| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to elections; amending s. 101.6102, F.S.; |
| 3 | revising limitations of mail ballot elections; authorizing |
| 4 | a board of county commissioners to choose to have certain |
| 5 | elections by mail, subject to specified prior notice; |
| 6 | amending s. 101.6103, F.S.; requiring certain electors |
| 7 | using mail ballots to pay postage; requiring the Secretary |
| 8 | of State to establish rules relating to mail ballot |
| 9 | deposit sites; prohibiting unofficial deposit sites or |
| 10 | ballot-collection services; providing for penalties; |
| 11 | amending s. 101.62, F.S.; providing for a permanent |
| 12 | absentee voter status; providing requirements for |
| 13 | supervisors of elections relating to permanent absentee |
| 14 | voters; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Section 101.6102, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 19 | to read: |
| 20 | 101.6102 Mail ballot elections; limitations.-- |
| 21 | (1)(a) An election may be conducted by mail ballot if: |
| 22 | 1. The election is a referendum election at which all or a |
| 23 | portion of the qualified electors of one of the following |
| 24 | subdivisions of government are the only electors eligible to |
| 25 | vote: |
| 26 | a. Counties; |
| 27 | b. Municipalities Cities; |
| 28 | c. School districts covering no more than one county; or |
| 29 | d. Special districts; |
| 30 | 2. The governing body responsible for calling the election |
| 31 | and the supervisor of elections responsible for the conduct of |
| 32 | the election authorize the use of mail ballots for the election; |
| 33 | and |
| 34 | 3. The Secretary of State approves a written plan for the |
| 35 | conduct of the election, which shall include a written timetable |
| 36 | for the conduct of the election, submitted by the supervisor of |
| 37 | elections. |
| 38 | (b) In addition, An annexation referendum which includes |
| 39 | only qualified electors of one county may also be voted on by |
| 40 | mail ballot election. |
| 41 | (2) The following elections may not be conducted by mail |
| 42 | ballot: |
| 43 | (a) An election at which any candidate is nominated, |
| 44 | elected, retained, or recalled; or |
| 45 | (b) An election held on the same date as another election, |
| 46 | other than a mail ballot election, in which the qualified |
| 47 | electors of that political subdivision are eligible to cast |
| 48 | ballots. |
| 49 | (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), a board of |
| 50 | county commissioners may choose to conduct any election in that |
| 51 | county, whether countywide, statewide, or federal, by mail |
| 52 | ballot but must make that declaration no later than 120 days |
| 53 | before the date of the scheduled election. |
| 54 | (4)(3) The supervisor of elections shall be responsible |
| 55 | for the conduct of any election held under ss. 101.6101- |
| 56 | 101.6107. |
| 57 | (5)(4) The costs of a mail ballot election shall be borne |
| 58 | by the jurisdiction initiating the calling of the election, |
| 59 | unless otherwise provided by law. |
| 60 | (6)(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to |
| 61 | prohibit the use of a mail ballot election in a municipal |
| 62 | annexation referendum requiring separate vote of the registered |
| 63 | electors of the annexing municipality and of the area proposed |
| 64 | to be annexed. If a mail ballot election is authorized for a |
| 65 | municipal annexation referendum, the provisions of ss. 101.6101- |
| 66 | 101.6107 shall control over any conflicting provisions of s. |
| 67 | 171.0413. |
| 68 | Section 2. Subsections (9), (10), and (11) are added to |
| 69 | section 101.6103, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 70 | 101.6103 Mail ballot election procedure.-- |
| 71 | (9) The supervisor of elections shall keep a record of all |
| 72 | ballots mailed and all ballots returned. |
| 73 | (10) The elector shall pay postage if he or she chooses to |
| 74 | return the ballot by mail. |
| 75 | (11)(a) The Secretary of State by rule shall establish |
| 76 | requirements and criteria for the designation of places of |
| 77 | deposit for the ballots cast in the election. The rules shall |
| 78 | also specify the dates and times the places of deposit must be |
| 79 | open and the security requirements for the places of deposit. At |
| 80 | a minimum, the places designated under this paragraph shall be |
| 81 | open on the date of the election for a period of at least 8 |
| 82 | hours, but must be open until at least 7 p.m. At each place of |
| 83 | deposit designated under this paragraph, the county clerk shall |
| 84 | prominently display a sign stating that the location is an |
| 85 | official ballot drop site. |
| 86 | (b) Persons and organizations are prohibited from hosting |
| 87 | unofficial deposit sites or ballot-collection services and are |
| 88 | subject to the same penalties as voter fraud. |
| 89 | Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section |
| 90 | 101.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 91 | 101.62 Request for absentee ballots.-- |
| 92 | (1)(a) The supervisor may accept a request for an absentee |
| 93 | ballot from an elector in person or in writing. |
| 94 | 1. Except as provided in s. 101.694, one request shall be |
| 95 | deemed sufficient to receive an absentee ballot for all |
| 96 | elections through the next two regularly scheduled general |
| 97 | elections, unless the elector or the elector's designee |
| 98 | indicates at the time the request is made the elections for |
| 99 | which the elector desires to receive an absentee ballot. Such |
| 100 | request may be considered canceled when any first-class mail |
| 101 | sent by the supervisor to the elector is returned as |
| 102 | undeliverable. |
| 103 | 2. Except as provided in s. 101.694, upon receipt of a |
| 104 | request for a permanent absentee voter status by an elector, the |
| 105 | supervisor shall place the elector's name on a permanent |
| 106 | absentee voter list and mail an absentee ballot to the elector |
| 107 | for every election thereafter until the elector requests to be |
| 108 | removed from the permanent absentee voter list or the supervisor |
| 109 | removes the elector from the list because the elector has not |
| 110 | voted in two consecutive general elections or because any first- |
| 111 | class mail sent by the supervisor to the elector is returned as |
| 112 | undeliverable. An elector may request a permanent absentee voter |
| 113 | status using the same procedures used to register for absentee |
| 114 | ballots. |
| 115 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |