Senate Bill sb1732

    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1732

    By Senator Cowin





    20-469C-03

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to early voting; amending s.

  3         101.657, F.S.; requiring supervisors of

  4         elections to allow electors to vote early;

  5         providing requirements for the location and

  6         number of early voting facilities; specifying

  7         the period and hours of operation; requiring

  8         the Department of State to adopt rules;

  9         providing a penalty for failure to provide for

10         early voting; creating s. 101.659, F.S.;

11         providing for a voter to cast an in-person

12         absentee ballot as formerly provided under s.

13         101.657, F.S., to conform; providing an

14         effective date.

15  

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

17  

18         Section 1.  Section 101.657, Florida Statutes, is

19  amended to read:

20         101.657  Early voting absentee ballots in person.--

21         (1)  Any qualified and registered elector may pick up

22  and vote an absentee ballot in person at the office of, and

23  under the supervision of, the supervisor of elections. Before

24  receiving the ballot, the elector must present a Florida

25  driver's license, a Florida identification card issued under

26  s. 322.051, or another form of picture identification approved

27  by the Department of State.  If the elector fails to furnish

28  the required identification, or if the supervisor is in doubt

29  as to the identity of the elector, the supervisor must follow

30  the procedure prescribed in s. 101.49.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1732
    20-469C-03




 1         (1)(a)(2)  As an alternative to the provisions of ss.

 2  101.64, and 101.65, and 101.659, the supervisor of elections

 3  shall may allow an elector to vote early cast an absentee

 4  ballot in the main or branch office of the supervisor by

 5  depositing a the voted ballot in a voting device used by the

 6  supervisor to collect or tabulate ballots. The results or

 7  tabulation may not be made before the close of the polls on

 8  election day.

 9         (b)  The supervisor shall designate at least one early

10  voting location for every 85,000 voters registered to vote in

11  the election. Except as otherwise provided in this section,

12  each early voting location must meet the requirements for a

13  polling place under the election code. The selection of early

14  voting locations must be designed to provide all voters in the

15  county with an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as

16  is practicable.

17         (c)  Early voting shall commence at 9 a.m. on the 10th

18  day before an election and conclude at 5 p.m. on the day

19  before the election. Early voting at each location shall be

20  conducted, at a minimum, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through

21  Friday and for a total of 10 hours on each weekend during the

22  early voting period.

23         (d)(a)  An The elector seeking to vote early must

24  provide picture identification and must complete an In-Office

25  Voter Certificate in substantially the following form:

26  

27                   IN-OFFICE VOTER CERTIFICATE

28  

29  I, ...., am a qualified elector in this election and

30  registered voter of .... County, Florida. I do solemnly swear

31  or affirm that I am the person so listed on the voter

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1732
    20-469C-03




 1  registration rolls of .... County and that I reside at the

 2  listed address. I understand that if I commit or attempt to

 3  commit fraud in connection with voting, vote a fraudulent

 4  ballot, or vote more than once in an election I could be

 5  convicted of a felony of the third degree and both fined up to

 6  $5,000 and imprisoned for up to 5 years. I understand that my

 7  failure to sign this certificate and have my signature

 8  witnessed invalidates my ballot.

 9  

10  

11  ...(Voter's Signature)...

12  

13  ...(Address)...

14  

15  ...(City/State)...

16  

17  ...(Name of Witness)...

18  

19  ...(Signature of Witness)...

20  

21  ...(Type of identification provided)...

22  

23         (e)(b)  If an elector seeking to vote early is

24  challenged by any other elector or poll watcher, the oaths

25  provided in s. 101.111 shall be completed, sworn, and

26  subscribed. The challenged elector shall vote a provisional

27  ballot as otherwise provided in this chapter. Any elector may

28  challenge an elector seeking to cast an absentee ballot under

29  the provisions of s. 101.111. Any challenged ballot must be

30  placed in a regular absentee ballot envelope. The canvassing

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1732
    20-469C-03




 1  board shall review the ballot and decide the validity of the

 2  ballot by majority vote.

 3         (f)(c)  The canvass of returns for ballots cast under

 4  this subsection shall be substantially the same as votes cast

 5  by electors in precincts, as provided in s. 101.5614.

 6         (g)  The department shall adopt rules for administering

 7  this section, including, but not limited to, the selection and

 8  security of early voting locations and the security of

 9  ballots, tabulating equipment, and other voting materials at

10  early voting locations.

11         (2)  Any supervisor of elections who fails to provide

12  for early voting as required by this section commits a

13  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.

14  775.082 or s. 775.083.

15         Section 2.  Section 101.659, Florida Statutes, is

16  created to read:

17         101.659  Voting absentee ballots in person.--Any

18  qualified and registered elector may pick up and vote an

19  absentee ballot in person at the office of, and under the

20  supervision of, the supervisor of elections. Before receiving

21  the ballot, the elector must present a Florida driver's

22  license, a Florida identification card issued under s.

23  322.051, or another form of picture identification approved by

24  the Department of State.  If the elector fails to furnish the

25  required identification, or if the supervisor is in doubt as

26  to the identity of the elector, the supervisor must follow the

27  procedure prescribed in s. 101.49.

28         Section 3.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.

29  

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    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 1732
    20-469C-03




 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Requires that supervisors of elections allow early voting
      during a 10-day period before each election. Requires at
 4    least one location for every 85,000 voters. Requires a
      polling place to be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
 5    weekdays and to be open for a total of 10 hours on
      weekends during the period for early voting. Provides
 6    that it is a first-degree misdemeanor for a supervisor of
      elections to fail to provide for early voting.
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