Florida Senate - 2020 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1372
Ì883168HÎ883168
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on Rules (Brandes) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Effective January 1, 2021, present subsections
6 (5) through (46) of section 97.021, Florida Statutes, are
7 renumbered as subsections (6) through (47), respectively, and a
8 new subsection (5) is added to that section, to read:
9 97.021 Definitions.—For the purposes of this code, except
10 where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term:
11 (5) “Automatic tabulating equipment” means an apparatus
12 that automatically examines, counts, and records votes.
13 Section 2. Effective upon becoming a law, paragraph (t) of
14 subsection (2) of section 97.052, Florida Statutes, is amended
15 to read:
16 97.052 Uniform statewide voter registration application.—
17 (2) The uniform statewide voter registration application
18 must be designed to elicit the following information from the
19 applicant:
20 (t)1. Whether the applicant has never been convicted of a
21 felony, and if convicted, has had his or her voting rights
22 restored by including the statement “I affirm I have never been
23 convicted of a felony or, if I have been, my rights relating to
24 voting have been restored.” and providing a box for the
25 applicant to check to affirm the statement.
26 2. Whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony,
27 and if convicted, has had his or her civil rights restored
28 through executive clemency, by including the statement “If I
29 have been convicted of a felony, I affirm my voting rights have
30 been restored by the Board of Executive Clemency.” and providing
31 a box for the applicant to check to affirm the statement.
32 3. Whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony
33 and, if convicted, has had his or her voting rights restored
34 pursuant s. 4, Art. VI of the State Constitution, by including
35 the statement “If I have been convicted of a felony, I affirm my
36 voting rights have been restored pursuant to s. 4, Art. VI of
37 the State Constitution upon the completion of all terms of my
38 sentence, including parole or probation.” and providing a box
39 for the applicant to check to affirm the statement.
40 Section 3. Effective upon becoming a law, paragraph (a) of
41 subsection (5) of section 97.053, Florida Statutes, is amended
42 to read:
43 97.053 Acceptance of voter registration applications.—
44 (5)(a) A voter registration application is complete if it
45 contains the following information necessary to establish the
46 applicant’s eligibility pursuant to s. 97.041, including:
47 1. The applicant’s name.
48 2. The applicant’s address of legal residence, including a
49 distinguishing apartment, suite, lot, room, or dormitory room
50 number or other identifier, if appropriate. Failure to include a
51 distinguishing apartment, suite, lot, room, or dormitory room or
52 other identifier on a voter registration application does not
53 impact a voter’s eligibility to register to vote or cast a
54 ballot, and such an omission may not serve as the basis for a
55 challenge to a voter’s eligibility or reason to not count a
56 ballot.
57 3. The applicant’s date of birth.
58 4. A mark in the checkbox affirming that the applicant is a
59 citizen of the United States.
60 5.a. The applicant’s current and valid Florida driver
61 license number or the identification number from a Florida
62 identification card issued under s. 322.051, or
63 b. If the applicant has not been issued a current and valid
64 Florida driver license or a Florida identification card, the
65 last four digits of the applicant’s social security number.
66
67 In case an applicant has not been issued a current and valid
68 Florida driver license, Florida identification card, or social
69 security number, the applicant shall affirm this fact in the
70 manner prescribed in the uniform statewide voter registration
71 application.
72 6. A mark in the applicable checkbox affirming that the
73 applicant has not been convicted of a felony or that, if
74 convicted, has had his or her civil rights restored through
75 executive clemency, or has had his or her voting rights restored
76 pursuant to s. 4, Art. VI of the State Constitution.
77 7. A mark in the checkbox affirming that the applicant has
78 not been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to
79 voting or that, if so adjudicated, has had his or her right to
80 vote restored.
81 8. The original signature or a digital signature
82 transmitted by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
83 Vehicles of the applicant swearing or affirming under the
84 penalty for false swearing pursuant to s. 104.011 that the
85 information contained in the registration application is true
86 and subscribing to the oath required by s. 3, Art. VI of the
87 State Constitution and s. 97.051.
88 Section 4. Effective upon becoming a law, paragraphs (d),
89 (e), and (f) of subsection (1) of section 97.0585, Florida
90 Statutes, are amended to read:
91 97.0585 Public records exemption; information regarding
92 voters and voter registration; confidentiality.—
93 (1) The following information held by an agency, as defined
94 in s. 119.011, and obtained for the purpose of voter
95 registration is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
96 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and may be used only for
97 purposes of voter registration:
98 (d) Information related to a voter registration applicant’s
99 or voter’s prior felony conviction and whether such person has
100 had his or her voting rights restored by the Board of Executive
101 Clemency or pursuant to s. 4, Art. VI of the State Constitution.
102 (e) All information concerning preregistered voter
103 registration applicants who are 16 or 17 years of age.
104 (e)(f) Paragraph (d) is Paragraphs (d) and (e) are subject
105 to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s.
106 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2024, unless
107 reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
108 Legislature.
109 Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
110 101.043, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
111 101.043 Identification required at polls.—
112 (1)
113 (b) If the picture identification does not contain the
114 signature of the elector, an additional identification that
115 provides the elector’s signature shall be required. The address
116 appearing on the identification presented by the elector may not
117 be used as the basis to confirm an elector’s legal residence or
118 otherwise challenge an elector’s legal residence. The elector
119 shall sign his or her name in the space provided on the precinct
120 register or on an electronic device provided for recording the
121 elector’s signature. The clerk or inspector shall compare the
122 signature with that on the identification provided by the
123 elector and enter his or her initials in the space provided on
124 the precinct register or on an electronic device provided for
125 that purpose and allow the elector to vote if the clerk or
126 inspector is satisfied as to the identity of the elector.
127 Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 101.051, Florida
128 Statutes, is amended to read:
129 101.051 Electors seeking assistance in casting ballots;
130 oath to be executed; forms to be furnished.—
131 (2) It is unlawful for any person to be in the voting booth
132 with any elector except as provided in subsection (1). A person
133 at a polling place or early voting site, or within 150 100 feet
134 of the entrance of a polling place or early voting site, may not
135 solicit any elector in an effort to provide assistance to vote
136 pursuant to subsection (1). Any person who violates this
137 subsection commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable
138 as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
139 Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 101.131, Florida
140 Statutes, is amended to read:
141 101.131 Watchers at polls.—
142 (1) Each political party and each candidate may have one
143 watcher in each polling room or early voting area at any one
144 time during the election. A political committee formed for the
145 specific purpose of expressly advocating the passage or defeat
146 of an issue on the ballot may have one watcher for each polling
147 room or early voting area at any one time during the election. A
148 No watcher may not shall be permitted to come closer to the
149 officials’ table or the voting booths than is reasonably
150 necessary to properly perform his or her functions, but is each
151 shall be allowed within the polling room or early voting area to
152 watch and observe the conduct of electors and officials. The
153 poll watchers shall furnish their own materials and necessities
154 and may shall not obstruct the orderly conduct of any election.
155 The poll watchers shall pose any questions regarding polling
156 place procedures directly to the clerk for resolution. They may
157 not interact with voters. Each poll watcher must shall be a
158 qualified and registered elector of this state the county in
159 which he or she serves.
160 Section 8. Effective upon becoming a law, subsection (2) of
161 section 101.5612, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
162 101.5612 Testing of tabulating equipment.—
163 (2) On any day not more than 25 10 days before prior to the
164 commencement of early voting as provided in s. 101.657, the
165 supervisor of elections shall have the automatic tabulating
166 equipment publicly tested to ascertain that the equipment will
167 correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all
168 measures. If the ballots to be used at the polling place on
169 election day are not available at the time of the testing, the
170 supervisor may conduct an additional test not more than 10 days
171 before election day. Public notice of the time and place of the
172 test shall be given at least 48 hours prior thereto by
173 publication on the supervisor of elections’ website and once in
174 one or more newspapers of general circulation in the county or,
175 if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county,
176 by posting the notice in at least four conspicuous places in the
177 county. The supervisor or the municipal elections official may,
178 at the time of qualifying, give written notice of the time and
179 location of the public preelection test to each candidate
180 qualifying with that office and obtain a signed receipt that the
181 notice has been given. The Department of State shall give
182 written notice to each statewide candidate at the time of
183 qualifying, or immediately at the end of qualifying, that the
184 voting equipment will be tested and advise each candidate to
185 contact the county supervisor of elections as to the time and
186 location of the public preelection test. The supervisor or the
187 municipal elections official shall, at least 30 15 days before
188 prior to the commencement of early voting as provided in s.
189 101.657, send written notice by certified mail to the county
190 party chair of each political party and to all candidates for
191 other than statewide office whose names appear on the ballot in
192 the county and who did not receive written notification from the
193 supervisor or municipal elections official at the time of
194 qualifying, stating the time and location of the public
195 preelection test of the automatic tabulating equipment. The
196 canvassing board shall convene, and each member of the
197 canvassing board shall certify to the accuracy of the test. For
198 the test, the canvassing board may designate one member to
199 represent it. The test shall be open to representatives of the
200 political parties, the press, and the public. Each political
201 party may designate one person with expertise in the computer
202 field who shall be allowed in the central counting room when all
203 tests are being conducted and when the official votes are being
204 counted. The designee shall not interfere with the normal
205 operation of the canvassing board.
206 Section 9. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
207 101.5614, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
208 101.5614 Canvass of returns.—
209 (4)(a) If any vote-by-mail ballot is physically damaged so
210 that it cannot properly be counted by the automatic tabulating
211 equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged
212 ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the
213 damaged ballot. Likewise, A duplicate ballot must also shall be
214 made of a vote-by-mail ballot containing an overvoted race or a
215 marked vote-by-mail ballot in which every race is undervoted,
216 including which shall include all valid votes as determined by
217 the canvassing board based on rules adopted by the division
218 pursuant to s. 102.166(4). Upon request, a physically present
219 candidate, a political party official, a political committee
220 official, or an authorized designee thereof, must be allowed to
221 observe the duplication of ballots. All duplicate ballots shall
222 be clearly labeled “duplicate,” bear a serial number which shall
223 be recorded on the defective ballot, and be counted in lieu of
224 the defective ballot. After a ballot has been duplicated, the
225 defective ballot shall be placed in an envelope provided for
226 that purpose, and the duplicate ballot shall be tallied with the
227 other ballots for that precinct.
228 Section 10. Effective January 1, 2021, paragraph (a) of
229 subsection (4) and subsections (6) and (7) of section 101.5614,
230 Florida Statutes, as amended by this act, are amended to read:
231 101.5614 Canvass of returns.—
232 (4)(a) If any vote-by-mail ballot is physically damaged so
233 that it cannot properly be counted by the voting system’s
234 automatic tabulating equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be
235 made of the damaged ballot in the presence of witnesses and
236 substituted for the damaged ballot. A duplicate ballot must also
237 be made of a marked vote-by-mail ballot in which every race is
238 undervoted, including all valid votes as determined by the
239 canvassing board based on rules adopted by the division pursuant
240 to s. 102.166(4). Upon request, a physically present candidate,
241 a political party official, a political committee official, or
242 an authorized designee thereof, must be allowed to observe the
243 duplication of ballots. All duplicate ballots shall be clearly
244 labeled “duplicate,” bear a serial number which shall be
245 recorded on the defective ballot, and be counted in lieu of the
246 defective ballot. After a ballot has been duplicated, the
247 defective ballot shall be placed in an envelope provided for
248 that purpose, and the duplicate ballot shall be tallied with the
249 other ballots for that precinct.
250 (6) Vote-by-mail ballots may be counted by the voting
251 system’s automatic tabulating equipment if they have been marked
252 in a manner which will enable them to be properly counted by
253 such equipment.
254 (7) The return printed by the voting system’s automatic
255 tabulating equipment, to which has been added the return of
256 write-in, vote-by-mail, and manually counted votes and votes
257 from provisional ballots, shall constitute the official return
258 of the election upon certification by the canvassing board. Upon
259 completion of the count, the returns shall be open to the
260 public. A copy of the returns may be posted at the central
261 counting place or at the office of the supervisor of elections
262 in lieu of the posting of returns at individual precincts.
263 Section 11. Subsection (1) of section 101.6103, Florida
264 Statutes, is amended to read:
265 101.6103 Mail ballot election procedure.—
266 (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7), the
267 supervisor of elections shall mail all official ballots with a
268 secrecy envelope, a return mailing envelope, and instructions
269 sufficient to describe the voting process to each elector
270 entitled to vote in the election not sooner than the 40th 20th
271 day before the election and not later than the 10th day before
272 the date of the election. All such ballots shall be mailed by
273 first-class mail. Ballots shall be addressed to each elector at
274 the address appearing in the registration records and placed in
275 an envelope which is prominently marked “Do Not Forward.”
276 Section 12. Paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section
277 102.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
278 102.031 Maintenance of good order at polls; authorities;
279 persons allowed in polling rooms and early voting areas;
280 unlawful solicitation of voters.—
281 (4)
282 (e) The owner, operator, or lessee of the property on which
283 a polling place or an early voting site is located, or an agent
284 or employee thereof, may not prohibit the solicitation of voters
285 by any candidate or a candidate’s designee outside of the no
286 solicitation zone during polling hours.
287 Section 13. Effective January 1, 2021, paragraph (a) of
288 subsection (7) of section 102.141, Florida Statutes, is amended
289 to read:
290 102.141 County canvassing board; duties.—
291 (7) If the unofficial returns reflect that a candidate for
292 any office was defeated or eliminated by one-half of a percent
293 or less of the votes cast for such office, that a candidate for
294 retention to a judicial office was retained or not retained by
295 one-half of a percent or less of the votes cast on the question
296 of retention, or that a measure appearing on the ballot was
297 approved or rejected by one-half of a percent or less of the
298 votes cast on such measure, a recount shall be ordered of the
299 votes cast with respect to such office or measure. The Secretary
300 of State is responsible for ordering recounts in federal, state,
301 and multicounty races. The county canvassing board or the local
302 board responsible for certifying the election is responsible for
303 ordering recounts in all other races. A recount need not be
304 ordered with respect to the returns for any office, however, if
305 the candidate or candidates defeated or eliminated from
306 contention for such office by one-half of a percent or less of
307 the votes cast for such office request in writing that a recount
308 not be made.
309 (a) Each canvassing board responsible for conducting a
310 recount shall put each marksense ballot through automatic
311 tabulating equipment and determine whether the returns correctly
312 reflect the votes cast. If any marksense ballot is physically
313 damaged so that it cannot be properly counted by the automatic
314 tabulating equipment during the recount, a true duplicate shall
315 be made of the damaged ballot pursuant to the procedures in s.
316 101.5614(4). Immediately before the start of the recount, a test
317 of the tabulating equipment shall be conducted as provided in s.
318 101.5612. If the test indicates no error, the recount tabulation
319 of the ballots cast shall be presumed correct and such votes
320 shall be canvassed accordingly. If an error is detected, the
321 cause therefor shall be ascertained and corrected and the
322 recount repeated, as necessary. The canvassing board shall
323 immediately report the error, along with the cause of the error
324 and the corrective measures being taken, to the Department of
325 State. No later than 11 days after the election, the canvassing
326 board shall file a separate incident report with the Department
327 of State, detailing the resolution of the matter and identifying
328 any measures that will avoid a future recurrence of the error.
329 If the automatic tabulating equipment used in a recount is not
330 part of the voting system and the ballots have already been
331 processed through such equipment, the canvassing board is not
332 required to put each ballot through any automatic tabulating
333 equipment again.
334 Section 14. Effective January 1, 2021, subsections (1),
335 (2), and (5) of section 102.166, Florida Statutes, are amended,
336 and subsection (6) is added to that section, to read:
337 102.166 Manual recounts of overvotes and undervotes.—
338 (1) If the second set of unofficial returns pursuant to s.
339 102.141 indicates that a candidate for any office was defeated
340 or eliminated by one-quarter of a percent or less of the votes
341 cast for such office, that a candidate for retention to a
342 judicial office was retained or not retained by one-quarter of a
343 percent or less of the votes cast on the question of retention,
344 or that a measure appearing on the ballot was approved or
345 rejected by one-quarter of a percent or less of the votes cast
346 on such measure, a manual recount of the overvotes and
347 undervotes cast in the entire geographic jurisdiction of such
348 office or ballot measure shall be ordered unless:
349 (a) The candidate or candidates defeated or eliminated from
350 contention by one-quarter of 1 percent or fewer of the votes
351 cast for such office request in writing that a recount not be
352 made; or
353 (b) The number of overvotes and undervotes is fewer than
354 the number of votes needed to change the outcome of the
355 election.
356
357 The Secretary of State is responsible for ordering a manual
358 recount for federal, state, and multicounty races. The county
359 canvassing board or local board responsible for certifying the
360 election is responsible for ordering a manual recount for all
361 other races. A manual recount consists of a recount of marksense
362 ballots or of digital images of those ballots by a person.
363 (2) Any hardware or software used to identify and sort
364 overvotes and undervotes for a given race or ballot measure must
365 be certified by the Department of State as part of the voting
366 system pursuant to s. 101.015. Any such hardware or software
367 must be capable of simultaneously identifying and sorting
368 overvotes and undervotes in multiple races while simultaneously
369 counting votes. Overvotes and undervotes must be identified and
370 sorted while recounting ballots pursuant to s. 102.141.
371 Overvotes and undervotes may be identified and sorted physically
372 or digitally.
373 (5) Procedures for a manual recount are as follows:
374 (a) The county canvassing board shall appoint as many
375 counting teams of at least two electors as is necessary to
376 manually recount the ballots. A counting team must have, when
377 possible, members of at least two political parties. A candidate
378 involved in the race shall not be a member of the counting team.
379 (b) Each duplicate ballot prepared pursuant to s.
380 101.5614(4) or s. 102.141(7) shall be compared with the original
381 ballot to ensure the correctness of the duplicate.
382 (c) If a counting team is unable to determine whether the
383 ballot contains a clear indication that the voter has made a
384 definite choice, the ballot shall be presented to the county
385 canvassing board for a determination.
386 (d) The Department of State shall adopt detailed rules
387 prescribing additional recount procedures for each certified
388 voting system which shall be uniform to the extent practicable.
389 The rules shall address, at a minimum, the following areas:
390 1. Security of ballots during the recount process;
391 2. Time and place of recounts;
392 3. Public observance of recounts;
393 4. Objections to ballot determinations;
394 5. Record of recount proceedings; and
395 6. Procedures relating to candidate and petitioner
396 representatives; and
397 7. Procedures relating to the certification and the use of
398 automatic tabulating equipment that is not part of a voting
399 system.
400 (6) Nothing in this section precludes a county canvassing
401 board or local board involved in the recount from comparing a
402 digital image of a ballot to the corresponding physical paper
403 ballot during a manual recount.
404 Section 15. Effective upon becoming a law, subsection (4)
405 of section 103.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
406 103.091 Political parties.—
407 (4) Any political party other than a minor political party
408 may by rule provide for the membership of its state or county
409 executive committee to be elected for 4-year terms at the
410 primary election in each year a presidential election is held.
411 The terms begin shall commence on the first day of the month
412 following each presidential general election,; but the names of
413 candidates for political party offices may shall not be placed
414 on the ballot at any other election. The results of such
415 election shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast.
416 In such event, electors seeking to qualify for such office shall
417 do so with the Department of State or supervisor of elections no
418 not earlier than noon of the 71st day, or later than noon of the
419 67th day, preceding the primary election. Notwithstanding the
420 qualifying period prescribed in this subsection, a qualifying
421 office may accept and hold qualifying papers submitted no
422 earlier than 14 days before the beginning of the qualifying
423 period, to be processed and filed during the qualifying period.
424 The outgoing chair of each county executive committee shall,
425 within 30 days after the committee members take office, hold an
426 organizational meeting of all newly elected members for the
427 purpose of electing officers. The chair of each state executive
428 committee shall, within 60 days after the committee members take
429 office, hold an organizational meeting of all newly elected
430 members for the purpose of electing officers.
431 Section 16. Section 104.0616, Florida Statutes, is amended
432 to read:
433 104.0616 Vote-by-mail ballots and voting; violations.—
434 (1) For purposes of this section, the term “immediate
435 family” means a person’s spouse or the parent, child,
436 grandparent, or sibling of the person or the person’s spouse.
437 (2) Any person who provides or offers to provide, and any
438 person who accepts, a pecuniary or other benefit in exchange for
439 distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, delivering, or
440 otherwise physically possessing any more than two vote-by-mail
441 ballots, except per election in addition to his or her own
442 ballot, or a ballot belonging to an immediate family member, or
443 except as provided in ss. 101.6105-101.694, commits a
444 misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
445 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
446 Section 17. Subsection (17) is added to section 901.15,
447 Florida Statutes, to read:
448 901.15 When arrest by officer without warrant is lawful.—A
449 law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant
450 when:
451 (17) There is probable cause to believe that a person has
452 committed a violation involving a vote-by-mail ballot as
453 provided in s. 104.0616.
454 Section 18. Subsection (11) is added to section 106.08,
455 Florida Statutes, to read:
456 106.08 Contributions; limitations on; preemption.—
457 (11)(a) A county, a municipality, or any other local
458 governmental entity is expressly preempted from enacting or
459 adopting:
460 1. Contribution limits that differ from the limitations
461 established in subsection (1);
462 2. Any limitation or restriction involving contributions to
463 a political committee or an electioneering communications
464 organization; or
465 3. Any limitation or restriction on expenditures for an
466 electioneering communication or an independent expenditure.
467 (b) Any existing or future limitation or restriction
468 enacted or adopted by a county, a municipality, or any other
469 local governmental entity which is in conflict with this
470 subsection is void.
471 Section 19. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
472 act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon
473 becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
474
475 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
476 And the title is amended as follows:
477 Delete everything before the enacting clause
478 and insert:
479 A bill to be entitled
480 An act relating to elections; amending s. 97.021,
481 F.S.; defining the term “automatic tabulating
482 equipment” for purposes of the Florida Election Code;
483 amending ss. 97.052 and 97.053, F.S.; revising
484 requirements for the uniform statewide voter
485 registration application and the acceptance of such
486 applications; amending s. 97.0585, F.S.; deleting an
487 exemption from public records requirements for
488 information related to a voter registration
489 applicant’s or voter’s prior felony conviction and his
490 or her restoration of voting rights to conform to
491 changes made by the act; amending s. 101.043, F.S.;
492 deleting a provision that prohibits the use of an
493 address appearing on identification presented by an
494 elector at the polls as a basis to confirm an
495 elector’s legal residence; amending s. 101.051, F.S.;
496 prohibiting the solicitation of electors to offer
497 assistance with voting within the no-solicitation zone
498 surrounding the entrance of a polling place or early
499 voting site; amending s. 101.131, F.S.; revising
500 requirements for eligibility to serve as a poll
501 watcher; amending s. 101.5612, F.S.; revising the
502 timeframes for conducting public preelection testing
503 of automatic tabulating equipment; amending s.
504 101.5614, F.S.; removing the requirement that
505 duplicate ballots be made of vote-by-mail ballots
506 containing overvoted races; revising procedures
507 governing the canvassing of returns to specify usage
508 of a voting system’s automatic tabulating equipment;
509 amending s. 101.6103, F.S.; revising the timeframe in
510 which the supervisor of elections must mail ballots in
511 elections conducted under the Mail Ballot Election
512 Act; amending s. 102.031, F.S.; prohibiting owners,
513 operators, or lessees of property on which polling
514 places or early voting sites are located from
515 prohibiting the solicitation of voters by a candidate
516 or a candidate’s designee outside the no-solicitation
517 zone during polling hours; amending s. 102.141, F.S.;
518 specifying the circumstances under which ballots must
519 be processed through automatic tabulating equipment in
520 a recount; amending s. 102.166, F.S.; specifying the
521 manner by which a manual recount may be conducted;
522 revising requirements for hardware or software used in
523 a manual recount; authorizing overvotes and undervotes
524 to be identified and sorted physically or digitally in
525 a manual recount; revising minimum requirements for
526 Department of State rules to require procedures
527 regarding the certification and use of automatic
528 tabulating equipment for manual recounts; providing
529 construction; amending s. 103.091, F.S.; authorizing a
530 qualifying office to accept and hold qualifying papers
531 for candidates for political party executive
532 committees before the beginning of the qualifying
533 period; amending s. 104.0616, F.S.; prohibiting a
534 person from providing, offering to provide, or
535 accepting a pecuniary or other benefit in exchange for
536 distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting,
537 delivering, or otherwise physically possessing any
538 vote-by-mail ballot; providing exceptions; providing a
539 penalty; amending s. 901.15, F.S.; authorizing a law
540 enforcement officer to arrest a person without a
541 warrant when probable cause exists that the person
542 committed a specified violation involving a vote-by
543 mail ballot; amending s. 106.08, F.S.; preempting
544 counties, municipalities, and other local governmental
545 entities from enacting or adopting any limitation or
546 restriction involving certain contributions and
547 expenditures, or establishing contribution limits
548 different than those established in the Florida
549 Election Code; providing applicability; providing
550 effective dates.