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| 1 | CHAMBER ACTION | ||
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| 6 | The Committee on Education K-20 recommends the following: | ||
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| 8 | Committee Substitute | ||
| 9 | Remove the entire bill and insert: | ||
| 10 | A bill to be entitled | ||
| 11 | An act relating to voter education; requiring district | ||
| 12 | school boards and county supervisors of elections jointly | ||
| 13 | to provide a program of voter education for high school | ||
| 14 | seniors; providing guidelines for the content of the | ||
| 15 | educational program; requiring that the program of voter | ||
| 16 | education be conducted during school hours; providing for | ||
| 17 | the use of county voting equipment in high school | ||
| 18 | elections under certain conditions; providing an effective | ||
| 19 | date. | ||
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| 21 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: | ||
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| 23 | Section 1. (1) Each district school board and county | ||
| 24 | supervisor of elections shall cooperate to provide voter | ||
| 25 | education to high school students who are in grade 12. The voter | ||
| 26 | education shall be in the form of a presentation and is | ||
| 27 | mandatory for public high schools and voluntary for nonpublic | ||
| 28 | high schools. Each supervisor of elections shall conduct and | ||
| 29 | provide voting equipment for the presentations for the public | ||
| 30 | high schools and, upon request, the nonpublic high schools. | ||
| 31 | (2) The voter education must include information | ||
| 32 | concerning: | ||
| 33 | (a) How to register to vote and preregister to vote. | ||
| 34 | (b) The operation of the type of voting equipment used in | ||
| 35 | the county, including, where applicable, new electronic voting | ||
| 36 | machines. | ||
| 37 | (c) How, when, and where to vote. | ||
| 38 | (d) The importance of voting. | ||
| 39 | (e) Voting by absentee ballot. | ||
| 40 | (f) How to work at a poll on election day. | ||
| 41 | (g) How to qualify as a candidate for elected office. | ||
| 42 | (3) The voter education program must provide students with | ||
| 43 | the opportunity, sufficient information, and sufficient time to | ||
| 44 | complete and hand in to the supervisor of elections applications | ||
| 45 | for voter registration. | ||
| 46 | (4) The voter education program shall be conducted during | ||
| 47 | school hours each term of the school year in order to reach a | ||
| 48 | maximum number of students in the most effective and efficient | ||
| 49 | manner, as determined by local school board policy. | ||
| 50 | (5) A student may not be excluded from the voter education | ||
| 51 | program due to an irregular class schedule, and students | ||
| 52 | enrolled in a magnet program must be provided voter education. | ||
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| 54 | As an adjunct to the voter education program and to familiarize | ||
| 55 | high school students who are in grade 12 with the voting system | ||
| 56 | used in their county, each school district may make arrangements | ||
| 57 | with the supervisor of elections for use of the county’s voting | ||
| 58 | equipment in any election held in a high school in the district | ||
| 59 | in which only students are candidates, if there is no conflict | ||
| 60 | with another scheduled election as determined by the supervisor | ||
| 61 | of elections. | ||
| 62 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003. | ||
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