| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the federal write-in absentee ballot; |
| 3 | amending s. 101.6952, F.S.; authorizing absent uniformed |
| 4 | services voters and overseas voters to use the federal |
| 5 | write-in absentee ballot to vote in any federal and |
| 6 | certain state or local elections, under certain |
| 7 | circumstances; prescribing requirements for designating |
| 8 | candidate choices; providing for the disposition of valid |
| 9 | votes involving joint candidacies; allowing for |
| 10 | abbreviations, misspellings, and other minor variations in |
| 11 | the name of an office, candidate, or political party; |
| 12 | authorizing the submission of multiple ballots under |
| 13 | certain circumstances; detailing circumstances under which |
| 14 | votes in federal, state, and local races on the federal |
| 15 | write-in absentee ballot will be canvassed; amending s. |
| 16 | 101.5614, F.S.; establishing certain canvassing procedures |
| 17 | for federal write-in absentee ballots; amending s. |
| 18 | 102.166, F.S.; directing the Department of State to adopt |
| 19 | rules to determine what constitutes a valid vote on a |
| 20 | federal write-in absentee ballot; providing restrictions; |
| 21 | providing minimum requirements; reenacting s. 102.166(5), |
| 22 | F.S., to incorporate the amendment to s. 101.5614, F.S., |
| 23 | in a reference thereto; amending s. 104.18, F.S.; |
| 24 | conforming provisions to changes made by the act; |
| 25 | providing an effective date. |
| 26 |
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| 27 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 28 |
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| 29 | Section 1. Section 101.6952, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 30 | to read: |
| 31 | 101.6952 Absentee ballots for absent uniformed services |
| 32 | and overseas voters.- |
| 33 | (1) If an absent uniformed services voter's or an overseas |
| 34 | voter's request for an official absentee ballot pursuant to s. |
| 35 | 101.62 includes an e-mail address, the supervisor of elections |
| 36 | shall: |
| 37 | (a) Record the voter's e-mail address in the absentee |
| 38 | ballot record; |
| 39 | (b) Confirm by e-mail that the absentee ballot request was |
| 40 | received and include in that e-mail the estimated date the |
| 41 | absentee ballot will be sent to the voter; and |
| 42 | (c) Notify the voter by e-mail when the voted absentee |
| 43 | ballot is received by the supervisor of elections. |
| 44 | (2)(a) An absent uniformed services voter or an overseas |
| 45 | voter who makes timely application for but does not receive an |
| 46 | official absentee ballot may use the federal write-in absentee |
| 47 | ballot to vote in any federal election and any state or local |
| 48 | election involving two or more candidates. |
| 49 | (b)1. In an election for federal office, an elector may |
| 50 | designate a candidate by writing the name of a candidate on the |
| 51 | ballot. Except for a primary or special primary election, the |
| 52 | elector may alternatively designate a candidate by writing the |
| 53 | name of a political party on the ballot. A written designation |
| 54 | of the political party shall be counted as a vote for the |
| 55 | candidate of that party if there is such a party candidate in |
| 56 | the race. |
| 57 | 2. In an election for a state or local office, an elector |
| 58 | may vote in the section of the federal write-in absentee ballot |
| 59 | designated for nonfederal races by writing on the ballot the |
| 60 | title of each office and by writing on the ballot the name of |
| 61 | the candidate for whom the elector is voting. Except for a |
| 62 | primary, special primary, or nonpartisan election, the elector |
| 63 | may alternatively designate a candidate by writing the name of a |
| 64 | political party on the ballot. A written designation of the |
| 65 | political party shall be counted as a vote for the candidate of |
| 66 | that party if there is such a party candidate in the race. |
| 67 | (c) In the case of a joint candidacy, such as for the |
| 68 | offices of President/Vice President or Governor/Lieutenant |
| 69 | Governor, a valid vote for one or both qualified candidates on |
| 70 | the same ticket shall constitute a vote for the joint candidacy. |
| 71 | (d) For purposes of this subsection and except where the |
| 72 | context clearly indicates otherwise, such as where a candidate |
| 73 | in the election is affiliated with a political party whose name |
| 74 | includes the word "Independent," "Independence," or similar |
| 75 | term, a voter designation of "No Party Affiliation" or |
| 76 | "Independent," or any minor variation, misspelling, or |
| 77 | abbreviation thereof, shall be considered a designation for the |
| 78 | candidate, other than a write-in candidate, who qualified to run |
| 79 | in the race with no party affiliation. If more than one |
| 80 | candidate qualifies to run as a candidate with no party |
| 81 | affiliation, the designation shall not count for any candidate |
| 82 | unless there is a valid, additional designation of the |
| 83 | candidate's name. |
| 84 | (e) Any abbreviation, misspelling, or other minor |
| 85 | variation in the form of the name of an office, the name of a |
| 86 | candidate, or the name of a political party must be disregarded |
| 87 | in determining the validity of the ballot. |
| 88 | (3)(a) An absent uniformed services voter or an overseas |
| 89 | voter who submits a federal write-in absentee ballot and later |
| 90 | receives an official absentee ballot may submit the official |
| 91 | absentee ballot. An elector who submits a federal write-in |
| 92 | absentee ballot and later receives and submits an official |
| 93 | absentee ballot should make every reasonable effort to inform |
| 94 | the appropriate supervisor of elections that the elector has |
| 95 | submitted more than one ballot. |
| 96 | (b) A federal write-in absentee ballot may not be |
| 97 | canvassed until 7 p.m. on the day of the election. Each federal |
| 98 | write-in absentee ballot received by 7 p.m. on the day of the |
| 99 | election shall be canvassed pursuant to ss. 101.5614(5) and |
| 100 | 101.68, unless the elector's official absentee ballot is |
| 101 | received by 7 p.m. on election day. If the elector's official |
| 102 | absentee ballot is received by 7 p.m. on election day, the |
| 103 | federal write-in absentee ballot is invalid and the official |
| 104 | absentee ballot shall be canvassed. The time shall be regulated |
| 105 | by the customary time in standard use in the county seat of the |
| 106 | locality. |
| 107 | (4)(2) For absentee ballots received from absent uniformed |
| 108 | services voters or overseas voters, there is a presumption that |
| 109 | the envelope was mailed on the date stated on the outside of the |
| 110 | return envelope, regardless of the absence of a postmark on the |
| 111 | mailed envelope or the existence of a postmark date that is |
| 112 | later than the date of the election. |
| 113 | Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 101.5614, Florida |
| 114 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 115 | 101.5614 Canvass of returns.- |
| 116 | (5)(a) If any absentee ballot is physically damaged so |
| 117 | that it cannot properly be counted by the automatic tabulating |
| 118 | equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged |
| 119 | ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the |
| 120 | damaged ballot. Likewise, a duplicate ballot shall be made of an |
| 121 | absentee ballot containing an overvoted race or a marked |
| 122 | absentee ballot in which every race is undervoted which shall |
| 123 | include all valid votes as determined by the canvassing board |
| 124 | based on rules adopted by the division pursuant to s. |
| 125 | 102.166(4). All duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled |
| 126 | "duplicate," bear a serial number which shall be recorded on the |
| 127 | defective ballot, and be counted in lieu of the defective |
| 128 | ballot. After a ballot has been duplicated, the defective ballot |
| 129 | shall be placed in an envelope provided for that purpose, and |
| 130 | the duplicate ballot shall be tallied with the other ballots for |
| 131 | that precinct. |
| 132 | (b) A true duplicate copy shall be made of each federal |
| 133 | write-in absentee ballot in the presence of witnesses and |
| 134 | substituted for the federal write-in absentee ballot. The |
| 135 | duplicate ballot must include all valid votes as determined by |
| 136 | the canvassing board based on rules adopted by the division |
| 137 | pursuant to s. 102.166(4). All duplicate ballots shall be |
| 138 | clearly labeled "duplicate," bear a serial number that shall be |
| 139 | recorded on the federal write-in absentee ballot, and be counted |
| 140 | in lieu of the federal write-in absentee ballot. After a ballot |
| 141 | has been duplicated, the federal write-in absentee ballot shall |
| 142 | be placed in an envelope provided for that purpose, and the |
| 143 | duplicate ballot shall be tallied with other ballots for that |
| 144 | precinct. |
| 145 | Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 102.166, Florida |
| 146 | Statutes, is amended, and, for the purpose of incorporating the |
| 147 | amendment made by the act to section 101.5614, Florida Statutes, |
| 148 | in a reference thereto, subsection (5) of section 102.166, |
| 149 | Florida Statutes, is reenacted, to read: |
| 150 | 102.166 Manual recounts of overvotes and undervotes.- |
| 151 | (4)(a) A vote for a candidate or ballot measure shall be |
| 152 | counted if there is a clear indication on the ballot that the |
| 153 | voter has made a definite choice. |
| 154 | (b) The Department of State shall adopt specific rules for |
| 155 | the federal write-in absentee ballot and for each certified |
| 156 | voting system prescribing what constitutes a "clear indication |
| 157 | on the ballot that the voter has made a definite choice." The |
| 158 | rules shall be consistent, to the extent practicable, and may |
| 159 | not: |
| 160 | 1. Exclusively provide that the voter must properly mark |
| 161 | or designate his or her choice on the ballot; or |
| 162 | 2. Contain a catch-all provision that fails to identify |
| 163 | specific standards, such as "any other mark or indication |
| 164 | clearly indicating that the voter has made a definite choice." |
| 165 | (c) The rule for the federal write-in absentee ballot must |
| 166 | address, at a minimum, the following issues: |
| 167 | 1. The appropriate lines or spaces for designating a |
| 168 | candidate choice and, for state and local races, the office to |
| 169 | be voted, including the proximity of each to the other and the |
| 170 | effect of intervening blank lines. |
| 171 | 2. The sufficiency of designating a candidate's first or |
| 172 | last name when no other candidate in the race has the same or a |
| 173 | similar name. |
| 174 | 3. The sufficiency of designating a candidate's first or |
| 175 | last name when an opposing candidate has the same or a similar |
| 176 | name, notwithstanding generational suffixes and titles such as |
| 177 | "Jr.," "Sr.," or "III." The rule should contemplate the |
| 178 | sufficiency of additional first names and first initials, middle |
| 179 | names and middle initials, generational suffixes and titles, |
| 180 | nicknames, and, in general elections, the name or abbreviation |
| 181 | of a political party. |
| 182 | 4. Candidate designations containing both a qualified |
| 183 | candidate's name and a political party, including where the |
| 184 | party designated is the candidate's party, is not the |
| 185 | candidate's party, has an opposing candidate in the race, or |
| 186 | does not have an opposing candidate in the race. |
| 187 | 5. Situations where the abbreviation or name of a |
| 188 | candidate is the same as the abbreviation or name of a political |
| 189 | party to which the candidate does not belong, including where |
| 190 | the party designated has another candidate in the race or does |
| 191 | not have a candidate in the race. |
| 192 | 6. The use of marks, symbols, or language, such as arrows, |
| 193 | quotation marks, or the word "same" or "ditto," to indicate that |
| 194 | the same political party designation applies to all listed |
| 195 | offices. |
| 196 | 7. Situations where an elector designates the name of a |
| 197 | qualified candidate for an incorrect office. |
| 198 | 8. Situations where an elector designates an otherwise |
| 199 | correct office name that includes an incorrect district number. |
| 200 | (5) Procedures for a manual recount are as follows: |
| 201 | (a) The county canvassing board shall appoint as many |
| 202 | counting teams of at least two electors as is necessary to |
| 203 | manually recount the ballots. A counting team must have, when |
| 204 | possible, members of at least two political parties. A candidate |
| 205 | involved in the race shall not be a member of the counting team. |
| 206 | (b) Each duplicate ballot prepared pursuant to s. |
| 207 | 101.5614(5) or s. 102.141(7) shall be compared with the original |
| 208 | ballot to ensure the correctness of the duplicate. |
| 209 | (c) If a counting team is unable to determine whether the |
| 210 | ballot contains a clear indication that the voter has made a |
| 211 | definite choice, the ballot shall be presented to the county |
| 212 | canvassing board for a determination. |
| 213 | (d) The Department of State shall adopt detailed rules |
| 214 | prescribing additional recount procedures for each certified |
| 215 | voting system which shall be uniform to the extent practicable. |
| 216 | The rules shall address, at a minimum, the following areas: |
| 217 | 1. Security of ballots during the recount process; |
| 218 | 2. Time and place of recounts; |
| 219 | 3. Public observance of recounts; |
| 220 | 4. Objections to ballot determinations; |
| 221 | 5. Record of recount proceedings; and |
| 222 | 6. Procedures relating to candidate and petitioner |
| 223 | representatives. |
| 224 | Section 4. Section 104.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 225 | read: |
| 226 | 104.18 Casting more than one ballot at any election.- |
| 227 | Except as provided in s. 101.6952, whoever willfully votes more |
| 228 | than one ballot at any election commits is guilty of a felony of |
| 229 | the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. |
| 230 | 775.083, or s. 775.084. |
| 231 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |