House Bill hb0493er

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    ENROLLED

    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



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  2         An act relating to voter registration; amending

  3         s. 97.052, F.S.; authorizing private

  4         individuals and groups to reproduce voter

  5         registration applications under certain

  6         conditions; amending s. 97.057, F.S.; requiring

  7         the Department of Highway Safety and Motor

  8         Vehicles to forward copies of unsigned voter

  9         registration applications within a specified

10         period to the appropriate supervisors of

11         elections; amending s. 97.058, F.S.; requiring

12         voter registration agencies to forward copies

13         of incompleted voter registration applications

14         within a specified period to the appropriate

15         supervisors of elections; amending s. 97.071,

16         F.S.; requiring voter registration

17         identification cards to have the name, rather

18         than the signature, of the supervisor of

19         elections; amending s. 97.1031, F.S.; revising

20         notice requirements for change of residence

21         within the same county; amending s. 98.0977,

22         F.S.; revising duties of the supervisor of

23         elections relating to maintenance of the voter

24         registration rolls; providing for a hearing, as

25         an alternative to notice, to determine the

26         eligibility of voters convicted of a felony or

27         adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect

28         to voting; requiring removal of a person's name

29         from the registration books upon a

30         determination of sufficient evidence; providing

31         for appeal and for payment of the costs


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    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



  1         thereof; amending s. 97.052, F.S.; modifying

  2         information requested on the voter registration

  3         application; creating s. 98.077, F.S.;

  4         providing for update of voter signatures;

  5         providing for publication of notice of

  6         procedures for doing so at least once each

  7         general election year; providing an effective

  8         date.

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

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12         Section 1.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section

13  97.052, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

14         97.052  Uniform statewide voter registration

15  application.--

16         (1)  The department shall prescribe a uniform statewide

17  voter registration application for use in this state.

18         (c)  The uniform statewide voter registration

19  application may not be reproduced by any private individual or

20  group, provided the reproduced application is in the same

21  format as the application prescribed under this section.

22         Section 2.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section

23  97.057, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

24         97.057  Voter registration by the Department of Highway

25  Safety and Motor Vehicles.--

26         (2)  The Department of Highway Safety and Motor

27  Vehicles shall:

28         (b)  Require a driver's license examiner to inquire

29  orally, or inquire in writing if the applicant is hearing

30  impaired, and whether the applicant wishes to register to vote

31  or update a voter registration record during the completion of


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    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



  1  a driver's license or identification card application,

  2  renewal, or change of address.

  3         1.  If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to

  4  update a voter registration record:

  5         a.  All applicable information received by the

  6  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course

  7  of filling out the forms necessary under subsection (1) must

  8  be transferred to a voter registration application;

  9         b.  The additional necessary information must be

10  obtained by the driver's license examiner and must not

11  duplicate any information already obtained while completing

12  the forms required under subsection (1); and

13         c.  A voter registration application with all of the

14  applicant's voter registration information must be presented

15  to the applicant to sign.

16         2.  If the applicant declines to register to vote,

17  update the applicant's voter registration record, or change

18  the applicant's address by either orally declining or by

19  failing to sign the voter registration application, the

20  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must keep the

21  declination for 2 years but must forward a copy of the

22  unsigned voter registration application within 5 days after

23  receipt to the appropriate supervisor of elections.

24         Section 3.  Subsection (7) of of section 97.058,

25  Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

26         97.058  Voter registration agencies.--

27         (7)  A voter registration agency must retain

28  declinations for a period of 2 years, during which time the

29  declinations are not considered a record of the client

30  pursuant to the laws governing the agency's records.  However,

31  a voter registration agency must forward a copy of each


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    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



  1  incompleted voter registration application within 5 days after

  2  receipt to the appropriate supervisor of elections.

  3         Section 4.  Paragraph (j) of subsection (1) of section

  4  97.071, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

  5         97.071  Registration identification card.--

  6         (1)  A registration identification card must be

  7  furnished to all voters registering under the permanent single

  8  registration system and must contain:

  9         (j)  Name Signature of supervisor.

10         Section 5.  Subsection (1) of section 97.1031, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         97.1031  Notice of change of residence within the same

13  county, change of name, or change of party.--

14         (1)  When an elector moves from the address named on

15  that person's voter registration record to another address

16  within the same county, the elector must provide a signed,

17  written notification of such move to the supervisor of

18  elections of that county.  The elector may provide the

19  supervisor a signed, written notice or may notify the

20  supervisor by telephone or electronic means.  However,

21  notification of such move other than by signed, written notice

22  must include the elector's date of birth. and obtain A

23  registration identification card reflecting the new address of

24  legal residence shall be issued to the elector as provided in

25  subsection (4).

26         Section 6.  Subsection (3) of section 98.0977, Florida

27  Statutes, is amended to read:

28         98.0977  Statewide voter registration database;

29  development and maintenance.--

30         (3)(a)  In administering the database, each supervisor

31  of elections shall compare registration information provided


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    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



  1  by a voter with information held by the Department of Law

  2  Enforcement, the Board of Executive Clemency, the Office of

  3  Vital Statistics, and other relevant sources.

  4         (b)  The supervisor of elections shall remove from the

  5  voter registration rolls the name of any person who is listed

  6  in the database as deceased.

  7         (c)  Information in the database indicating that a

  8  person registered to vote in a given county has subsequently

  9  registered to vote in another jurisdiction shall be considered

10  as a written request from that voter to have his or her name

11  removed from the voter registration rolls of that county, and

12  the supervisor of elections of that county shall remove that

13  voter's name from the county's voter registration rolls.

14         (d)  When If the supervisor of elections finds

15  information through the database that suggests that a voter

16  has been convicted of a felony and has not had his or her

17  civil rights restored or has been adjudicated mentally

18  incompetent and his or her mental capacity with respect to

19  voting has not been restored is ineligible to register to

20  vote, the supervisor of elections shall notify the voter by

21  certified United States mail.  The notification shall contain

22  a statement as to the reason for the voter's potential

23  ineligibility to be registered register to vote and shall

24  request information from the voter on forms provided by the

25  supervisor of elections in order to make a final determination

26  on the voter's eligibility.  As an alternative, the voter may

27  attend a hearing at a time and place specified in the notice.

28  If there is evidence that the notice was not received, notice

29  must be given once by publication in a newspaper of general

30  circulation in the county.  The notice must plainly state that

31  the voter is potentially ineligible to be registered to vote


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    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



  1  and must state a time and place for the person to appear

  2  before the supervisor of elections to show cause why his or

  3  her name should not be removed from the voter registration

  4  rolls.  After reviewing the information requested by the

  5  supervisor of elections and provided by the voter, if the

  6  supervisor of elections determines that the voter is not

  7  eligible to vote under the laws of this state, the supervisor

  8  of elections shall notify the voter by certified United States

  9  mail that he or she has been found ineligible to be registered

10  register to vote in this state, shall state the reason for the

11  ineligibility, and shall inform the voter that he or she has

12  been will be removed from the voter registration rolls.  The

13  supervisor of elections shall remove from the voter

14  registration rolls the name of any voter who fails either to

15  respond within 30 days to the notice sent by certified mail or

16  to attend the hearing.

17         (e)  Upon hearing all evidence in a hearing, the

18  supervisor of elections must determine whether there is

19  sufficient evidence to strike the person's name from the

20  registration books.  If the supervisor determines that there

21  is sufficient evidence, he or she must strike the name.

22         (f)  Appeal may be taken to the circuit court in and

23  for the county where the person was registered.  Notice of

24  appeal must be filed within the time and in the manner

25  provided by the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and acts

26  as supersedeas.  Trial in the circuit court is de novo and

27  governed by the rules of that court.  Unless the person can

28  show that his or her name was erroneously or illegally

29  stricken from the registration books or that he or she is

30  indigent, the person must bear the costs of the trial in the

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    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



  1  circuit court.  Otherwise, the cost of the appeal must be paid

  2  by the board of county commissioners.

  3         Section 7.  Subsection (2) of section 97.052, Florida

  4  Statutes, is amended to read:

  5         97.052  Uniform statewide voter registration

  6  application.--

  7         (2)  The uniform statewide voter registration

  8  application must be designed to elicit the following

  9  information from the applicant:

10         (a)  Full name.

11         (b)  Date of birth.

12         (c)  Address of legal residence.

13         (d)  Mailing address, if different.

14         (e)  County of legal residence.

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

16  been granted a homestead exemption, if any.

17         (g)  Race or ethnicity that best describes the

18  applicant:

19         1.  American Indian or Alaskan Native.

20         2.  Asian or Pacific Islander.

21         3.  Black, not Hispanic.

22         4.  White, not Hispanic.

23         5.  Hispanic.

24         (h)  State or country of birth.

25         (i)(h)  Sex.

26         (j)(i)  Party affiliation.

27         (k)(j)  Whether the applicant needs assistance in

28  voting.

29         (l)(k)  Name and address where last registered.

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

31  security number.


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

  2  identification number from a Florida identification card

  3  issued under s. 322.051.

  4         (o)(n)  Telephone number (optional).

  5         (p)(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         (q)(p)  Whether the application is being used for

11  initial registration, to update a voter registration record,

12  or to request a replacement registration identification card.

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

14  United States.

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

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

17  restored.

18         (t)(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.

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22  The registration form must be in plain language and designed

23  so that convicted felons whose civil rights have been restored

24  and persons who have been adjudicated mentally incapacitated

25  and have had their voting rights restored are not required to

26  reveal their prior conviction or adjudication.

27         Section 8.  Section 98.077, Florida Statutes, is

28  created to read:

29         98.077  Update of voter signature.--The supervisor of

30  elections shall provide to each registered voter of the county

31  the opportunity to update his or her signature on file at the


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    2002 Legislature                      HB 493, Second Engrossed



  1  supervisor's office by providing notification of the ability

  2  to do so in any correspondence, other than postcard

  3  notifications, sent to the voter.  The notice shall advise

  4  when, where, and how to update the signature and shall provide

  5  the voter information on how to obtain a form from the

  6  supervisor that can be returned to update the signature.  In

  7  addition, at least once during each general election year, the

  8  supervisor shall publish in a newspaper of general circulation

  9  or other newspaper in the county deemed appropriate by the

10  supervisor a notice specifying when, where, or how a voter can

11  update his or her signature that is on file or or how a voter

12  can obtain a form from the supervisor to do so.

13         Section 9.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

14  law.

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