The Florida Senate

101.62  Request for absentee ballots.--

(1)(a)  The supervisor may accept a request for an absentee ballot from an elector in person or in writing. Except as provided in s. 101.694, one request shall be deemed sufficient to receive an absentee ballot for all elections which are held within a calendar year, unless the elector or the elector's designee indicates at the time the request is made the elections for which the elector desires to receive an absentee ballot. Such request may be considered canceled when any first-class mail sent by the supervisor to the elector is returned as undeliverable.

(b)  The supervisor may accept a written or telephonic request for an absentee ballot from the elector, or, if directly instructed by the elector, a member of the elector's immediate family, or the elector's legal guardian. For purposes of this section, the term "immediate family" has the same meaning as specified in paragraph (4)(b). The person making the request must disclose:

1.  The name of the elector for whom the ballot is requested;

2.  The elector's address;

3.  The elector's date of birth;

4.  The requester's name;

5.  The requester's address;

6.  The requester's driver's license number, if available;

7.  The requester's relationship to the elector; and

8.  The requester's signature (written requests only).

(2)  If a request for an absentee ballot is received after the Friday before the election by the supervisor of elections from an absent elector overseas, the supervisor shall send a notice to the elector acknowledging receipt of his or her request and notifying the elector that the ballot will not be forwarded due to insufficient time for return of the ballot by the required deadline.

(3)  For each request for an absentee ballot received, the supervisor shall record the date the request was made, the date the absentee ballot was delivered or mailed, the date the ballot was received by the supervisor, and such other information he or she may deem necessary. This information shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall be made available to or reproduced only for a canvassing board, an election official, a political party or official thereof, a candidate who has filed qualification papers and is opposed in an upcoming election, and registered political committees or registered committees of continuous existence, for political purposes only.

(4)(a)  To each absent qualified elector overseas who has requested an absentee ballot, the supervisor of elections shall, not fewer than 35 days before the first primary election, mail an absentee ballot. Not fewer than 45 days before the second primary and general election, the supervisor of elections shall mail an advance absentee ballot to those persons requesting ballots for such elections. The advance absentee ballot for the second primary shall be the same as the first primary absentee ballot as to the names of candidates, except that for any offices where there are only two candidates, those offices and all political party executive committee offices shall be omitted. Except as provided in s. 99.063(4), the advance absentee ballot for the general election shall be as specified in s. 101.151, except that in the case of candidates of political parties where nominations were not made in the first primary, the names of the candidates placing first and second in the first primary election shall be printed on the advance absentee ballot. The advance absentee ballot or advance absentee ballot information booklet shall be of a different color for each election and also a different color from the absentee ballots for the first primary, second primary, and general election. The supervisor shall mail an advance absentee ballot for the second primary and general election to each qualified absent elector for whom a request is received until the absentee ballots are printed. The supervisor shall enclose with the advance second primary absentee ballot and advance general election absentee ballot an explanation stating that the absentee ballot for the election will be mailed as soon as it is printed; and, if both the advance absentee ballot and the absentee ballot for the election are returned in time to be counted, only the absentee ballot will be counted. The Department of State may prescribe by rule the requirements for preparing and mailing absentee ballots to absent qualified electors overseas.

(b)  As soon as the remainder of the absentee ballots are printed, the supervisor shall provide an absentee ballot to each elector by whom a request for that ballot has been made by one of the following means:

1.  By nonforwardable, return-if-undeliverable mail to the elector's current mailing address on file with the supervisor, unless the elector specifies in the request that:

a.  The elector is absent from the county and does not plan to return before the day of the election;

b.  The elector is temporarily unable to occupy the residence because of hurricane, tornado, flood, fire, or other emergency or natural disaster; or

c.  The elector is in a hospital, assisted-living facility, nursing home, short-term medical or rehabilitation facility, or correctional facility,

in which case the supervisor shall mail the ballot by nonforwardable, return-if-undeliverable mail to any other address the elector specifies in the request.

2.  By forwardable mail to voters who are entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Voting Act.

3.  By personal delivery to the elector, upon presentation of the identification required in s. 101.657

4.  By delivery to a designee on election day or up to 4 days prior to the day of an election. Any elector may designate in writing a person to pick up the ballot for the elector; however, the person designated may not pick up more than two absentee ballots per election, other than the designee's own ballot, except that additional ballots may be picked up for members of the designee's immediate family. For purposes of this section, "immediate family" means the designee's spouse or the parent, child, grandparent, or sibling of the designee or of the designee's spouse. The designee shall provide to the supervisor the written authorization by the elector and a picture identification of the designee and must complete an affidavit. The designee shall state in the affidavit that the designee is authorized by the elector to pick up that ballot and shall indicate if the elector is a member of the designee's immediate family and, if so, the relationship. The department shall prescribe the form of the affidavit. If the supervisor is satisfied that the designee is authorized to pick up the ballot and that the signature of the elector on the written authorization matches the signature of the elector on file, the supervisor shall give the ballot to that designee for delivery to the elector.

(5)  In the event that the Elections Canvassing Commission is unable to certify the results of an election for a state office in time to comply with subsection (4), the Department of State is authorized to prescribe rules for a ballot to be sent to absent electors overseas.

(6)  Nothing other than the materials necessary to vote absentee shall be mailed or delivered with any absentee ballot.

History.--s. 2, ch. 7380, 1917; RGS 369; CGL 430; s. 1, ch. 25385, 1949; s. 5, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 32, ch. 28156, 1953; s. 21, ch. 29934, 1955; s. 2, ch. 59-213; s. 32, ch. 65-380; s. 1, ch. 67-33; s. 2, ch. 69-136; s. 4, ch. 69-280; s. 2, ch. 70-93; ss. 1, 2, ch. 71-149; s. 5, ch. 73-157; s. 39, ch. 73-333; s. 2, ch. 75-174; s. 21, ch. 77-175; s. 40, ch. 79-400; s. 2, ch. 83-16; s. 6, ch. 83-251; s. 1, ch. 85-226; s. 4, ch. 86-199; s. 4, ch. 87-363; s. 2, ch. 87-538; s. 28, ch. 89-338; s. 20, ch. 90-360; s. 587, ch. 95-147; s. 3, ch. 96-57; s. 25, ch. 96-406; s. 13, ch. 98-129; s. 32, ch. 99-2; s. 6, ch. 99-140; s. 52, ch. 2001-40; s. 5, ch. 2001-75; s. 18, ch. 2003-415.

Note.--Former s. 101.02.