Senate Bill sb0748c1

    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 748

    By the Committee on Ethics and Elections; and Senator Clary





    313-1523-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to elections; amending ss.

  3         101.5614, 101.68, 102.071, F.S.; prohibiting

  4         release of election results until the polls

  5         close in all parts of the state; providing an

  6         effective date.

  7

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

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10         Section 1.  Subsection (8) of section 101.5614, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         101.5614  Canvass of returns.--

13         (8)  The return printed by the automatic tabulating

14  equipment, to which has been added the return of write-in,

15  absentee, and manually counted votes, shall constitute the

16  official return of the election.  Upon completion of the

17  count, the returns shall be open to the public; however, no

18  returns shall be made public until the polls have closed in

19  all counties in the state.  A copy of the returns may be

20  posted at the central counting place or at the office of the

21  supervisor of elections in lieu of the posting of returns at

22  individual precincts.

23         Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section

24  101.68, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

25         101.68  Canvassing of absentee ballot.--

26         (2)(a)  The county canvassing board may begin the

27  canvassing of absentee ballots at 7 a.m. on the fourth day

28  before the election, but not later than noon on the day

29  following the election. In addition, for any county using

30  electronic tabulating equipment, the processing of absentee

31  ballots through such tabulating equipment may begin upon the

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    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 748
    313-1523-01




  1  opening of the polls on election day.  However,

  2  notwithstanding any such authorization to begin canvassing or

  3  otherwise processing absentee ballots early, no result or

  4  tabulation of absentee ballots shall be made until after the

  5  close of the polls in every county in the state on election

  6  day.

  7         Section 3.  Section 102.071, Florida Statutes, is

  8  amended to read:

  9         102.071  Tabulation of votes and proclamation of

10  results where ballots are used.--The election board shall post

11  at the polls, for the benefit of the public, the results of

12  the voting for each office or other item on the ballot as the

13  count is completed; however, no results shall be made public

14  until the polls have closed in all counties in the state.

15  Upon completion of all counts in all races, triplicate

16  certificates of the results shall be drawn up by the

17  inspectors and clerk at each precinct upon a form provided by

18  the supervisor of elections which shall contain the name of

19  each person voted for, for each office, and the number of

20  votes cast for each person for such office; and, if any

21  question is submitted, the certificate shall also contain the

22  number of votes cast for and against the question.  The

23  certificate shall be signed by the inspectors and clerk, and

24  one of the certificates shall be delivered without delay by

25  one of the inspectors, securely sealed, to the supervisor for

26  immediate publication; the duplicate copy of the certificate

27  shall be delivered to the county court judge; and the

28  remaining copy shall be enclosed in the ballot box together

29  with the oaths of inspectors and clerks.  All the ballot

30  boxes, ballots, ballot stubs, memoranda, and papers of all

31  kinds used in the election shall also be transmitted, sealed

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    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 748
    313-1523-01




  1  by the inspectors, with the certificates of result of the

  2  election to be filed in the supervisor's office. Registration

  3  books and the poll lists shall not be placed in the ballot

  4  boxes but shall be returned to the supervisor.

  5         Section 4.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2002.

  6

  7          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  8                              SB 748

  9

10  The committee substitute provides that no results may be
    released prior to the close of the polls in all counties of
11  the state.  Polls will continue to remain open from 7 a.m.
    until 7 p.m., based on the customary time in use in the county
12  seat.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.