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The Florida Senate

2021 Florida Statutes (Including 2021B Session)

Title IX ELECTORS AND ELECTIONS
Chapter 101 VOTING METHODS AND PROCEDURE Entire Chapter
SECTION 62
Request for vote-by-mail ballots.
F.S. 101.62
101.62 Request for vote-by-mail ballots.—
(1)1(a) The supervisor shall accept a request for a vote-by-mail ballot from an elector in person or in writing. One request is deemed sufficient to receive a vote-by-mail ballot for all elections through the end of the calendar year of the next regularly scheduled general election, unless the elector or the elector’s designee indicates at the time the request is made the elections within such period for which the elector desires to receive a vote-by-mail 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, an in-person, or a telephonic request for a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed to an elector’s address on file in the Florida Voter Registration System from the elector, or, if directly instructed by the elector, a member of the elector’s immediate family, or the elector’s legal guardian. If an in-person or a telephonic request is made, the elector must provide the elector’s Florida driver license number, the elector’s Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the elector’s social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor’s records. If the ballot is requested to be mailed to an address other than the elector’s address on file in the Florida Voter Registration System, the request must be made in writing. A written request must be signed by the elector and include the elector’s Florida driver license number, the elector’s Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the elector’s social security number. However, an absent uniformed service voter or an overseas voter seeking a vote-by-mail ballot is not required to submit a signed, written request for a vote-by-mail ballot that is being mailed to an address other than the elector’s address on file in the Florida Voter Registration System. For purposes of this section, the term “immediate family” has the same meaning as specified in paragraph (4)(c). 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 elector’s Florida driver license number, the elector’s Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the elector’s social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor’s records.
5. The requester’s name.
6. The requester’s address.
7. The requester’s driver license number, the requester’s identification card number, or the last four digits of the requester’s social security number, if available.
8. The requester’s relationship to the elector.
9. The requester’s signature (written requests only).
(c) Upon receiving a request for a vote-by-mail ballot from an absent voter, the supervisor of elections shall notify the voter of the free access system that has been designated by the department for determining the status of his or her vote-by-mail ballot.
(2) A request for a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed to a voter must be received no later than 5 p.m. on the 10th day before the election by the supervisor. The supervisor shall mail vote-by-mail ballots to voters requesting ballots by such deadline no later than 8 days before the election.
(3) For each request for a vote-by-mail ballot received, the supervisor shall record: the date the request was made; the identity of the voter’s designee making the request, if any; the Florida driver license number, Florida identification card number, or last four digits of the social security number of the elector provided with a written request; the date the vote-by-mail ballot was delivered to the voter or the voter’s designee or the date the vote-by-mail ballot was delivered to the post office or other carrier; the address to which the ballot was mailed or the identity of the voter’s designee to whom the ballot was delivered; the date the ballot was received by the supervisor; the absence of the voter’s signature on the voter’s certificate, if applicable; whether the voter’s certificate contains a signature that does not match the elector’s signature in the registration books or precinct register; and such other information he or she may deem necessary. This information shall be provided in electronic format as provided by division rule. The information shall be updated and made available no later than 8 a.m. of each day, including weekends, beginning 60 days before the primary until 15 days after the general election and shall be contemporaneously provided to the division. This information shall be confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and shall be made available to or reproduced only for the voter requesting the ballot, 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 for political purposes only.
(4)(a) No later than 45 days before each presidential preference primary election, primary election, and general election, the supervisor of elections shall send a vote-by-mail ballot as provided in subparagraph (c)2. to each absent uniformed services voter and to each overseas voter who has requested a vote-by-mail ballot.
(b) The supervisor shall mail a vote-by-mail ballot to each absent qualified voter, other than those listed in paragraph (a), who has requested such a ballot, between the 40th and 33rd days before the presidential preference primary election, primary election, and general election. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) and after the period described in this paragraph, the supervisor shall mail vote-by-mail ballots within 2 business days after receiving a request for such a ballot.
(c) The supervisor shall provide a vote-by-mail 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 or any other address the elector specifies in the request.
2. By forwardable mail, e-mail, or facsimile machine transmission to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters. The absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter may designate in the vote-by-mail ballot request the preferred method of transmission. If the voter does not designate the method of transmission, the vote-by-mail ballot shall be mailed.
3. By personal delivery before 7 p.m. on election day to the elector, upon presentation of the identification required in s. 101.043.
4. By delivery to a designee on election day or up to 9 days before 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 vote-by-mail 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, grandchild, 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. Except as provided in s. 101.655, the supervisor may not deliver a vote-by-mail ballot to an elector or an elector’s immediate family member on the day of the election unless there is an emergency, to the extent that the elector will be unable to go to his or her assigned polling place. If a vote-by-mail ballot is delivered, the elector or his or her designee shall execute an affidavit affirming to the facts which allow for delivery of the vote-by-mail ballot. The department shall adopt a rule providing for the form of the affidavit.
(5) If the department is unable to certify candidates for an election in time to comply with paragraph (4)(a), the Department of State is authorized to prescribe rules for a ballot to be sent to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters.
(6) Only the materials necessary to vote by mail may be mailed or delivered with any vote-by-mail ballot.
(7) Except as expressly authorized for voters having a disability under s. 101.662, for overseas voters under s. 101.697, or for local referenda under ss. 101.6102 and 101.6103, a county, municipality, or state agency may not send a vote-by-mail ballot to a voter unless the voter has requested a vote-by-mail ballot in the manner authorized under this section.
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; s. 6, ch. 2004-33; s. 43, ch. 2005-277; s. 37, ch. 2005-278; s. 16, ch. 2005-286; s. 30, ch. 2007-30; s. 7, ch. 2010-167; s. 37, ch. 2011-40; s. 17, ch. 2013-37; s. 11, ch. 2013-57; s. 16, ch. 2016-37; s. 15, ch. 2019-162; s. 24, ch. 2021-11.
1Note.—Section 25, ch. 2021-11, provides that “[n]otwithstanding the amendments made to s. 101.62(1)(a), Florida Statutes, by this act, an existing vote-by-mail ballot request submitted before the effective date of this act is deemed sufficient for elections held through the end of the 2022 calendar year.”
Note.—Former s. 101.02.