highway
167 Safety and Motor Vehicles.—
168 (1) Each of the following serves as an application The
169 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide
170 the opportunity to preregister to vote, register to vote, or to
171 update a voter registration record when submitted to the
172 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to each
173 individual who comes to an office of that department to:
174 (a) An application for or a renewal of Apply for or renew a
175 driver license;
176 (b) An application for or a renewal of Apply for or renew
177 an identification card pursuant to chapter 322; or
178 (c) An application for a change of an address on an
179 existing driver license or identification card.
180
181 Unless the applicant declines to register or preregister to
182 vote, he or she is deemed to have consented to the use of the
183 signature from his or her driver license or identification card
184 application for voter registration purposes.
185 (2) An application for a driver license or an
186 identification card must include a voter registration component.
187 The voter registration component must be approved by the
188 Department of State. The voter registration component of a
189 driver license or identification card application must contain
190 all of the following:
191 (a) The minimum amount of information necessary to prevent
192 duplicate voter registrations and preserve the ability of the
193 department and supervisors of elections to assess the
194 eligibility of the applicant and administer voter registration
195 and other provisions of this code.
196 (b) A statement setting forth voting eligibility
197 requirements.
198 (c) An explanation that the applicant is consenting to the
199 use of his or her signature from the applicant’s driver license
200 or identification card application for voter registration
201 purposes. By consenting to the use of his or her signature, the
202 applicant is deemed to have subscribed to the oath required by
203 s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051 and to
204 have sworn and affirmed that the voter registration information
205 contained in the application is true under penalty for false
206 swearing pursuant to s. 104.011.
207 (d) An option that allows the applicant to choose or update
208 a party affiliation; otherwise, an applicant who is initially
209 registering to vote and does not exercise such option shall be
210 sent a notice by the supervisor of elections in accordance with
211 s. 97.053(5)(b).
212 (e) An option that allows the applicant to decline to
213 register to vote or preregister to vote. The Department of
214 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall note any such
215 declination in its records and forward the declination to the
216 Department of State. Any declination may be used only for voter
217 registration purposes and is confidential and exempt from public
218 records requirements as provided in s. 97.0585.
219 (3) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
220 shall:
221 (a) Develop a voter registration component for applications
222 which meets the requirements set forth in subsection (2).
223 (b) Electronically transmit the voter registration
224 component of an applicant’s driver license or identification
225 card application to the Department of State within 24 hours
226 after receipt. Upon receipt of the voter registration component,
227 the Department of State shall provide the information to the
228 supervisor of the county in which the applicant is registering
229 or preregistering to vote or updating his or her voter
230 registration record.
231 (2) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
232 shall:
233 (a) Notify each individual, orally or in writing, that:
234 1. Information gathered for the completion of a driver
235 license or identification card application, renewal, or change
236 of address can be automatically transferred to a voter
237 registration application;
238 2. If additional information and a signature are provided,
239 the voter registration application will be completed and sent to
240 the proper election authority;
241 3. Information provided can also be used to update a voter
242 registration record;
243 4. All declinations will remain confidential and may be
244 used only for voter registration purposes; and
245 5. The particular driver license office in which the person
246 applies to register to vote or updates a voter registration
247 record will remain confidential and may be used only for voter
248 registration purposes.
249 (b) Require a driver license examiner to inquire orally or,
250 if the applicant is hearing impaired, inquire in writing whether
251 the applicant wishes to register to vote or update a voter
252 registration record during the completion of a driver license or
253 identification card application, renewal, or change of address.
254 1. If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to
255 update a voter registration record:
256 a. All applicable information received by the Department of
257 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course of filling out
258 the forms necessary under subsection (1) must be transferred to
259 a voter registration application.
260 b. The additional necessary information must be obtained by
261 the driver license examiner and must not duplicate any
262 information already obtained while completing the forms required
263 under subsection (1).
264 c. A voter registration application with all of the
265 applicant’s voter registration information required to establish
266 the applicant’s eligibility pursuant to s. 97.041 must be
267 presented to the applicant to review and verify the voter
268 registration information received and provide an electronic
269 signature affirming the accuracy of the information provided.
270 2. If the applicant declines to register to vote, update
271 the applicant’s voter registration record, or change the
272 applicant’s address by either orally declining or by failing to
273 sign the voter registration application, the Department of
274 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must note such declination on
275 its records and shall forward the declination to the statewide
276 voter registration system.
277 (3) For the purpose of this section, the Department of
278 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, with the approval of the
279 Department of State, shall prescribe:
280 (a) A voter registration application that is the same in
281 content, format, and size as the uniform statewide voter
282 registration application prescribed under s. 97.052; and
283 (b) A form that will inform applicants under subsection (1)
284 of the information contained in paragrap