HB 415

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to ballot specifications; amending s.
3101.151, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
4placement of candidate names on ballots; providing an
5effective date.
6
7Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
8
9     Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and paragraph
10(a) of subsection (3) of section 101.151, Florida Statutes, are
11amended to read:
12     101.151  Specifications for ballots.--
13     (2)(a)  The ballot shall have headings under which shall
14appear the names of the offices and the names of the candidates
15for the respective offices in the following order: the heading
16"President and Vice President" and thereunder the names of the
17candidates for President and Vice President of the United States
18nominated by the political party that received the highest vote
19for Governor in the last general election of the Governor in
20this state. Then shall appear the names of other candidates for
21President and Vice President of the United States who have been
22properly nominated. Then shall follow the heading
23"Congressional" and thereunder the offices of United States
24Senator and Representative in Congress; then the heading "State"
25and thereunder the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor,
26Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of
27Agriculture, state attorney, and public defender, together with
28the names of the candidates for each office and the title of the
29office which they seek; then the heading "Legislative" and
30thereunder the offices of state senator and state
31representative; then the heading "County" and thereunder clerk
32of the circuit court, clerk of the county court (when authorized
33by law), sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector, district
34superintendent of schools, and supervisor of elections.
35Thereafter follows: members of the board of county
36commissioners, and such other county and district offices as are
37involved in the election, in the order fixed by the Department
38of State, followed, in the year of their election, by "Party
39Offices," and thereunder the offices of state and county party
40executive committee members. In a general election, in addition
41to the names printed on the ballot, a blank space shall be
42provided under each heading for an office for which a write-in
43candidate has qualified. With respect to write-in candidates, if
44two or more candidates are seeking election to one office, only
45one blank space shall be provided.
46     (3)(a)  On a general election ballot, the names of
47candidates nominated by a political party other than a minor
48political party shall be placed first under the heading for each
49office, together with an appropriate abbreviation of party name.
50Except for absentee ballots or when the number of candidates for
51a particular office is the same as the number of candidates to
52be elected for that office, the names of the candidates of a
53party other than a minor party on the ballot shall be rotated
54from one precinct to another such that the name of each party
55candidate shall appear, insofar as may be reasonably possible,
56substantially an equal number of times in each ballot position
57of a party other than a minor party. On absentee and early
58voting ballots, the names of party candidates under this
59paragraph for an office shall be rotated such that the name of
60each party candidate shall appear, insofar as may be reasonably
61possible, substantially an equal number of times in each party
62ballot position, unless the number of candidates for a
63particular office is the same as the number of candidates to be
64elected for that office. This paragraph applies only to
65candidates nominated by a party other than a minor political
66party. The names of the candidates of the party that received
67the highest number of votes for Governor in the last election in
68which a Governor was elected shall be placed first under the
69heading for each office on the general election ballot, together
70with an appropriate abbreviation of party name; the names of the
71candidates of the party that received the second highest vote
72for Governor shall be second under the heading for each office,
73together with an appropriate abbreviation of the party name.
74     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.


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