Senate Bill sb0496c1

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    Florida Senate - 2005                            CS for SB 496

    By the Committee on Ethics and Elections; and Senator Hill





    582-2159-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to voter intimidation; creating

  3         s. 104.0615, F.S.; providing a short title;

  4         prohibiting a person from using or threatening

  5         to use force, violence, or intimidation to

  6         induce or compel an individual to vote or

  7         refrain from voting, to refrain from

  8         registering to vote, or to refrain from acting

  9         as an election official or poll watcher;

10         prohibiting a person from knowingly using false

11         information to challenge an individual's right

12         to vote, to induce an individual to refrain

13         from registering to vote, or to induce or

14         attempt to induce an individual to refrain from

15         acting as an election official or poll watcher;

16         prohibiting a person from knowingly destroying,

17         mutilating, or defacing a voter registration

18         form or election ballot or obstructing or

19         delaying the delivery of a voter registration

20         form or election ballot; providing criminal

21         penalties; providing an effective date.

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

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25         Section 1.  Section 104.0615, Florida Statutes, is

26  created to read:

27         104.0615  Voter intimidation or suppression prohibited;

28  criminal penalties.--

29         (1)  This section shall be cited as the "Voter

30  Protection Act."

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    Florida Senate - 2005                            CS for SB 496
    582-2159-05




 1         (2)  A person may not directly or indirectly use or

 2  threaten to use force, violence, or intimidation or any tactic

 3  of coercion or intimidation to induce or compel an individual

 4  to:

 5         (a)  Vote or refrain from voting;

 6         (b)  Vote or refrain from voting for any particular

 7  individual or ballot measure;

 8         (c)  Refrain from registering to vote; or

 9         (d)  Refrain from acting as a legally authorized

10  election official or poll watcher.

11         (3)  A person may not knowingly use false information

12  to:

13         (a)  Challenge an individual's right to vote;

14         (b)  Induce or attempt to induce an individual to

15  refrain from voting or registering to vote; or

16         (c)  Induce or attempt to induce an individual to

17  refrain from acting as a legally authorized election official

18  or poll watcher.

19         (4)  A person may not knowingly destroy, mutilate, or

20  deface a voter registration form or election ballot or

21  obstruct or delay the delivery of a voter registration form or

22  election ballot.

23         (5)  A person who violates subsection (2), subsection

24  (3), or subsection (4) commits a felony of the third degree,

25  punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.

26  775.084.

27         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

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    Florida Senate - 2005                            CS for SB 496
    582-2159-05




 1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 2                         Senate Bill 496

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 4  The Committee Substitute deletes references to second degree
    felonies, and makes a violation of any subsection of the act a
 5  third degree felony.

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