Senate Bill sb2098c1

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 2098

    By the Committee on Ethics and Elections; and Senators Jones,
    Klein, Campbell, Mitchell, Dyer, Wasserman Schultz, Miller,
    Rossin, Dawson and Lawson



    313-1746-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to elections; amending s.

  3         101.031, F.S.; providing for a Voter's Bill of

  4         Rights and Responsibilities; providing

  5         responsibilities of supervisors of elections;

  6         providing an effective date.

  7

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

  9

10         Section 1.  Section 101.031, Florida Statutes, is

11  amended to read:

12         101.031  Instructions for electors.--

13         (1)  The Department of State, or in case of municipal

14  elections the governing body of the municipality, shall print,

15  in large type on cards, instructions for the electors to use

16  in voting.  It shall provide not less than two cards for each

17  voting precinct for each election and furnish such cards to

18  each supervisor upon requisition.  Each supervisor of

19  elections shall send a sufficient number of these cards to the

20  precincts prior to an election.  The election inspectors shall

21  display the cards in the polling places as information for

22  electors.  The cards shall contain information about how to

23  vote and such other information as the Department of State may

24  deem necessary. The cards must also include the list of rights

25  and responsibilities afforded to Florida voters, as described

26  in subsection (2).

27         (2)  The supervisor of elections in each county shall

28  have posted at each polling place in the county the Voter's

29  Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in the following form:

30                      VOTER'S BILL OF RIGHTS

31         Each registered voter in this state has the right to:

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 2098
    313-1746-01




  1         1.  Vote and have his or her vote accurately counted.

  2         2.  Cast a vote if he or she is in line when the polls

  3  are closing.

  4         3.  Ask for and receive assistance in voting.

  5         4.  Up to two replacement ballots if he or she has

  6  voted in error.

  7         5.  An explanation if his or her registration is in

  8  question.

  9         6.  If his or her registration is in question, cast a

10  provisional ballot.

11         7.  Prove his or her identity by signing an affidavit

12  if election officials doubt the voter's identity.

13         8.  Written instructions to use when voting, and, upon

14  request, oral instructions in voting from elections officers.

15         9.  Vote free from coercion or intimidation by

16  elections officers or any other person.

17         10.  Vote on a voting system that is in working

18  condition and that will allow votes to be accurately cast.

19                      VOTER RESPONSIBILITIES

20         Each registered voter in this state has the

21  responsibility to:

22         1.  Study and know candidates and issues.

23         2.  Keep his or her voter address current.

24         3.  Know his or her precinct and its hours of

25  operation.

26         4.  Bring proper identification to the polling station.

27         5.  Know how to operate voting equipment properly.

28         6.  Treat precinct workers with courtesy.

29         7.  Respect the privacy of other voters.

30         8.  Report problems or violations of election law.

31         9.  Ask questions when confused.

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    Florida Senate - 2001                           CS for SB 2098
    313-1746-01




  1         10.  Check his or her completed ballot for accuracy.

  2         (3)  Nothing in this section shall give rise to a legal

  3  cause of action.

  4         (4)(2)  In case any elector, after entering the voting

  5  booth, shall ask for further instructions concerning the

  6  manner of voting, two election officers who are not both

  7  members of the same political party, if present, or, if not,

  8  two election officers who are members of the same political

  9  party, shall give such instructions to such elector, but no

10  officer or person assisting an elector shall in any manner

11  request, suggest, or seek to persuade or induce any elector to

12  vote for or against any particular ticket, candidate,

13  amendment, question, or proposition.  After giving the elector

14  instructions and before the elector has voted, the officers or

15  persons assisting the elector shall retire, and such elector

16  shall vote in secret.

17         Section 2.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2001.

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19          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
20                             SB 2098

21

22  Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 2098 requires the
    Department of State, rather than each supervisor of elections,
23  to print the Voter's Bill of Rights and Voter
    Responsibilities.  Two copies are to be posted at each polling
24  place on election day.

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