The Florida Senate

103.101  Presidential preference primary.--

(1)  Each political party other than a minor political party shall, on the second Tuesday in March in each year the number of which is a multiple of 4, elect one person to be the candidate for nomination of such party for President of the United States or select delegates to the national nominating convention, as provided by party rule.

(2)  There shall be a Presidential Candidate Selection Committee composed of the Secretary of State, who shall be a nonvoting chair; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the President of the Senate; the minority leader of each house of the Legislature; and the chair of each political party required to have a presidential preference primary under this section.

(a)  By December 31 of the year preceding the Florida presidential preference primary, each political party shall submit to the Secretary of State a list of its presidential candidates to be placed on the presidential preference primary ballot or candidates entitled to have delegates appear on the presidential preference primary ballot. The Secretary of State shall prepare and publish a list of the names of the presidential candidates submitted. The Secretary of State shall submit such list of names of presidential candidates to the selection committee on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January each year a presidential preference primary election is held. Each person designated as a presidential candidate shall have his or her name appear, or have his or her delegates' names appear, on the presidential preference primary ballot unless all committee members of the same political party as the candidate agree to delete such candidate's name from the ballot. The selection committee shall meet in Tallahassee on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January each year a presidential preference primary is held. The selection committee shall publicly announce and submit to the Department of State no later than 5 p.m. on the following day the names of presidential candidates who shall have their names appear, or who are entitled to have their delegates' names appear, on the presidential preference primary ballot. The Department of State shall immediately notify each presidential candidate designated by the committee. Such notification shall be in writing, by registered mail, with return receipt requested.

(b)  Any presidential candidate whose name does not appear on the list submitted to the Secretary of State may request that the selection committee place his or her name on the ballot. Such request shall be made in writing to the Secretary of State no later than the second Tuesday after the first Monday in January.

(c)  If a presidential candidate makes a request that the selection committee reconsider placing the candidate's name on the ballot, the selection committee will reconvene no later than the second Thursday after the first Monday in January to reconsider placing the candidate's name on the ballot. The Department of State shall immediately notify such candidate of the selection committee's decision.

(3)  A candidate's name shall be printed on the presidential preference primary ballot unless the candidate submits to the Department of State, prior to the second Tuesday after the first Monday in January, an affidavit stating that he or she is not now, and does not presently intend to become, a candidate for President at the upcoming nominating convention. If a candidate withdraws pursuant to this subsection, the Department of State shall notify the state executive committee that the candidate's name will not be placed on the ballot. The Department of State shall, no later than the third Tuesday after the first Monday in January, certify to each supervisor of elections the name of each candidate for political party nomination to be printed on the ballot.

(4)  The names of candidates for political party nominations for President of the United States shall be printed on official ballots for the presidential preference primary election and shall be marked, counted, canvassed, returned, and proclaimed in the same manner and under the same conditions, so far as they are applicable, as in other state elections. If party rule requires the delegates' names to be printed on the official presidential preference primary ballot, the name of the presidential candidates for that political party may not be printed separately, but the ballot may reflect the presidential candidate to whom the delegate is pledged. If, however, a political party has only one presidential candidate, neither the name of the candidate nor the names of the candidate's delegates shall be printed on the ballot.

(5)  The state executive committee of each party, by rule adopted at least 120 days prior to the presidential preference primary election, shall determine the number, and establish procedures to be followed in the selection, of delegates and delegate alternates from among each candidate's supporters. A copy of any rule adopted by the executive committee shall be filed with the Department of State within 7 days after its adoption and shall become a public record. The Department of State shall review the procedures and shall notify the state executive committee of each political party of any ballot limitations. The Department of State may promulgate rules for the orderly conduct of the presidential preference primary ballot.

(6)  Delegates must qualify no later than the second Friday in January in the manner provided by party rule.

(7)  All delegates shall be allocated as provided by party rule.

(8)  All names of candidates or delegates shall be listed as directed by the Department of State.

History.--s. 3, ch. 6469, 1913; RGS 301; CGL 357; ss. 1, 2, 3, ch. 22058, 1943; s. 1, ch. 22729, 1945; s. 1, ch. 25235, 1949; s. 7, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 1, ch. 29947, 1955; s. 4, ch. 67-353; ss. 10, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 2, ch. 71-236; s. 2, ch. 75-246; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 32, ch. 77-175; s. 14, ch. 82-143; s. 1, ch. 84-92; s. 1, ch. 86-97; s. 32, ch. 89-338; s. 15, ch. 91-45; s. 608, ch. 95-147; s. 28, ch. 2001-40.

Note.--Former ss. 102.03, 102.72.