HB 1447

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to absentee ballots; amending s. 101.62,
3F.S.; revising a restriction on what can be mailed or
4delivered with an absentee ballot; amending s. 101.64,
5F.S.; requiring the supervisor of elections to include an
6absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card with the
7absentee ballot; providing for instructions and
8applicability; amending s. 101.67, F.S.; requiring the
9supervisor of elections, upon receipt of an envelope
10containing the marked ballot of an absent elector, to mail
11to that elector an acknowledgment of receipt of that
12ballot; providing an effective date.
13
14Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16     Section 1.  Subsection (6) of section 101.62, Florida
17Statutes, is amended to read:
18     101.62  Request for absentee ballots.--
19     (6)  Nothing other than the materials required under the
20Florida Election Code or otherwise necessary to vote absentee
21shall be mailed or delivered with any absentee ballot.
22     Section 2.  Section 101.64, Florida Statutes, is amended to
23read:
24     101.64  Delivery of absentee ballots; envelopes; form;
25absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card.--
26     (1)(a)  The supervisor shall enclose with each absentee
27ballot two envelopes: a secrecy envelope, into which the absent
28elector shall enclose his or her marked ballot; and a mailing
29envelope, into which the absent elector shall then place the
30secrecy envelope, which shall be addressed to the supervisor and
31also bear on the back side a certificate in substantially the
32following form:
33
34
Note: Please Read Instructions Carefully Before
35
Marking Ballot and Completing Voter's Certificate.
36
37
VOTER'S CERTIFICATE
38     I, _____, do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a qualified
39and registered voter of _____ County, Florida, and that I have
40not and will not vote more than one ballot in this election. I
41understand that if I commit or attempt to commit any fraud in
42connection with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot, or vote more
43than once in an election, I can be convicted of a felony of the
44third degree and fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to
455 years. I also understand that failure to sign this certificate
46and have my signature properly witnessed will invalidate my
47ballot.
48
49...  (Date)  ......  (Voter's Signature)  ...
50
51Note: Your Signature Must Be Witnessed By One Witness 18 Years
52of Age or Older as provided in the Instruction Sheet.
53
54I swear or affirm that the voter signed this Voter's Certificate
55in my presence.
56
57...  (Signature of Witness)  ...
58
59...  (Address)  ...
60...  (City/State)  ...
61
62     (b)(2)  The certificate shall be arranged on the back of
63the mailing envelope so that the lines for the signatures of the
64absent elector and the attesting witness are across the seal of
65the envelope; however, no statement shall appear on the envelope
66which indicates that a signature of the voter or witness must
67cross the seal of the envelope. The absent elector and the
68attesting witness shall execute the certificate on the envelope.
69     (2)  The supervisor shall also enclose with each absentee
70ballot an absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card. Such card
71shall be preaddressed to the office of the supervisor, with
72postage prepaid, and shall instruct the absent elector to sign
73the card and mail it back to the supervisor if the absent
74elector desires to have receipt of his or her absentee ballot
75acknowledged. An absent elector is not required to return an
76absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card, and failure to
77return such card does not affect the validity of any absentee
78ballot submitted by the absent elector.
79     Section 3.  Section 101.67, Florida Statutes, is amended to
80read:
81     101.67  Acknowledgment of receipt of absentee ballots;
82safekeeping of absentee mailed ballots; deadline for receiving
83absentee ballots.--
84     (1)  Upon receipt of any envelope containing the marked
85ballot of an absent elector, the supervisor of elections shall
86mail an acknowledgment of receipt of that ballot to the elector
87at the elector's current mailing address on file with the
88supervisor or at any other address the elector has specified in
89his or her request for the absentee ballot.
90     (2)(1)  The supervisor of elections shall safely keep in
91his or her office any envelopes received containing marked
92ballots of absent electors, and he or she shall, before the
93canvassing of the election returns, deliver the envelopes to the
94county canvassing board along with his or her file or list kept
95regarding said ballots.
96     (3)(2)  All marked absent electors' ballots to be counted
97must be received by the supervisor by 7 p.m. the day of the
98election. All ballots received thereafter shall be marked with
99the time and date of receipt and filed in the supervisor's
100office.
101     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.


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