Florida Senate - 2013 SB 1198
By Senator Sachs
34-01445-13 20131198__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to elections; amending s. 101.045,
3 F.S.; authorizing an elector who changes his or her
4 legal residence to vote in the precinct to which he or
5 she has moved even if the change of residence is not
6 within the same county; amending s. 101.161, F.S.;
7 limiting the ballot summary of a joint resolution to
8 75 words in length; deleting a provision that
9 authorizes the use of multiple ballot statements to
10 explain a joint resolution proposal; deleting a
11 presumption that a ballot statement consisting of the
12 full text of an amendment or revision is a clear and
13 unambiguous statement of the substance and effect of
14 the measure; amending s. 101.62, F.S.; revising the
15 dates for when an absentee ballot request must be
16 received and mailed; amending s. 101.657, F.S.;
17 revising and expanding locations that may be
18 designated as early voting sites; deleting a
19 requirement that an early voting site be designated
20 and used as such for at least 1 year before an
21 election; increasing and specifying the days and hours
22 for conducting early voting at certain elections;
23 providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 101.045, Florida
28 Statutes, is amended to read:
29 101.045 Electors must be registered in precinct; provisions
30 for change of residence or name.—
31 (2)(a) An elector who moves from the precinct in which the
32 elector is registered may be permitted to vote in the precinct
33 to which he or she has moved his or her legal residence, if the
34 change of residence is within the same county and the elector
35 completes an affirmation in substantially the following form:
36
37 Change of Legal Residence of Registered
38 Voter
39
40 Under penalties for false swearing, I, ...(Name of voter)...,
41 swear (or affirm) that the former address of my legal residence
42 was ...(Address of legal residence)... in the municipality of
43 ...., in .... County, Florida, and I was registered to vote in
44 the .... precinct of .... County, Florida; that I have not voted
45 in the precinct of my former registration in this election; that
46 I now reside at ...(Address of legal residence)... in the
47 Municipality of ...., in .... County, Florida, and am therefore
48 eligible to vote in the .... precinct of .... County, Florida;
49 and I further swear (or affirm) that I am otherwise legally
50 registered and entitled to vote.
51
52 ...(Signature of voter whose address of legal residence has
53 changed)...
54
55 (b) Except for an active uniformed services voter or a
56 member of his or her family, an elector whose change of address
57 is from outside the county may not change his or her legal
58 residence at the polling place and vote a regular ballot;
59 however, such elector is entitled to vote a provisional ballot.
60 (b)(c) An elector whose name changes because of marriage or
61 other legal process may be permitted to vote, provided such
62 elector completes an affirmation in substantially the following
63 form:
64
65 Change of Name of Registered
66 Voter
67
68 Under penalties for false swearing, I, ...(New name of
69 voter)..., swear (or affirm) that my name has been changed
70 because of marriage or other legal process. My former name and
71 address of legal residence appear on the registration records of
72 precinct .... as follows:
73 Name....
74 Address....
75 Municipality....
76 County....
77 Florida, Zip....
78 My present name and address of legal residence are as follows:
79 Name....
80 Address....
81 Municipality....
82 County....
83 Florida, Zip....
84 and I further swear (or affirm) that I am otherwise legally
85 registered and entitled to vote.
86
87 ...(Signature of voter whose name has changed)...
88
89 (c)(d) Instead of the affirmation contained in paragraph
90 (a) or paragraph (b) (c), an elector may complete a voter
91 registration application that indicates the change of name or
92 change of address of legal residence.
93 (d)(e) Such affirmation or application, when completed and
94 presented at the precinct in which such elector is entitled to
95 vote, and upon verification of the elector’s registration, shall
96 entitle such elector to vote as provided in this subsection. If
97 the elector’s eligibility to vote cannot be determined, he or
98 she shall be entitled to vote a provisional ballot, subject to
99 the requirements and procedures in s. 101.048. Upon receipt of
100 an affirmation or application certifying a change in address of
101 legal residence or name, the supervisor shall as soon as
102 practicable make the necessary changes in the statewide voter
103 registration system to indicate the change in address of legal
104 residence or name of such elector.
105 Section 2. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 101.161,
106 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
107 101.161 Referenda; ballots.—
108 (1) Whenever a constitutional amendment or other public
109 measure is submitted to the vote of the people, a ballot summary
110 of such amendment or other public measure shall be printed in
111 clear and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of
112 candidates, followed by the word “yes” and also by the word
113 “no,” and shall be styled in such a manner that a “yes” vote
114 will indicate approval of the proposal and a “no” vote will
115 indicate rejection. The ballot summary of the amendment or other
116 public measure and the ballot title to appear on the ballot
117 shall be embodied in the joint resolution, constitutional
118 revision commission proposal, constitutional convention
119 proposal, taxation and budget reform commission proposal, or
120 enabling resolution or ordinance. The ballot summary of the
121 amendment or other public measure shall be an explanatory
122 statement, not exceeding 75 words in length, of the chief
123 purpose of the measure. In addition, for every amendment
124 proposed by initiative, the ballot shall include, following the
125 ballot summary, a separate financial impact statement concerning
126 the measure prepared by the Financial Impact Estimating
127 Conference in accordance with s. 100.371(5). The ballot title
128 shall consist of a caption, not exceeding 15 words in length, by
129 which the measure is commonly referred to or spoken of. This
130 subsection does not apply to constitutional amendments or
131 revisions proposed by joint resolution.
132 (3)(a) Each joint resolution that proposes a constitutional
133 amendment or revision shall include one or more ballot
134 statements set forth in order of priority. Each ballot statement
135 shall consist of a ballot title, by which the measure is
136 commonly referred to or spoken of, not exceeding 15 words in
137 length, and either a ballot summary that describes the chief
138 purpose of the amendment or revision in clear and unambiguous
139 language, or the full text of the amendment or revision. The
140 Department of State shall furnish a designating number pursuant
141 to subsection (2) and the appropriate ballot statement to the
142 supervisor of elections of each county. The ballot statement
143 shall be printed on the ballot after the list of candidates,
144 followed by the word “yes” and also by the word “no,” and shall
145 be styled in such a manner that a “yes” vote will indicate
146 approval of the amendment or revision and a “no” vote will
147 indicate rejection.
148 (b)1. Any action for a judicial determination that the
149 ballot title or summary one or more ballot statements embodied
150 in a joint resolution is are defective must be commenced by
151 filing a complaint or petition with the appropriate court within
152 30 days after the joint resolution is filed with the Secretary
153 of State. The complaint or petition shall assert all grounds for
154 challenge to the ballot title or summary each ballot statement.
155 Any ground not asserted within 30 days after the joint
156 resolution is filed with the Secretary of State is waived.
157 (b)2. The court, including any appellate court, shall
158 accord an action described in paragraph (a) subparagraph 1.
159 priority over other pending cases and render a decision as
160 expeditiously as possible. If the court finds that the ballot
161 title or summary is all ballot statements embodied in a joint
162 resolution are defective and further appeals are declined,
163 abandoned, or exhausted, unless otherwise provided in the joint
164 resolution, the Attorney General shall, within 10 days, prepare
165 and submit to the Department of State a revised ballot title or
166 ballot summary that corrects the deficiencies identified by the
167 court, and the Department of State shall furnish a designating
168 number and the revised ballot title or ballot summary to the
169 supervisor of elections of each county for placement on the
170 ballot. The court shall retain jurisdiction over challenges to a
171 revised ballot title or ballot summary prepared by the Attorney
172 General, and any challenge to a revised ballot title or ballot
173 summary must be filed within 10 days after a revised ballot
174 title or ballot summary is submitted to the Department of State.
175 3. A ballot statement that consists of the full text of an
176 amendment or revision shall be presumed to be a clear and
177 unambiguous statement of the substance and effect of the
178 amendment or revision, providing fair notice to the electors of
179 the content of the amendment or revision and sufficiently
180 advising electors of the issue upon which they are to vote.
181 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 101.62, Florida
182 Statutes, is amended to read:
183 101.62 Request for absentee ballots.—
184 (2) A request for an absentee ballot to be mailed to a
185 voter must be received no later than 5 p.m. on the fifteenth
186 sixth day before the election by the supervisor of elections.
187 The supervisor of elections shall mail absentee ballots to
188 voters requesting ballots by such deadline no later than 13 4
189 days before the election.
190 Section 4. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (1) of
191 section 101.657, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
192 101.657 Early voting.—
193 (1)(a) As a convenience to the voter, the supervisor of
194 elections shall allow an elector to vote early in the main or
195 branch office of the supervisor. The supervisor shall mark,
196 code, indicate on, or otherwise track the voter’s precinct for
197 each early voted ballot. In order for a branch office to be used
198 for early voting, it shall be a permanent facility of the
199 supervisor and shall have been designated and used as such for
200 at least 1 year prior to the election. The supervisor may also
201 designate as an early voting site any suitable location in the
202 county, including any city hall or permanent public library
203 facility as early voting sites; however, if so designated, the
204 sites must be geographically located so as to provide all voters
205 in the county an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as
206 is practicable. The results or tabulation of votes cast during
207 early voting may not be made before the close of the polls on
208 election day. Results shall be reported by precinct.
209 (d) Early voting shall begin on the 15th 10th day before an
210 election that contains state or federal races and end on the 2nd
211 3rd day before the election, and shall be provided for at least
212 no less than 6 hours but not and no more than 12 hours per day
213 at each site during the applicable period. For purposes of a
214 primary election or a special election held pursuant to s.
215 100.101, early voting shall begin on the 8th day before the
216 election and end on the 2nd day before the election. Early
217 voting shall be provided for 8 hours per day at each site during
218 the applicable period and an aggregate of at least 8 hours on
219 the weekend. The supervisor of elections may provide early
220 voting for elections that are not held in conjunction with a
221 state or federal election. However, the supervisor has the
222 discretion to determine the hours of operation of early voting
223 sites in those elections.
224 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.