Senate Bill 0246

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 246

    By Senators Hargrett, Dawson and Holzendorf





    21-22-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to elections; amending s.

  3         97.041, F.S.; providing for automatic

  4         restoration of former felons' right to vote

  5         following completion and satisfaction of

  6         sentence of incarceration and community

  7         supervision; providing conditions on such

  8         automatic restoration; amending ss. 97.052,

  9         97.053, 98.0975, F.S., to conform; providing a

10         conditional effective date.

11

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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14         Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section

15  97.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

16         97.041  Qualifications to register or vote.--

17         (2)  The following persons, who might be otherwise

18  qualified, are not entitled to register or vote:

19         (b)  A person who has been convicted of any felony by

20  any court of record; however, such a person's right to

21  register or vote is automatically restored by operation of law

22  1 year after completion and satisfaction of all sentences

23  imposed upon such person. For the purposes of this paragraph,

24  "completion and satisfaction of all sentences" occurs when a

25  person is released from incarceration upon expiration of

26  sentence and has achieved or completed all other nonmonetary

27  terms and conditions of the sentence or subsequent supervision

28  or, if the person has not been incarcerated for the felony

29  offense, has achieved or completed all nonmonetary terms and

30  conditions of community supervision imposed by a court and who

31  has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 246
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  1  If a majority of the Board of Executive Clemency objects

  2  before the automatic restoration of the right to register or

  3  vote, such rights shall be restored only upon application to,

  4  and approval by, the Board of Executive Clemency.

  5         Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 97.052, Florida

  6  Statutes, is amended to read:

  7         97.052  Uniform statewide voter registration

  8  application.--

  9         (2)  The uniform statewide voter registration

10  application must be designed to elicit the following

11  information from the applicant:

12         (a)  Full name.

13         (b)  Date of birth.

14         (c)  Address of legal residence.

15         (d)  Mailing address, if different.

16         (e)  County of legal residence.

17         (f)  Address of property for which the applicant has

18  been granted a homestead exemption, if any.

19         (g)  Race or ethnicity that best describes the

20  applicant:

21         1.  American Indian or Alaskan Native.

22         2.  Asian or Pacific Islander.

23         3.  Black, not Hispanic.

24         4.  White, not Hispanic.

25         5.  Hispanic.

26         (h)  Sex.

27         (i)  Party affiliation.

28         (j)  Whether the applicant needs assistance in voting.

29         (k)  Name and address where last registered.

30         (l)  Last four digits of the applicant's social

31  security number.

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 246
    21-22-00




  1         (m)  Florida driver's license number or the

  2  identification number from a Florida identification card

  3  issued under s. 322.051.

  4         (n)  Telephone number (optional).

  5         (o)  Signature of applicant under penalty for false

  6  swearing pursuant to s. 104.011, by which the person

  7  subscribes to the oath required by s. 3, Art. VI of the State

  8  Constitution and s. 97.051, and swears or affirms that the

  9  information contained in the registration application is true.

10         (p)  Whether the application is being used for initial

11  registration, to update a voter registration record, or to

12  request a replacement registration identification card.

13         (q)  Whether the applicant is a citizen of the United

14  States.

15         (r)  That the applicant has not been convicted of a

16  felony or, if convicted, has had his or her voting civil

17  rights restored.

18         (s)  That the applicant has not been adjudicated

19  mentally incapacitated with respect to voting or, if so

20  adjudicated, has had his or her right to vote restored.

21

22  The registration form must be in plain language and designed

23  so that convicted felons whose voting civil rights have been

24  restored and persons who have been adjudicated mentally

25  incapacitated and have had their voting rights restored are

26  not required to reveal their prior conviction or adjudication.

27         Section 3.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section

28  97.053, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

29         97.053  Acceptance of voter registration

30  applications.--

31

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 246
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  1         (5)(a)  A voter registration application is complete if

  2  it contains:

  3         1.  The applicant's name.

  4         2.  The applicant's legal residence address.

  5         3.  The applicant's date of birth.

  6         4.  An indication that the applicant is a citizen of

  7  the United States.

  8         5.  The last four digits of the applicant's social

  9  security number.

10         6.  An indication that the applicant has not been

11  convicted of a felony or that, if convicted, has had his or

12  her voting civil rights restored.

13         7.  An indication that the applicant has not been

14  adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting or

15  that, if so adjudicated, has had his or her right to vote

16  restored.

17         8.  Signature of the applicant swearing or affirming

18  under the penalty for false swearing pursuant to s. 104.011

19  that the information contained in the registration application

20  is true and subscribing to the oath required by s. 3, Art. VI

21  of the State Constitution and s. 97.051.

22         Section 4.  Subsection (1) of section 98.0975, Florida

23  Statutes, is amended to read:

24         98.0975  Central voter file; periodic list

25  maintenance.--

26         (1)  By August 15, 1998, The division shall provide to

27  each county supervisor of elections a list containing the

28  name, address, date of birth, race, gender, and any other

29  available information identifying the voter of each person

30  included in the central voter file as a registered voter in

31  the supervisor's county who:

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 246
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  1         (a)  Is deceased;

  2         (b)  Has been convicted of a felony and has not had his

  3  or her voting civil rights restored; or

  4         (c)  Has been adjudicated mentally incompetent and

  5  whose mental capacity with respect to voting has not been

  6  restored.

  7         Section 5.  This act shall take effect on the effective

  8  date of Senate Joint Resolution No.      or another amendment

  9  to the State Constitution which authorizes, or removes

10  impediments to, enactment of this act by the Legislature.

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13                          SENATE SUMMARY

14    Provides that a convicted felon who is incarcerated or is
      on probation, parole, or community control may not vote.
15    Provides for restoration of that right 1 year after
      completion of the sentence, unless automatic restoration
16    is objected to by a majority of the Board of Executive
      Clemency.
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