Florida Senate - 2010                                    SB 1682
       
       
       
       By Senator Dean
       
       
       
       
       3-00587-10                                            20101682__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to elections; amending s. 101.6952,
    3         F.S.; revising responsibilities of the supervisor of
    4         elections when an overseas voter’s request for an
    5         absentee ballot includes an e-mail address; requiring
    6         the supervisor to record the e-mail address in the
    7         absentee ballot record and, via e-mail, confirm that
    8         the request was received, inform the voter of the
    9         estimated date the ballot will be sent, and notify the
   10         voter when the absentee ballot is received; amending
   11         s. 101.697, F.S.; providing that an overseas voter may
   12         request an absentee ballot and transmit the voted
   13         ballot by facsimile or electronic mail; providing that
   14         an overseas voter may request an absentee ballot,
   15         vote, and return the ballot by other secured
   16         transmission when certain criteria are met; requiring
   17         the Department of State to adopt rules establishing
   18         the process for accepting voted absentee ballots via
   19         facsimile, e-mail, or other secure electronic means;
   20         establishing minimum criteria; deleting existing
   21         provisions relating to electronic transmission of
   22         election materials to conform; providing an effective
   23         date.
   24  
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Section 101.6952, Florida Statutes, is amended
   28  to read:
   29         101.6952 Absentee ballots for overseas voters.—
   30         (1) If an overseas voter’s request for an absentee ballot
   31  includes an e-mail address, the supervisor of elections shall:
   32         (a) Record the voter’s e-mail address in the absentee
   33  ballot record;
   34         (b) Confirm via e-mail that the absentee ballot request was
   35  received and include in that e-mail the estimated date the
   36  ballot will be sent to the voter;
   37         (c) Inform the voter of the names of candidates who will be
   38  on the ballots via electronic transmission. The supervisor of
   39  elections shall e-mail to the voter the list of candidates for
   40  the primary and general election not later than 30 days before
   41  each election; and
   42         (d) E-mail the voter when the voted absentee ballot is
   43  received by the supervisor of elections.
   44         (2) For absentee ballots received from overseas voters,
   45  there is a presumption that the envelope was mailed on the date
   46  stated on the outside of the return envelope, regardless of the
   47  absence of a postmark on the mailed envelope or the existence of
   48  a postmark date that is later than the date of the election.
   49         Section 2. Section 101.697, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   50  read:
   51         101.697 Electronic transmission of election materials.—
   52         (1) An overseas voter may request an absentee ballot and
   53  transmit a voted absentee ballot via facsimile or electronic
   54  mail to a supervisor of elections.
   55         (2) An overseas voter may request an absentee ballot, vote,
   56  and return a voted absentee ballot by other secured
   57  transmission, provided the voting system process has been
   58  approved by the Department of State. The department shall adopt
   59  rules for the submission and approval of the secured
   60  transmission process.
   61         (3) The department shall adopt rules that provide the
   62  process for accepting the voted absentee ballot via facsimile,
   63  e-mail, or other secure electronic means. The rules must provide
   64  at a minimum, the process for verifying the voter, establishing
   65  the security of the transmission of the voted absentee ballot,
   66  and recording the voted absentee ballot once received. The
   67  Department of State shall determine whether secure electronic
   68  means can be established for receiving ballots from overseas
   69  voters. If such security can be established, the department
   70  shall adopt rules to authorize a supervisor of elections to
   71  accept from an overseas voter a request for an absentee ballot
   72  or a voted absentee ballot by secure facsimile machine
   73  transmission or other secure electronic means. The rules must
   74  provide that in order to accept a voted ballot, the verification
   75  of the voter must be established, the security of the
   76  transmission must be established, and each ballot received must
   77  be recorded.
   78         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.