Senate Bill sb1944
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Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1944
By Senator Hill
1-1601-04 See HB 759
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to absentee ballots; amending
3 s. 101.62, F.S.; revising a restriction on what
4 can be mailed or delivered with an absentee
5 ballot; amending s. 101.64, F.S.; requiring the
6 supervisor of elections to include an absentee
7 ballot receipt acknowledgment card with the
8 absentee ballot; providing for instructions and
9 applicability; amending s. 101.67, F.S.;
10 requiring the supervisor of elections, upon
11 receipt of an envelope containing the marked
12 ballot of an absent elector, to mail to that
13 elector an acknowledgment of receipt of that
14 ballot; providing an effective date.
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16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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18 Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 101.62, Florida
19 Statutes, is amended to read:
20 101.62 Request for absentee ballots.--
21 (6) Nothing other than the materials required under
22 the Florida Election Code or otherwise necessary to vote
23 absentee shall be mailed or delivered with any absentee
24 ballot.
25 Section 2. Section 101.64, Florida Statutes, is
26 amended to read:
27 101.64 Delivery of absentee ballots; envelopes; form;
28 absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card.--
29 (1)(a) The supervisor shall enclose with each absentee
30 ballot two envelopes: a secrecy envelope, into which the
31 absent elector shall enclose his or her marked ballot; and a
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1944
1-1601-04 See HB 759
1 mailing envelope, into which the absent elector shall then
2 place the secrecy envelope, which shall be addressed to the
3 supervisor and also bear on the back side a certificate in
4 substantially the following form:
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6 Note: Please Read Instructions Carefully Before
7 Marking Ballot and Completing Voter's Certificate.
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9 VOTER'S CERTIFICATE
10 I, ...., do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a
11 qualified and registered voter of .... County, Florida, and
12 that I have not and will not vote more than one ballot in this
13 election. I understand that if I commit or attempt to commit
14 any fraud in connection with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot,
15 or vote more than once in an election, I can be convicted of a
16 felony of the third degree and fined up to $5,000 and/or
17 imprisoned for up to 5 years. I also understand that failure
18 to sign this certificate and have my signature properly
19 witnessed will invalidate my ballot.
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21 ...(Date)... ...(Voter's Signature)...
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23 Note: Your Signature Must Be Witnessed By One Witness 18 Years
24 of Age or Older as provided in the Instruction Sheet.
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26 I swear or affirm that the voter signed this Voter's
27 Certificate in my presence.
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29 ...(Signature of Witness)...
30
31 ...(Address)...
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Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1944
1-1601-04 See HB 759
1 ...(City/State)...
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3 (b)(2) The certificate shall be arranged on the back
4 of the mailing envelope so that the lines for the signatures
5 of the absent elector and the attesting witness are across the
6 seal of the envelope; however, no statement shall appear on
7 the envelope which indicates that a signature of the voter or
8 witness must cross the seal of the envelope. The absent
9 elector and the attesting witness shall execute the
10 certificate on the envelope.
11 (2) The supervisor shall also enclose with each
12 absentee ballot an absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment
13 card. Such card shall be preaddressed to the office of the
14 supervisor, with postage prepaid, and shall instruct the
15 absent elector to sign the card and mail it back to the
16 supervisor if the absent elector desires to have receipt of
17 his or her absentee ballot acknowledged. An absent elector is
18 not required to return an absentee ballot receipt
19 acknowledgment card, and failure to return such card does not
20 affect the validity of any absentee ballot submitted by the
21 absent elector.
22 Section 3. Section 101.67, Florida Statutes, is
23 amended to read:
24 101.67 Acknowledgment of receipt of absentee ballots;
25 safekeeping of absentee mailed ballots; deadline for receiving
26 absentee ballots.--
27 (1) Upon receipt of any envelope containing the marked
28 ballot of an absent elector, the supervisor of elections shall
29 mail an acknowledgment of receipt of that ballot to the
30 elector at the elector's current mailing address on file with
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Florida Senate - 2004 SB 1944
1-1601-04 See HB 759
1 the supervisor or at any other address the elector has
2 specified in his or her request for the absentee ballot.
3 (2)(1) The supervisor of elections shall safely keep
4 in his or her office any envelopes received containing marked
5 ballots of absent electors, and he or she shall, before the
6 canvassing of the election returns, deliver the envelopes to
7 the county canvassing board along with his or her file or list
8 kept regarding said ballots.
9 (3)(2) All marked absent electors' ballots to be
10 counted must be received by the supervisor by 7 p.m. the day
11 of the election. All ballots received thereafter shall be
12 marked with the time and date of receipt and filed in the
13 supervisor's office.
14 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.
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