ENROLLED
       2015 Legislature                                          SB 184
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                              2015184er
    1  
    2         An act relating to the federal write-in absentee
    3         ballot; amending s. 101.6952, F.S.; authorizing absent
    4         uniformed services voters and overseas voters to use
    5         the federal write-in absentee ballot in any state or
    6         local election; authorizing an elector to vote on any
    7         ballot measure in an election using the federal write
    8         in absentee ballot under certain circumstances;
    9         specifying that a vote cast in a judicial merit
   10         retention election is treated in the same manner as a
   11         vote on certain ballot measures; allowing for
   12         abbreviations, misspellings, and other minor
   13         variations in the name of a ballot measure;
   14         prohibiting the supervisor of elections from
   15         canvassing federal write-in absentee ballots from
   16         overseas voters in certain elections until 10 days
   17         after the date of the election; making technical
   18         changes; amending s. 102.166, F.S.; revising minimum
   19         requirements for Department of State rules used to
   20         determine what constitutes a valid vote on a federal
   21         write-in absentee ballot; providing an effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Subsection (2) and paragraph (b) of subsection
   26  (3) of section 101.6952, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
   27  subsection (5) of that section is republished, to read:
   28         101.6952 Absentee ballots for absent uniformed services and
   29  overseas voters.—
   30         (2)(a) An absent uniformed services voter or an overseas
   31  voter who makes timely application for but does not receive an
   32  official absentee ballot may use the federal write-in absentee
   33  ballot to vote in any federal, election and any state, or local
   34  election involving two or more candidates.
   35         (b)1. In an election for federal office, an elector may
   36  designate a candidate by writing the name of a candidate on the
   37  ballot. Except for a primary or special primary election, the
   38  elector may alternatively designate a candidate by writing the
   39  name of a political party on the ballot. A written designation
   40  of the political party shall be counted as a vote for the
   41  candidate of that party if there is such a party candidate in
   42  the race.
   43         2. In an election for a state or local election office, an
   44  elector may vote in the section of the federal write-in absentee
   45  ballot designated for nonfederal races by writing on the ballot
   46  the title of each office and by writing on the ballot the name
   47  of the candidate for whom the elector is voting. Except for a
   48  primary, special primary, or nonpartisan election, the elector
   49  may alternatively designate a candidate by writing the name of a
   50  political party on the ballot. A written designation of the
   51  political party shall be counted as a vote for the candidate of
   52  that party if there is such a party candidate in the race. In
   53  addition, the elector may vote on any ballot measure presented
   54  in such election by identifying the ballot measure on which he
   55  or she desires to vote and specifying his or her vote on the
   56  measure. For purposes of this section, a vote cast in a judicial
   57  merit retention election shall be treated in the same manner as
   58  a ballot measure in which the only allowable responses are “Yes”
   59  or “No.”
   60         (c) In the case of a joint candidacy, such as for the
   61  offices of President/Vice President or Governor/Lieutenant
   62  Governor, a valid vote for one or both qualified candidates on
   63  the same ticket shall constitute a vote for the joint candidacy.
   64         (d) For purposes of this subsection and except when where
   65  the context clearly indicates otherwise, such as when where a
   66  candidate in the election is affiliated with a political party
   67  whose name includes the word “Independent,” “Independence,” or a
   68  similar term, a voter designation of “No Party Affiliation” or
   69  “Independent,” or any minor variation, misspelling, or
   70  abbreviation thereof, shall be considered a designation for the
   71  candidate, other than a write-in candidate, who qualified to run
   72  in the race with no party affiliation. If more than one
   73  candidate qualifies to run as a candidate with no party
   74  affiliation, the designation may shall not count for any
   75  candidate unless there is a valid, additional designation of the
   76  candidate’s name.
   77         (e) Any abbreviation, misspelling, or other minor variation
   78  in the form of the name of an office, the name of a candidate,
   79  the ballot measure, or the name of a political party must be
   80  disregarded in determining the validity of the ballot.
   81         (3)
   82         (b) A federal write-in absentee ballot may not be canvassed
   83  until 7 p.m. on the day of the election. A federal write-in
   84  absentee ballot from an overseas voter in a presidential
   85  preference primary or general election may not be canvassed
   86  until the conclusion of the 10-day period specified in
   87  subsection (5). Each federal write-in absentee ballot received
   88  by 7 p.m. on the day of the election shall be canvassed pursuant
   89  to ss. 101.5614(5) and 101.68, unless the elector’s official
   90  absentee ballot is received by 7 p.m. on election day. Each
   91  federal write-in absentee ballot from an overseas voter in a
   92  presidential preference primary or general election received by
   93  10 days after the date of the election shall be canvassed
   94  pursuant to ss. 101.5614(5) and 101.68, unless the overseas
   95  voter’s official absentee ballot is received by 10 days after
   96  the date of the election. If the elector’s official absentee
   97  ballot is received by 7 p.m. on election day, or, for an
   98  overseas voter in a presidential preference primary or general
   99  election, no later than 10 days after the date of the election,
  100  the federal write-in absentee ballot is invalid and the official
  101  absentee ballot shall be canvassed. The time shall be regulated
  102  by the customary time in standard use in the county seat of the
  103  locality.
  104         (5) An absentee ballot from an overseas voter in any
  105  presidential preference primary or general election which is
  106  postmarked or dated no later than the date of the election and
  107  is received by the supervisor of elections of the county in
  108  which the overseas voter is registered no later than 10 days
  109  after the date of the election shall be counted as long as the
  110  absentee ballot is otherwise proper.
  111         Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 102.166, Florida
  112  Statutes, is amended to read:
  113         102.166 Manual recounts of overvotes and undervotes.—
  114         (4)(a) A vote for a candidate or ballot measure shall be
  115  counted if there is a clear indication on the ballot that the
  116  voter has made a definite choice.
  117         (b) The Department of State shall adopt specific rules for
  118  the federal write-in absentee ballot and for each certified
  119  voting system prescribing what constitutes a “clear indication
  120  on the ballot that the voter has made a definite choice.” The
  121  rules shall be consistent, to the extent practicable, and may
  122  not:
  123         1. Exclusively provide that the voter must properly mark or
  124  designate his or her choice on the ballot; or
  125         2. Contain a catch-all provision that fails to identify
  126  specific standards, such as “any other mark or indication
  127  clearly indicating that the voter has made a definite choice.”
  128         (c) The rule for the federal write-in absentee ballot must
  129  address, at a minimum, the following issues:
  130         1. The appropriate lines or spaces for designating a
  131  candidate choice and, for state and local races, the office or
  132  ballot measure to be voted, including the proximity of each to
  133  the other and the effect of intervening blank lines.
  134         2. The sufficiency of designating a candidate’s first or
  135  last name when no other candidate in the race has the same or a
  136  similar name.
  137         3. The sufficiency of designating a candidate’s first or
  138  last name when an opposing candidate has the same or a similar
  139  name, notwithstanding generational suffixes and titles such as
  140  “Jr.,” “Sr.,” or “III.” The rule should contemplate the
  141  sufficiency of additional first names and first initials, middle
  142  names and middle initials, generational suffixes and titles,
  143  nicknames, and, in general elections, the name or abbreviation
  144  of a political party.
  145         4. Candidate designations containing both a qualified
  146  candidate’s name and a political party, including those in which
  147  where the party designated is the candidate’s party, is not the
  148  candidate’s party, has an opposing candidate in the race, or
  149  does not have an opposing candidate in the race.
  150         5. Situations where the abbreviation or name of a candidate
  151  is the same as the abbreviation or name of a political party to
  152  which the candidate does not belong, including those in which
  153  where the party designated has another candidate in the race or
  154  does not have a candidate in the race.
  155         6. The use of marks, symbols, or language, such as arrows,
  156  quotation marks, or the word “same” or “ditto,” to indicate that
  157  the same political party designation applies to all listed
  158  offices or the elector’s approval or disapproval of all listed
  159  ballot measures.
  160         7. Situations in which where an elector designates the name
  161  of a qualified candidate for an incorrect office.
  162         8. Situations in which where an elector designates an
  163  otherwise correct office name that includes an incorrect
  164  district number.
  165         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.