The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/SB 7050
INTRODUCER: Fiscal Policy Committee
SUBJECT: Elections
DATE: April 24, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Biehl Roberts EE Submitted as Committee Bill
2. Biehl Yeatman FP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 7050 makes the following changes to election laws:
 Enhances an existing requirement for signature matching training and requires the
Department of State to promulgate related rules.
 Revises registration requirements, procedures, deadlines, prohibitions, and fines for third-
party voter registration organizations.
 Requires additional information to be included on voter information cards.
 Revises processes to be used by supervisors of elections and the Department of State in voter
registration list maintenance activities and enhances information other governmental entities
must provide for that purpose.
 Reenacts a public records exemption for certain voter registration information received from
another state or the District of Columbia.
 Clarifies and modernizes requirements for providing voter signature update information and
for the process of signature verification.
 Updates and enhances requirements for post-election reports.
 Creates a new candidate disclosure requirement for certain outstanding fines and fees.
 Prescribes requirements for use of a candidate nickname on a ballot.
 Specifies how candidates with the same surname running for the same office in a general
election may be distinguished on the ballot.
 Clarifies costs that supervisors of elections may charge for verification of signatures on
petitions.
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 Modernizes notice requirements by authorizing notice to be made on specified websites
instead of in a local newspaper.
 Modernizes requirements for precinct boundary data maintained by supervisors.
 Clarifies situations in which a provisional ballot must be voted.
 Implements some of the recommendations from the Department of State’s vote-by-mail
report.
 Clarifies the number of alternate members to be appointed to county canvassing boards.
 Modifies timeframes for meetings of the Elections Canvassing Commission, submission of
returns by county canvassing boards, and certification of presidential electors.
 Requires submission of specified information for presidential electors, revises qualifications
for presidential electors, and addresses “faithless electors.”
 Allows state committeemen and state committeewomen to prequalify.
 Clarifies the existing felony for casting more than one ballot.
 Revises required frequency for campaign finance reports and preempts local governments
from enacting reporting schedules that differ from those provided in statute.
 Adds text messages to the types of services and costs that do not constitute contributions that
count toward specified limits.
 Creates new framework regulating use of voter guides.
 Adjust fines that may be imposed and the collection of fines for violations of specified
election laws.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
Please see “Effect of Proposed Changes.”
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Voter Signature Matching Training (Section 1)
Present Situation
Applicants registering to vote in Florida must provide their signature as part of their voter
registration application, which then becomes part of the voter registration record.1 Thereafter,
voters can update their signatures by using a voter registration application and submitting it to a
voter registration official.2
Current law requires the Secretary of State to provide formal signature matching training to
supervisors of elections (supervisors) and county canvassing board members.3 Canvassing
boards may count vote-by-mail and provisional ballots only if the signature on the voter’s
certificate or in the cure affidavit matches the elector’s signature in the registration books or
precinct register.4
1
Section 97.052(2)(q), F.S.
2
Section 98.077(1), F.S.
3
Section 97.012(17), F.S.
4
See ss. 101.048(2)(b) and 101.68, F.S.
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Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill specifies that the signature matching training provided by the Secretary of State is
mandatory and that any person whose duties require verification of signatures must undergo the
training.
The bill also requires the Department of State (department) to adopt rules governing signature
matching procedures and training.
Disclaimer on Voter Registration Application (Section 2)
Present Situation
Current law prescribes information that must be included on the uniform statewide voter
registration application, including, but not limited to, a statement informing the applicant that if
the application is being collected by a third-party voter registration organization, the organization
might not deliver the application in less than 14 days or before the next ensuing election.5
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill revises 14 days to 10 to conform to substantive changes made to third-party voter
registration organizations in Section 4 of the bill.
Third-Party Voter Registration Organizations (Section 4)
Present Situation
A third-party voter registration organization is any person, entity, or organization soliciting or
collecting voter registration applications, but does not include:
 A person who seeks only to register to vote or collect a voter registration application from
that person’s spouse, child, or parent; or
 A person engaged in registering to vote or collecting voter registration applications as an
employee or agent of the Division of Elections (division), supervisor, Department of
Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or a voter registration agency6.7
Before engaging in any voter registration activities, an organization must register and provide to
the division specified information related to the organization’s officers, the organization’s
registered agent, and each registration agent registering persons to vote on behalf of the
organization.8 The registration of an organization does not automatically expire at any point; the
organization must affirmatively request cancellation.
An organization that collects voter registration applications must deliver each application to the
division or the supervisor of elections in the county in which the applicant resides within 14 days
5
Section 97.052(3)(g), F.S.
6
A voter registration agency is any office that provides public assistance, any office that serves persons with disabilities, any
center for independent living, or any public library (s. 97.021(44), F.S.).
7
Section 97.021(40), F.S.
8
Section 97.0575(1), F.S.
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after the application was completed by the applicant, but not after registration closes for the next
ensuing election.9 If an organization fails to meet the deadline, it is liable for the following fines:
 $50 for each application delivered to the division or supervisor more than 14 days after it was
submitted to the organization, and $250 for each such application if the organization or
person acting on its behalf acted willfully.
 $100 for each application delivered to the division or supervisor after the book-closing
deadline, and $500 for each such application if the organization or person acting on its behalf
acted willfully.
 $500 for each application not delivered at all, and $1,000 for each such application if the
organization or person acting on its behalf acted willfully.10
The aggregate fine which may be assessed against an organization, including affiliate
organizations, for violations committed in a calendar year is $50,000.
If a person collecting applications on behalf of an organization alters an application without the
applicant’s knowledge and consent and is criminally convicted, the organization is liable for a
fine in the amount of $1,000 for each application altered.11
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill provides that beginning January 1, 2025, organizations must register for each specific
general election cycle for which the organization will engage in voter registration activities. The
registration of an organization will automatically expire at the end of each general election cycle
for which it registers.
The remainder of the changes in this bill section will take effect 90 days after the department
provides notice of the requirements to registered organizations.12
The bill requires an organization to affirm that each person collecting or handling voter
registrations on its behalf:
 Has not been convicted of a felony violation of the Election Code or of a specified felony
related to identity theft; and
 Is a citizen of the United States.
The bill provides that an organization is liable for a fine of $50,000 for each person convicted of
a disqualifying felony or noncitizen who collects or handles voter registration applications on the
organization’s behalf.
The bill creates a new requirement that organizations provide a receipt to each applicant upon
accepting the application. The bill requires the division to adopt by rule by October 1, 2023, a
9
Section 97.0575(3)(a), F.S.
10
Id.
11
Section 97.0575(4), F.S.
12
Section 97.0575(8), F.S., currently provides, “The requirements of this section are retroactive for any third-party voter
registration organization registered with the department on the effective date of this act, and must be complied with within 90
days after the department provides notice to the third-party voter registration organization of the requirements contained in
this section.” This bill replaces “the effective date of this act” with “July 1, 2023.”
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uniform format for the receipt that must include, but need not be limited to, the name of the
applicant, the date received, the name of the organization, the name of the registration agent, the
applicant’s political party affiliation, and the county in which the applicant resides.
The bill reduces the number of days an organization has to deliver an application to 1013 from 14.
The bill increases fines for late-delivered applications as follows:
 For each application delivered more than 10 days after it was submitted – to $50 per each
day late, up to a maximum of $2,500, and to $2,500 if the organization or person acting on its
behalf acted willfully.
 For each application delivered after the book-closing deadline – to $100 per each day late, up
to a maximum of $5,000, and to $5,000 if the organization or person acting on its behalf
acted willfully.
 For each application not delivered at all – to $5,000 if the organization or person acting on its
behalf acted willfully.
The bill increases the aggregate fine which may be assessed an organization, including affiliate
organizations, for violations committed in a calendar year to $250,000.
The bill provides that it is a third-degree felony for a person collecting applications on behalf of
an organization to copy the application or retain personal information from the application for
any reason other than to provide such application or information to the organization.
The bill creates a new prohibition against an organization mailing or otherwise providing an
application upon which any information about an applicant has been filled in before it is
provided to the applicant. The bill provides that an organization that violates this prohibition is
liable for a $50 fine for each such application.
Voter Information Cards (Sections 5 and 6)
Present Situation
Current law requires each supervisor to provide a voter information card with specified
information to all registered voters in the supervisor’s county.14 A supervisor must issue a new
card in the case of a change of name, address of legal residence, polling place address, or party
affiliation.15
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill adds to the information that must be included on voter information cards:
 A link to the supervisor’s website to provide the most current polling place locations; and
 A specified statement that the card is proof of registration but is not legal verification of
eligibility to vote.
13
A federal district court order in 2012 specified that 10 is the minimum number of days the Legislature may allow third-
party voter registration organizations to deliver voter registration applications (League of Women Voters of Florida v.
Browning, 863 F.Supp.2d 1155, United States District Court, N.D. Florida).
14
Section 97.071(1), F.S.
15
Section 97.071(3), F.S.
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The bill also clarifies that a supervisor does not have to issue a new card if a temporary change is
made to a polling location due to a state of emergency.
The bill specifies that its changes to requirements for voter information cards only apply to cards
issued on or after July 1, 2023.
Voter Address List Maintenance (Sections 7 and 8)
Present Situation
Current law requires each supervisor to conduct an address registration list maintenance program
(program) to ensure accurate and current voter registration records.16 Each program must be
conducted, at a minimum, once each year and must be completed no later than 90 days prior to
the date of any federal election,17 as required by the National Voter Registration Act.
Specifically, a supervisor must incorporate one or more of the following procedures in an annual
list maintenance program:
 Use change-of-address information supplied by the United States Postal Service (U.S.P.S.)
through its licensees to identify registered voters whose addresses might have changed.
Additionally, in odd-numbered years (unless using the second option below), the supervisor
must identify change-of-address information from returned nonforwardable return-if-
undeliverable address confirmation requests mailed to all voters who have not voted in the
preceding two election cycles and who have not requested a registration update during that
time.
 Identify change-of-address information from returned nonforwardable return-if-undeliverable
mail sent to all registered voters in the county.
Address confirmation requests sent pursuant to the first list maintenance option must be
addressed to the voter’s address of legal residence. If a request is returned as undeliverable, any
other notification must be sent to the voter’s mailing address on file. In addition, a voter must
respond to an address confirmation request within 30 days.
If a supervisor fails to conduct required list maintenance activities, the department must conduct
the activities.
Current law also requires the department to promulgate forms for the following forms used in
address list maintenance processes:
 Address confirmation requests.
 Address change notices.
 Address confirmation final notices.18
16
Section 98.065(1), F.S.
17
Section 98.065(4), F.S.
18
Section 98.0655, F.S.
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Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill:
 Deletes the requirement that address confirmation requests be first sent to the voter’s address
of legal residence.
 Requires each annual list maintenance program to begin by April 1.
 Deletes the requirement that voters respond to an address confirmation request within 30
days.
 Requires each supervisor to conduct at least an annual review of voter registration reco