The Florida Senate

97.057  Voter registration by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.--

(1)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall provide the opportunity to register to vote or to update a voter registration record to each individual who comes to an office of that department to:

(a)  Apply for or renew a driver's license;

(b)  Apply for or renew an identification card pursuant to chapter 322; or

(c)  Change an address on an existing driver's license or identification card.

(2)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall:

(a)  Notify each individual, orally or in writing, that:

1.  Information gathered for the completion of a driver's license or identification card application, renewal, or change of address can be automatically transferred to a voter registration application;

2.  If additional information and a signature are provided, the voter registration application will be completed and sent to the proper election authority;

3.  Information provided can also be used to update a voter registration record;

4.  All declinations will remain confidential and may be used only for voter registration purposes; and

5.  The particular driver license office in which the person applies to register to vote or updates a voter registration record will remain confidential and may be used only for voter registration purposes.

(b)  Require a driver's license examiner to inquire orally, or inquire in writing if the applicant is hearing impaired, and whether the applicant wishes to register to vote or update a voter registration record during the completion of a driver's license or identification card application, renewal, or change of address.

1.  If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to update a voter registration record:

a.  All applicable information received by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course of filling out the forms necessary under subsection (1) must be transferred to a voter registration application;

b.  The additional necessary information must be obtained by the driver's license examiner and must not duplicate any information already obtained while completing the forms required under subsection (1); and

c.  A voter registration application with all of the applicant's voter registration information must be presented to the applicant to sign.

2.  If the applicant declines to register to vote, update the applicant's voter registration record, or change the applicant's address by either orally declining or by failing to sign the voter registration application, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must keep the declination for 2 years.

(3)  For the purpose of this section, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, with the approval of the Department of State, shall prescribe:

(a)  A voter registration application that is the same in content, format, and size as the uniform statewide voter registration application prescribed under s. 97.052; and

(b)  A form that will inform applicants under subsection (1) of the information contained in paragraph (2)(a).

(4)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must forward completed voter registration applications within 5 days after receipt to the supervisor of the county where the office that processed or received that application is located.

(5)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must send, with each driver's license renewal extension application authorized pursuant to s. 322.18(8), a uniform statewide voter registration application, the voter registration application prescribed under paragraph (3)(a), or a voter registration application developed especially for the purposes of this subsection by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, with the approval of the Department of State, which must meet the requirements of s. 97.052.

(6)  A person providing voter registration services for a driver license office may not:

(a)  Seek to influence an applicant's political preference or party registration;

(b)  Display any political preference or party allegiance;

(c)  Make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant from registering to vote; or

(d)  Disclose any applicant's voter registration information except as needed for the administration of voter registration.

(7)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall compile lists, by county, of those individuals whose names have been purged from its driver's license database because they have been licensed in another state and shall provide those lists annually to the appropriate supervisors.

(8)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall collect data determined necessary by the Department of State for program evaluation and reporting to the Federal Election Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

(9)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must ensure that all voter registration services provided by driver license offices are in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

History.--s. 13, ch. 94-224.