Florida Senate - 2020                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for HB 491
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì609638MÎ609638                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                Floor: 2/AD/2R         .           Floor: CA            
             03/13/2020 03:30 PM       .      03/13/2020 08:55 PM       
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       Senator Brandes moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete line 37
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 2. Effective upon becoming a law, paragraph (t) of
    6  subsection (2) of section 97.052, Florida Statutes, is amended
    7  to read:
    8         97.052 Uniform statewide voter registration application.—
    9         (2) The uniform statewide voter registration application
   10  must be designed to elicit the following information from the
   11  applicant:
   12         (t)1. Whether the applicant has never been convicted of a
   13  felony, and if convicted, has had his or her voting rights
   14  restored by including the statement “I affirm I have never been
   15  convicted of a felony or, if I have been, my rights relating to
   16  voting have been restored.” and providing a box for the
   17  applicant to check to affirm the statement.
   18         2. Whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony,
   19  and if convicted, has had his or her civil rights restored
   20  through executive clemency, by including the statement “If I
   21  have been convicted of a felony, I affirm my voting rights have
   22  been restored by the Board of Executive Clemency.” and providing
   23  a box for the applicant to check to affirm the statement.
   24         3. Whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony
   25  and, if convicted, has had his or her voting rights restored
   26  pursuant s. 4, Art. VI of the State Constitution, by including
   27  the statement “If I have been convicted of a felony, I affirm my
   28  voting rights have been restored pursuant to s. 4, Art. VI of
   29  the State Constitution upon the completion of all terms of my
   30  sentence, including parole or probation.” and providing a box
   31  for the applicant to check to affirm the statement.
   32         Section 3. Effective upon becoming a law, paragraph (a) of
   33  subsection (5) of section 97.053, Florida Statutes, is amended
   34  to read:
   35         97.053 Acceptance of voter registration applications.—
   36         (5)(a) A voter registration application is complete if it
   37  contains the following information necessary to establish the
   38  applicant’s eligibility pursuant to s. 97.041, including:
   39         1. The applicant’s name.
   40         2. The applicant’s address of legal residence, including a
   41  distinguishing apartment, suite, lot, room, or dormitory room
   42  number or other identifier, if appropriate. Failure to include a
   43  distinguishing apartment, suite, lot, room, or dormitory room or
   44  other identifier on a voter registration application does not
   45  impact a voter’s eligibility to register to vote or cast a
   46  ballot, and such an omission may not serve as the basis for a
   47  challenge to a voter’s eligibility or reason to not count a
   48  ballot.
   49         3. The applicant’s date of birth.
   50         4. A mark in the checkbox affirming that the applicant is a
   51  citizen of the United States.
   52         5.a. The applicant’s current and valid Florida driver
   53  license number or the identification number from a Florida
   54  identification card issued under s. 322.051, or
   55         b. If the applicant has not been issued a current and valid
   56  Florida driver license or a Florida identification card, the
   57  last four digits of the applicant’s social security number.
   58  
   59  In case an applicant has not been issued a current and valid
   60  Florida driver license, Florida identification card, or social
   61  security number, the applicant shall affirm this fact in the
   62  manner prescribed in the uniform statewide voter registration
   63  application.
   64         6. A mark in the applicable checkbox affirming that the
   65  applicant has not been convicted of a felony or that, if
   66  convicted, has had his or her civil rights restored through
   67  executive clemency, or has had his or her voting rights restored
   68  pursuant to s. 4, Art. VI of the State Constitution.
   69         7. A mark in the checkbox affirming that the applicant has
   70  not been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to
   71  voting or that, if so adjudicated, has had his or her right to
   72  vote restored.
   73         8. The original signature or a digital signature
   74  transmitted by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
   75  Vehicles of the applicant swearing or affirming under the
   76  penalty for false swearing pursuant to s. 104.011 that the
   77  information contained in the registration application is true
   78  and subscribing to the oath required by s. 3, Art. VI of the
   79  State Constitution and s. 97.051.
   80         Section 4. Effective upon becoming a law, paragraphs (d),
   81  (e), and (f) of subsection (1) of section 97.0585, Florida
   82  Statutes, are amended to read:
   83         97.0585 Public records exemption; information regarding
   84  voters and voter registration; confidentiality.—
   85         (1) The following information held by an agency, as defined
   86  in s. 119.011, and obtained for the purpose of voter
   87  registration is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
   88  24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and may be used only for
   89  purposes of voter registration:
   90         (d) Information related to a voter registration applicant’s
   91  or voter’s prior felony conviction and whether such person has
   92  had his or her voting rights restored by the Board of Executive
   93  Clemency or pursuant to s. 4, Art. VI of the State Constitution.
   94         (e) All information concerning preregistered voter
   95  registration applicants who are 16 or 17 years of age.
   96         (e)(f)Paragraph (d) is Paragraphs (d) and (e) are subject
   97  to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s.
   98  119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2024, unless
   99  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the
  100  Legislature.
  101         Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
  102  101.043, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  103         101.043 Identification required at polls.—
  104         (1)
  105         (b) If the picture identification does not contain the
  106  signature of the elector, an additional identification that
  107  provides the elector’s signature shall be required. The address
  108  appearing on the identification presented by the elector may not
  109  be used as the basis to confirm an elector’s legal residence or
  110  otherwise challenge an elector’s legal residence. The elector
  111  shall sign his or her name in the space provided on the precinct
  112  register or on an electronic device provided for recording the
  113  elector’s signature. The clerk or inspector shall compare the
  114  signature with that on the identification provided by the
  115  elector and enter his or her initials in the space provided on
  116  the precinct register or on an electronic device provided for
  117  that purpose and allow the elector to vote if the clerk or
  118  inspector is satisfied as to the identity of the elector.
  119         Section 6. Effective upon becoming a law, subsection (2) of
  120  section 101.5612, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  121         101.5612 Testing of tabulating equipment.—
  122         (2) On any day not more than 25 10 days before prior to the
  123  commencement of early voting as provided in s. 101.657, the
  124  supervisor of elections shall have the automatic tabulating
  125  equipment publicly tested to ascertain that the equipment will
  126  correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all
  127  measures. If the ballots to be used at the polling place on
  128  election day are not available at the time of the testing, the
  129  supervisor may conduct an additional test not more than 10 days
  130  before election day. Public notice of the time and place of the
  131  test shall be given at least 48 hours prior thereto by
  132  publication on the supervisor of elections’ website and once in
  133  one or more newspapers of general circulation in the county or,
  134  if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county,
  135  by posting the notice in at least four conspicuous places in the
  136  county. The supervisor or the municipal elections official may,
  137  at the time of qualifying, give written notice of the time and
  138  location of the public preelection test to each candidate
  139  qualifying with that office and obtain a signed receipt that the
  140  notice has been given. The Department of State shall give
  141  written notice to each statewide candidate at the time of
  142  qualifying, or immediately at the end of qualifying, that the
  143  voting equipment will be tested and advise each candidate to
  144  contact the county supervisor of elections as to the time and
  145  location of the public preelection test. The supervisor or the
  146  municipal elections official shall, at least 30 15 days before
  147  prior to the commencement of early voting as provided in s.
  148  101.657, send written notice by certified mail to the county
  149  party chair of each political party and to all candidates for
  150  other than statewide office whose names appear on the ballot in
  151  the county and who did not receive written notification from the
  152  supervisor or municipal elections official at the time of
  153  qualifying, stating the time and location of the public
  154  preelection test of the automatic tabulating equipment. The
  155  canvassing board shall convene, and each member of the
  156  canvassing board shall certify to the accuracy of the test. For
  157  the test, the canvassing board may designate one member to
  158  represent it. The test shall be open to representatives of the
  159  political parties, the press, and the public. Each political
  160  party may designate one person with expertise in the computer
  161  field who shall be allowed in the central counting room when all
  162  tests are being conducted and when the official votes are being
  163  counted. The designee shall not interfere with the normal
  164  operation of the canvassing board.
  165         Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
  166  101.5614, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  167         101.5614 Canvass of returns.—
  168         (4)(a) If any vote-by-mail ballot is physically damaged so
  169  that it cannot properly be counted by the automatic tabulating
  170  equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged
  171  ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the
  172  damaged ballot. Likewise, A duplicate ballot must also shall be
  173  made of a vote-by-mail ballot containing an overvoted race or a
  174  marked vote-by-mail ballot in which every race is undervoted,
  175  including which shall include all valid votes as determined by
  176  the canvassing board based on rules adopted by the division
  177  pursuant to s. 102.166(4). Upon request, a physically present
  178  candidate, a political party official, a political committee
  179  official, or an authorized designee thereof, must be allowed to
  180  observe the duplication of ballots. All duplicate ballots shall
  181  be clearly labeled “duplicate,” bear a serial number which shall
  182  be recorded on the defective ballot, and be counted in lieu of
  183  the defective ballot. After a ballot has been duplicated, the
  184  defective ballot shall be placed in an envelope provided for
  185  that purpose, and the duplicate ballot shall be tallied with the
  186  other ballots for that precinct.
  187         Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 101.6103, Florida
  188  Statutes, is amended to read:
  189         101.6103 Mail ballot election procedure.—
  190         (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7), the
  191  supervisor of elections shall mail all official ballots with a
  192  secrecy envelope, a return mailing envelope, and instructions
  193  sufficient to describe the voting process to each elector
  194  entitled to vote in the election not sooner than the 40th 20th
  195  day before the election and not later than the 10th day before
  196  the date of the election. All such ballots shall be mailed by
  197  first-class mail. Ballots shall be addressed to each elector at
  198  the address appearing in the registration records and placed in
  199  an envelope which is prominently marked “Do Not Forward.”
  200         Section 9. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
  201  act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon
  202  becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
  203  
  204  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  205  And the title is amended as follows:
  206         Delete lines 2 - 8
  207  and insert:
  208         An act relating to elections; amending s. 106.141,
  209         F.S.; prohibiting a candidate from donating surplus
  210         funds to a charitable organization that employs the
  211         candidate; providing that a candidate may give certain
  212         surplus funds to the state or a political subdivision
  213         to be disbursed in a specified manner; amending ss.
  214         97.052 and 97.053, F.S.; revising requirements for the
  215         uniform statewide voter registration application and
  216         the acceptance of such applications; amending s.
  217         97.0585, F.S.; deleting an exemption from public
  218         records requirements for information related to a
  219         voter registration applicant’s or voter’s prior felony
  220         conviction and his or her restoration of voting rights
  221         to conform to changes made by the act; amending s.
  222         101.043, F.S.; deleting a provision that prohibits the
  223         use of an address appearing on identification
  224         presented by an elector at the polls as a basis to
  225         confirm an elector’s legal residence; amending s.
  226         101.5612, F.S.; revising the timeframes for conducting
  227         public preelection testing of automatic tabulating
  228         equipment; amending s. 101.5614, F.S.; removing the
  229         requirement that duplicate ballots be made of vote-by
  230         mail ballots containing overvoted races; amending s.
  231         101.6103, F.S.; revising the timeframe in which the
  232         supervisor of elections must mail ballots in elections
  233         conducted under the Mail Ballot Election Act;
  234         providing effective dates.