The Florida Senate

97.052  Uniform statewide voter registration application.--

(1)  The department shall prescribe a uniform statewide voter registration application for use in this state.

(a)  The uniform statewide voter registration application must be accepted for any one or more of the following purposes:

1.  Initial registration.

2.  Change of address.

3.  Change of party affiliation.

4.  Change of name.

5.  Replacement of voter registration identification card.

(b)  The department is responsible for printing the uniform statewide voter registration application and the voter registration application form prescribed by the Federal Election Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The applications and forms must be distributed, upon request, to the following:

1.  Individuals seeking to register to vote.

2.  Individuals or groups conducting voter registration programs. A charge of 1 cent per application shall be assessed on requests for 10,000 or more applications.

3.  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

4.  Voter registration agencies.

5.  Armed forces recruitment offices.

6.  Qualifying educational institutions.

7.  Supervisors, who must make the applications and forms available in the following manner:

a.  By distributing the applications and forms in their offices to any individual or group.

b.  By distributing the applications and forms at other locations designated by each supervisor.

c.  By mailing the applications and forms to applicants upon the request of the applicant.

(c)  The uniform statewide voter registration application may not be reproduced by any private individual or group.

(2)  The uniform statewide voter registration application must be designed to elicit the following information from the applicant:

(a)  Full name.

(b)  Date of birth.

(c)  Address of legal residence.

(d)  Mailing address, if different.

(e)  County of legal residence.

(f)  Address of property for which the applicant has been granted a homestead exemption, if any.

(g)  Race or ethnicity that best describes the applicant:

1.  American Indian or Alaskan Native.

2.  Asian or Pacific Islander.

3.  Black, not Hispanic.

4.  White, not Hispanic.

5.  Hispanic.

(h)  Sex.

(i)  Party affiliation.

(j)  Whether the applicant needs assistance in voting.

(k)  Name and address where last registered.

(l)  Last four digits of the applicant's social security number.

(m)  Florida driver's license number or the identification number from a Florida identification card issued under s. 322.051.

(n)  Telephone number (optional).

(o)  Signature of applicant under penalty for false swearing pursuant to s. 104.011, by which the person subscribes to the oath required by s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051, and swears or affirms that the information contained in the registration application is true.

(p)  Whether the application is being used for initial registration, to update a voter registration record, or to request a replacement registration identification card.

(q)  Whether the applicant is a citizen of the United States.

(r)  That the applicant has not been convicted of a felony or, if convicted, has had his or her civil rights restored.

(s)  That the applicant has not been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting or, if so adjudicated, has had his or her right to vote restored.

The registration form must be in plain language and designed so that convicted felons whose civil rights have been restored and persons who have been adjudicated mentally incapacitated and have had their voting rights restored are not required to reveal their prior conviction or adjudication.

(3)  The uniform statewide voter registration application must also contain:

(a)  The oath required by s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051.

(b)  A statement specifying each eligibility requirement under s. 97.041.

(c)  The penalties provided in s. 104.011 for false swearing in connection with voter registration.

(d)  A statement that, if an applicant declines to register to vote, the fact that the applicant has declined to register will remain confidential and may be used only for voter registration purposes.

(e)  A statement that informs the applicant who chooses to register to vote or update a voter registration record that the office at which the applicant submits a voter registration application or updates a voter registration record will remain confidential and may be used only for voter registration purposes.

(f)  A statement that informs the applicant that any person who has been granted a homestead exemption in this state, and who registers to vote in any precinct other than the one in which the property for which the homestead exemption has been granted, shall have that information forwarded to the property appraiser where such property is located, which may result in the person's homestead exemption being terminated and the person being subject to assessment of back taxes under s. 193.092, unless the homestead granted the exemption is being maintained as the permanent residence of a legal or natural dependent of the owner and the owner resides elsewhere.

(4)  A supervisor may produce a voter registration application that has the supervisor's direct mailing address if the department has reviewed the application and determined that it is substantially the same as the uniform statewide voter registration application.

(5)  The voter registration application form prescribed by the Federal Election Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 or the federal postcard application must be accepted as an application for registration in this state if the completed application or postcard application contains the information required by the constitution and laws of this state.

History.--s. 5, ch. 25391, 1949; s. 2, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 1, ch. 59-231; s. 8, ch. 65-134; s. 1, ch. 67-170; s. 8, ch. 69-377; ss. 10, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 2, ch. 72-63; s. 5, ch. 77-175; s. 23, ch. 84-302; s. 6, ch. 89-338; s. 10, ch. 94-224; s. 2, ch. 96-327; s. 26, ch. 97-13; s. 4, ch. 98-129.

Note.--Former s. 97.05; s. 98.111.