| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to absentee ballots; amending s. 101.68, |
| 3 | F.S.; requiring the supervisor of elections to notify an |
| 4 | absent elector if the voter's certificate on a mailed |
| 5 | absentee ballot has not been signed; providing conditions |
| 6 | under which the elector may sign the certificate and have |
| 7 | the ballot counted; requiring the supervisor of elections |
| 8 | to make available to certain persons or political parties |
| 9 | a list of names of absent electors being notified that |
| 10 | their signatures were omitted on the voter's certificate; |
| 11 | providing an exception; providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 101.68, |
| 16 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 17 | 101.68 Canvassing of absentee ballot.-- |
| 18 | (1)(a) The supervisor of the county where the absent |
| 19 | elector resides shall receive the voted ballot, at which time |
| 20 | the supervisor shall compare the signature of the elector on the |
| 21 | voter's certificate with the signature of the elector in the |
| 22 | registration books to determine whether the elector is duly |
| 23 | registered in the county and may record on the elector's |
| 24 | registration certificate that the elector has voted. However, |
| 25 | effective July 1, 2005, an elector who dies after casting an |
| 26 | absentee ballot but on or before election day shall remain |
| 27 | listed in the registration books until the results have been |
| 28 | certified for the election in which the ballot was cast. The |
| 29 | supervisor shall safely keep the ballot unopened in his or her |
| 30 | office until the county canvassing board canvasses the vote. |
| 31 | After an absentee ballot is received by the supervisor, the |
| 32 | ballot is deemed to have been cast, and changes or additions may |
| 33 | not be made to the voter's certificate. |
| 34 | (b) If an absentee ballot is received by the supervisor |
| 35 | and the voter's certificate has not been signed, the supervisor |
| 36 | shall notify the elector of the omission, if the identity of the |
| 37 | elector can be ascertained from the mailing envelope. To |
| 38 | complete the voter's certificate, the elector must: |
| 39 | 1. Personally appear at the supervisor's main office by 7 |
| 40 | p.m. on the day of the election and, upon providing proper |
| 41 | identification as described in s. 101.043, sign the voter's |
| 42 | certificate; or |
| 43 | 2. Personally appear at the first meeting of the county |
| 44 | canvassing board convened after 7 p.m. on the day of the |
| 45 | election and, upon providing proper identification as described |
| 46 | in s. 101.043, sign the voter's certificate. |
| 47 | (c) The ballot shall not be considered illegal due to an |
| 48 | unsigned voter's certificate if the certificate is signed in |
| 49 | accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (b)1. or |
| 50 | subparagraph (b)2. |
| 51 | (d) Except as otherwise provided in s. 741.465, the |
| 52 | supervisor of elections shall make available to a political |
| 53 | party or official thereof or a candidate who has filed |
| 54 | qualifying papers and is opposed in an upcoming election a list |
| 55 | of names of absent electors who are being notified that their |
| 56 | signatures were omitted on the voter's certificate. |
| 57 | (2)(a) The county canvassing board may begin the |
| 58 | canvassing of absentee ballots at 7 a.m. on the sixth day before |
| 59 | the election, but not later than noon on the day following the |
| 60 | election. In addition, for any county using electronic |
| 61 | tabulating equipment, the processing of absentee ballots through |
| 62 | such tabulating equipment may begin at 7 a.m. on the sixth day |
| 63 | before the election. However, notwithstanding any such |
| 64 | authorization to begin canvassing or otherwise processing |
| 65 | absentee ballots early, no result shall be released until after |
| 66 | the closing of the polls in that county on election day. Any |
| 67 | supervisor of elections, deputy supervisor of elections, |
| 68 | canvassing board member, election board member, or election |
| 69 | employee who releases the results of a canvassing or processing |
| 70 | of absentee ballots prior to the closing of the polls in that |
| 71 | county on election day commits a felony of the third degree, |
| 72 | punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. |
| 73 | (b) To ensure that all absentee ballots to be counted by |
| 74 | the canvassing board are accounted for, the canvassing board |
| 75 | shall compare the number of ballots in its possession with the |
| 76 | number of requests for ballots received to be counted according |
| 77 | to the supervisor's file or list. |
| 78 | (c)1. The canvassing board shall, if the supervisor has |
| 79 | not already done so, compare the signature of the elector on the |
| 80 | voter's certificate with the signature of the elector in the |
| 81 | registration books to see that the elector is duly registered in |
| 82 | the county and to determine the legality of that absentee |
| 83 | ballot. The ballot of an elector who casts an absentee ballot |
| 84 | shall be counted even if the elector dies on or before election |
| 85 | day, as long as, prior to the death of the voter, the ballot was |
| 86 | postmarked by the United States Postal Service, date-stamped |
| 87 | with a verifiable tracking number by common carrier, or already |
| 88 | in the possession of the supervisor of elections. An absentee |
| 89 | ballot shall be considered illegal if it does not include the |
| 90 | signature of the elector, as shown by the registration records, |
| 91 | or if the signature of the elector is not timely added in |
| 92 | compliance with subparagraph (1)(b)1. or subparagraph (1)(b)2. |
| 93 | However, An absentee ballot shall not be considered illegal if |
| 94 | the signature of the elector does not cross the seal of the |
| 95 | mailing envelope. If the canvassing board determines that any |
| 96 | ballot is illegal, a member of the board shall, without opening |
| 97 | the envelope, mark across the face of the envelope: "rejected as |
| 98 | illegal." The envelope and the ballot contained therein shall be |
| 99 | preserved in the manner that official ballots voted are |
| 100 | preserved. |
| 101 | 2. If any elector or candidate present believes that an |
| 102 | absentee ballot is illegal due to a defect apparent on the |
| 103 | voter's certificate, he or she may, at any time before the |
| 104 | ballot is removed from the envelope, file with the canvassing |
| 105 | board a protest against the canvass of that ballot, specifying |
| 106 | the precinct, the ballot, and the reason he or she believes the |
| 107 | ballot to be illegal. A challenge based upon a defect in the |
| 108 | voter's certificate may not be accepted after the ballot has |
| 109 | been removed from the mailing envelope. |
| 110 | (d) The canvassing board shall record the ballot upon the |
| 111 | proper record, unless the ballot has been previously recorded by |
| 112 | the supervisor. The mailing envelopes shall be opened and the |
| 113 | secrecy envelopes shall be mixed so as to make it impossible to |
| 114 | determine which secrecy envelope came out of which signed |
| 115 | mailing envelope; however, in any county in which an electronic |
| 116 | or electromechanical voting system is used, the ballots may be |
| 117 | sorted by ballot styles and the mailing envelopes may be opened |
| 118 | and the secrecy envelopes mixed separately for each ballot |
| 119 | style. The votes on absentee ballots shall be included in the |
| 120 | total vote of the county. |
| 121 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |