| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to absentee ballots; amending s. 101.62, |
| 3 | F.S.; revising a restriction on what can be mailed or |
| 4 | delivered with an absentee ballot; amending s. 101.64, |
| 5 | F.S.; requiring the supervisor of elections to include an |
| 6 | absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card with the |
| 7 | absentee ballot; providing for instructions and |
| 8 | applicability; amending s. 101.67, F.S.; requiring the |
| 9 | supervisor of elections, upon receipt of an envelope |
| 10 | containing the marked ballot of an absent elector, to mail |
| 11 | to that elector an acknowledgment of receipt of that |
| 12 | ballot; providing an effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Subsection (6) of section 101.62, Florida |
| 17 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 18 | 101.62 Request for absentee ballots.-- |
| 19 | (6) Nothing other than the materials required under the |
| 20 | Florida Election Code or otherwise necessary to vote absentee |
| 21 | shall be mailed or delivered with any absentee ballot. |
| 22 | Section 2. Section 101.64, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 23 | read: |
| 24 | 101.64 Delivery of absentee ballots; envelopes; form; |
| 25 | absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card.-- |
| 26 | (1)(a) The supervisor shall enclose with each absentee |
| 27 | ballot two envelopes: a secrecy envelope, into which the absent |
| 28 | elector shall enclose his or her marked ballot; and a mailing |
| 29 | envelope, into which the absent elector shall then place the |
| 30 | secrecy envelope, which shall be addressed to the supervisor and |
| 31 | also bear on the back side a certificate in substantially the |
| 32 | following form: |
| 33 |
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| 34 | Note: Please Read Instructions Carefully Before |
| 35 | Marking Ballot and Completing Voter's Certificate. |
| 36 |
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| 37 | VOTER'S CERTIFICATE |
| 38 | I, _____, do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a qualified |
| 39 | and registered voter of _____ County, Florida, and that I have |
| 40 | not and will not vote more than one ballot in this election. I |
| 41 | understand that if I commit or attempt to commit any fraud in |
| 42 | connection with voting, vote a fraudulent ballot, or vote more |
| 43 | than once in an election, I can be convicted of a felony of the |
| 44 | third degree and fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned for up to |
| 45 | 5 years. I also understand that failure to sign this certificate |
| 46 | and have my signature properly witnessed will invalidate my |
| 47 | ballot. |
| 48 |
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| 49 | ... (Date) ...... (Voter's Signature) ... |
| 50 |
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| 51 | Note: Your Signature Must Be Witnessed By One Witness 18 Years |
| 52 | of Age or Older as provided in the Instruction Sheet. |
| 53 |
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| 54 | I swear or affirm that the voter signed this Voter's Certificate |
| 55 | in my presence. |
| 56 |
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| 57 | ... (Signature of Witness) ... |
| 58 |
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| 59 | ... (Address) ... |
| 60 | ... (City/State) ... |
| 61 |
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| 62 | (b)(2) The certificate shall be arranged on the back of |
| 63 | the mailing envelope so that the lines for the signatures of the |
| 64 | absent elector and the attesting witness are across the seal of |
| 65 | the envelope; however, no statement shall appear on the envelope |
| 66 | which indicates that a signature of the voter or witness must |
| 67 | cross the seal of the envelope. The absent elector and the |
| 68 | attesting witness shall execute the certificate on the envelope. |
| 69 | (2) The supervisor shall also enclose with each absentee |
| 70 | ballot an absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card. Such card |
| 71 | shall be preaddressed to the office of the supervisor, with |
| 72 | postage prepaid, and shall instruct the absent elector to sign |
| 73 | the card and mail it back to the supervisor if the absent |
| 74 | elector desires to have receipt of his or her absentee ballot |
| 75 | acknowledged. An absent elector is not required to return an |
| 76 | absentee ballot receipt acknowledgment card, and failure to |
| 77 | return such card does not affect the validity of any absentee |
| 78 | ballot submitted by the absent elector. |
| 79 | Section 3. Section 101.67, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 80 | read: |
| 81 | 101.67 Acknowledgment of receipt of absentee ballots; |
| 82 | safekeeping of absentee mailed ballots; deadline for receiving |
| 83 | absentee ballots.-- |
| 84 | (1) Upon receipt of any envelope containing the marked |
| 85 | ballot of an absent elector, the supervisor of elections shall |
| 86 | mail an acknowledgment of receipt of that ballot to the elector |
| 87 | at the elector's current mailing address on file with the |
| 88 | supervisor or at any other address the elector has specified in |
| 89 | his or her request for the absentee ballot. |
| 90 | (2)(1) The supervisor of elections shall safely keep in |
| 91 | his or her office any envelopes received containing marked |
| 92 | ballots of absent electors, and he or she shall, before the |
| 93 | canvassing of the election returns, deliver the envelopes to the |
| 94 | county canvassing board along with his or her file or list kept |
| 95 | regarding said ballots. |
| 96 | (3)(2) All marked absent electors' ballots to be counted |
| 97 | must be received by the supervisor by 7 p.m. the day of the |
| 98 | election. All ballots received thereafter shall be marked with |
| 99 | the time and date of receipt and filed in the supervisor's |
| 100 | office. |
| 101 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |