Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1206



By Senator Thompson





15-00365A-23 20231206__
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 an
6 applicant to designate a party affiliation or select
7 “no party affiliation” to be registered to vote;
8 requiring a supervisor of elections to provide a
9 certain notification; requiring the voter registration
10 application to include certain information; creating
11 s. 97.0556, F.S.; authorizing a person who meets
12 certain requirements to register to vote at an early
13 voting site or at his or her polling place and to
14 immediately thereafter cast a ballot; amending s.
15 97.057, F.S.; authorizing the Department of Highway
16 Safety and Motor Vehicles to preregister certain
17 individuals to vote; providing that driver license or
18 identification card applications, driver license or
19 identification card renewal applications, and
20 applications for changes of address for existing
21 driver licenses or identification cards submitted to
22 the department serve as voter registration
23 applications; providing that an applicant is deemed to
24 have consented to the use of his or her signature for
25 voter registration purposes unless a declination is
26 made; requiring specified applications to include a
27 voter registration component, subject to approval by
28 the Department of State; providing requirements for
29 the voter registration component; requiring the
30 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
31 electronically transmit voter registration information
32 to the Department of State within a specified
33 timeframe; requiring the Department of State to
34 provide such information to supervisors of elections,
35 as applicable; deleting obsolete language; making
36 technical changes; amending s. 97.0575, F.S.; revising
37 certain penalties for third-party voter registration
38 organizations; deleting the aggregate limit of such
39 penalties; amending s. 98.045, F.S.; conforming a
40 cross-reference; amending s. 98.065, F.S.; revising
41 requirements for registration list maintenance
42 programs; requiring supervisors to designate voters as
43 inactive if certain conditions are met; prohibiting
44 the number of voters on the inactive list from being
45 used to calculate the number of signatures necessary
46 for a petition; providing conditions under which a
47 voter on the inactive list may be restored to the
48 active list; requiring an inactive voter’s name to be
49 removed from the statewide voter registration system
50 if certain conditions are met; providing requirements
51 for such inactive voter to have his or her name
52 restored to the system; amending s. 99.061, F.S.;
53 authorizing a candidate to pay his or her
54 qualification fee with a cashier’s check; amending
55 100.111, F.S.; requiring the Governor to consult with
56 affected supervisors of elections in fixing the dates
57 for special elections; requiring the Governor, in the
58 event of a vacancy in a state legislative office, to
59 limit the period of such vacancy during a regular
60 legislative session to the greatest extent possible in
61 fixing a special election date; requiring the Governor
62 to fix the date for a special election to be held
63 within a certain timeframe; revising the minimum time
64 between a special primary election and a special
65 election; amending s. 100.141, F.S.; requiring the
66 Governor to issue an order calling for a special
67 election within a certain timeframe; conforming a
68 provision to changes made by the act; amending s.
69 100.371, F.S.; providing a requirement for the
70 delivery of certain petition forms; creating s.
71 100.51, F.S.; establishing General Election Day as a
72 paid holiday; providing that an elector may absent
73 himself or herself from service or employment at a
74 specific time on a General Election Day and may not be
75 penalized or have salary or wages reduced for such
76 absence; creating s. 101.016, F.S.; requiring the
77 Division of Elections to maintain a strategic
78 elections equipment reserve of voting systems and
79 other equipment for specified purposes; requiring such
80 reserve to include specified equipment; authorizing
81 the division to contract with specified entities
82 rather than physically maintain such reserve; amending
83 s. 101.048, F.S.; providing that a voter may cast a
84 provisional vote at any precinct in the county in
85 which the voter claims to be registered; amending s.
86 101.151, F.S.; revising the order in which office
87 titles and names of candidates are placed on the
88 ballot; conforming provisions to changes made by the
89 act; amending s. 101.5612, F.S.; requiring supervisors
90 of elections to annually file a plan for operations
91 under certain conditions; amending s. 101.62, F.S.;
92 providing that a request for a vote-by-mail ballot is
93 valid until such request is canceled; revising the
94 deadline by which requests for vote-by-mail ballots
95 must be received by a supervisor of elections;
96 revising the period during which a supervisor of
97 elections may deliver certain ballots; deleting
98 requirements for a person designated by an elector to
99 pick up the elector’s vote-by-mail ballot; providing
100 for extension of deadlines under certain conditions;
101 amending s. 101.64, F.S.; requiring supervisors of
102 elections to enclose a postage prepaid mailing
103 envelope with each vote-by-mail ballot; providing that
104 vote-by-mail ballot voter certificates may be signed
105 with the last four digits of the voter’s social
106 security number; amending s. 101.65, F.S.; revising
107 instructions that must be provided with a vote-by-mail
108 ballot; amending s. 101.68, F.S.; requiring
109 supervisors of elections to compare the signature or
110 last four digits of the social security number on a
111 voter’s certificate with the signature or last four
112 digits of the social security number in the
113 registration books or precinct register when
114 canvassing a vote-by-mail ballot; requiring a
115 canvassing board to compare the signature or last four
116 digits of the social security number on a voter’s
117 certificate or cure affidavit with the signature or
118 last four digits of the social security number in the
119 registration books or precinct register when
120 canvassing a vote-by-mail ballot; deleting the
121 authorization for certain persons to file a protest
122 against the canvass of a ballot; amending s. 101.6952,
123 F.S.; authorizing an absent voter to submit a federal
124 write-in absentee ballot or vote-by-mail ballot;
125 revising requirements for the canvassing of specified
126 ballots; providing that a certain presumption applies
127 to vote-by-mail ballots received from absent voters;
128 requiring a vote-by-mail ballot from an absent voter
129 which is postmarked or dated by a certain date to be
130 counted; amending s. 101.71, F.S.; prohibiting a
131 polling place from being located within a gated
132 community unless certain conditions are met; amending
133 s. 102.031, F.S.; authorizing a person to provide
134 food, water, or other items to certain voters;
135 prohibiting the use of devices that amplify sound in
136 certain locations during certain hours; amending s.
137 102.111, F.S.; revising the dates by which the
138 Elections Canvassing Commission must certify certain
139 election returns; amending s. 102.112, F.S.; revising
140 the deadlines for submission of county returns to the
141 Department of State; creating s. 102.181, F.S.;
142 authorizing certain persons to file actions against a
143 supervisor of elections for noncompliance with the
144 election code; providing that such persons are
145 entitled to an immediate hearing; providing for the
146 waiver of fees and costs and the awarding of attorney
147 fees; providing an effective date.
148
149 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
150
151 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 20.10, Florida
152 Statutes, is amended to read:
153 20.10 Department of State.—There is created a Department of
154 State.
155 (1) The head of the Department of State is the Secretary of
156 State. The Secretary of State shall be elected at the statewide
157 general election at which the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and
158 Cabinet officers are elected as provided in s. 5, Art. IV of the
159 State Constitution, for a term of 4 years beginning on the first
160 Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the year following
161 such election appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation
162 by the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
163 The Secretary of State shall perform the functions conferred by
164 the State Constitution upon the custodian of state records.
165 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
166 97.053, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
167 97.053 Acceptance of voter registration applications.—
168 (5)
169 (b) An applicant who fails to designate party affiliation
170 or affirmatively select “no party affiliation” may not must be
171 registered without party affiliation. The supervisor must notify
172 the voter by mail that the voter has not been registered without
173 party affiliation and that the voter must complete a new
174 registration application and designate a party affiliation or
175 affirmatively select “no party affiliation.” The voter
176 registration application must clearly denote this requirement
177 may change party affiliation as provided in s. 97.1031.
178 Section 3. Section 97.0556, Florida Statutes, is created to
179 read:
180 97.0556 Same-day voter registration.—A person who meets the
181 qualifications to register to vote in s. 97.041 and who provides
182 the information required for the statewide voter registration
183 application in s. 97.052 may register at an early voting site or
184 at his or her polling place and immediately thereafter cast a
185 ballot.
186 Section 4. Section 97.057, Florida Statutes, is amended to
187 read:
188 97.057 Voter registration by the Department of Highway
189 Safety and Motor Vehicles.—
190 (1) Each of the following serves as an application The
191 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide
192 the opportunity to preregister to vote, register to vote, or to
193 update a voter registration record when submitted to the
194 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to each
195 individual who comes to an office of that department to:
196 (a) An application for or a renewal of Apply for or renew a
197 driver license;
198 (b) An application for or a renewal of Apply for or renew
199 an identification card pursuant to chapter 322; or
200 (c) An application for a change of an address on an
201 existing driver license or identification card.
202
203 Unless the applicant declines to register or preregister to
204 vote, he or she is deemed to have consented to the use of the
205 signature from his or her driver license or identification card
206 application for voter registration purposes.
207 (2) An application for a driver license or an
208 identification card must include a voter registration component.
209 The voter registration component must be approved by the
210 Department of State and must contain all of the following:
211 (a) The minimum amount of information necessary to prevent
212 duplicate voter registrations and to preserve the ability of the
213 department and supervisors of elections to assess the
214 eligibility of the applicant and administer voter registration
215 and other provisions of this code.
216 (b) A statement setting forth voting eligibility
217 requirements.
218 (c) An explanation that the applicant is consenting to the
219 use of his or her signature from the applicant’s driver license
220 or identification card application for voter registration
221 purposes. By consenting to the use of his or her signature, the
222 applicant is deemed to have subscribed to the oath required by
223 s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051 and to
224 have sworn and affirmed that the voter registration information
225 contained in the application is true under penalty for false
226 swearing pursuant to s. 104.011.
227 (d) An option that allows the applicant to choose or update
228 a party affiliation; otherwise, an applicant who is initially
229 registering to vote and does not exercise such option shall be
230 sent a notice by the supervisor of elections in accordance with
231 s. 97.053(5)(b).
232 (e) An option that allows the applicant to decline to
233 register to vote or preregister to vote. The Department of
234 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall note any such
235 declination in its records and forward the declination to the
236 Department of State. Any declination may be used only for voter
237 registration purposes and is confidential and exempt from public
238 records requirements as provided in s. 97.0585.
239 (3) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
240 shall:
241 (a) Develop a voter registration component for applications
242 which meets the requirements set forth in subsection (2).
243 (b) Electronically transmit the voter registration
244 component of an applicant’s driver license or identification
245 card application to the Department of State within 24 hours
246 after receipt. Upon receipt of the voter registration component,
247 the Department of State shall provide the information to the
248 supervisor of the county in which the applicant is registering
249 or preregistering to vote or updating his or her voter
250 registration record.
251 (2) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
252 shall:
253 (a) Notify each individual, orally or in writing, that:
254 1. Information gathered for the completion of a driver
255 license or identification card application, renewal, or change
256 of address can be automatically transferred to a voter
257 registration application;
258 2. If additional information and a signature are provided,
259 the voter registration application will be completed and sent to
260 the proper election authority;
261 3. Information provided can also be used to update a voter
262 registration record;
263 4. All declinations will remain confidential and may be
264 used only for voter registration purposes; and
265 5. The particular driver license office in which the person
266 applies to register to vote or updates a voter registration
267 record will remain confidential and may be used only for voter
268 registration purposes.
269 (b) Require a driver license examiner to inquire orally or,
270 if the applicant is hearing impaired, inquire in writing whether
271 the applicant wishes to register to vote or update a voter
272 registration record during the completion of a driver license or
273 identification card application, renewal, or change of address.
274 1. If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to
275 update a voter registration record:
276 a. All applicable information received by the Department of
277 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course of filling out
278 the forms necessary under subsection (1) must be transferred to
279 a voter registration application.
280 b. The additional necessary information must be obtained by
281 the driver license examiner and must not duplicate any
282 information already obtained while completing the forms required
283 under subsection (1).
284 c. A voter registration application with all of the
285 applicant’s voter registration information required to establish
286 the applicant’s eligibility pursuan