Florida Senate - 2011 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. SB 378
Barcode 501412
EE.EE.02101
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Rules
Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the federal write-in absentee
3 ballot; amending s. 101.6952, F.S.; authorizing absent
4 uniformed services voters and overseas voters to use
5 the federal write-in absentee ballot to vote in any
6 federal and certain state or local elections, under
7 certain circumstances; prescribing requirements for
8 designating candidate choices; providing for the
9 disposition of valid votes involving joint
10 candidacies; allowing for abbreviations, misspellings,
11 and other minor variations in the name of an office,
12 candidate, or political party; authorizing the
13 submission of multiple ballots under certain
14 circumstances; detailing circumstances under which
15 votes in federal, state, and local races on the
16 federal write-in absentee ballot will be canvassed;
17 amending s. 101.5614, F.S.; establishing certain
18 canvassing procedures for federal write-in absentee
19 ballots; amending s. 102.166, F.S.; directing the
20 Department of State to adopt rules to determine what
21 constitutes a valid vote on a federal write-in
22 absentee ballot; providing restrictions; providing
23 minimum requirements; amending s. 104.18, F.S., to
24 conform; re-adopting subsection (5) of s. 102.166,
25 F.S., to incorporate a cross-reference; providing an
26 effective date.
27
28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30 Section 1. Section 101.6952, Florida Statutes, is amended
31 to read:
32 101.6952 Absentee ballots for absent uniformed services and
33 overseas voters.—
34 (1) If an absent uniformed services voter’s or an overseas
35 voter’s request for an official absentee ballot pursuant to s.
36 101.62 includes an e-mail address, the supervisor of elections
37 shall:
38 (a) Record the voter’s e-mail address in the absentee
39 ballot record;
40 (b) Confirm by e-mail that the absentee ballot request was
41 received and include in that e-mail the estimated date the
42 absentee ballot will be sent to the voter; and
43 (c) Notify the voter by e-mail when the voted absentee
44 ballot is received by the supervisor of elections.
45 (2)(a) An absent uniformed services voter or an overseas
46 voter who makes timely application for but does not receive an
47 official absentee ballot may use the federal write-in absentee
48 ballot to vote in any federal election and any state or local
49 election involving two or more candidates.
50 (b)1. In an election for federal office, an elector may
51 designate a candidate by writing in the name of a candidate.
52 Except for a primary or special primary election, the elector
53 may alternatively designate a candidate by writing in the name
54 of a political party. A written designation of the political
55 party shall be counted as a vote for the candidate of that
56 party, if there is such a party candidate in 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 in the title of each
60 office and by writing in the name of the candidate for whom the
61 elector is voting. Except for a primary, special primary, or
62 nonpartisan election, the elector may alternatively designate a
63 candidate by writing in the name of a political party. A written
64 designation of the political party shall be counted as a vote
65 for the candidate of that party, if there is such a party
66 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 has qualified to run as a no party affiliation
81 candidate, 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 variation
85 in the form of the name of an office, the name of a candidate,
86 or the name of a political party must be disregarded in
87 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 canvassed
97 until 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election. Each federal write
98 in absentee ballot received by 7:00 p.m. on the day of the
99 election will be canvassed pursuant to s. 101.5614(5) and s.
100 101.68, unless the elector's official absentee ballot is
101 received by 7:00 p.m. on election day. If the elector's official
102 absentee ballot is received by 7:00 p.m. on election day, the
103 federal write-in absentee ballot shall be invalid and the
104 official absentee ballot shall be canvassed. The time shall be
105 regulated by the customary time in standard use in the county
106 seat of the 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 that
117 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 which 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 to read:
147 102.166 Manual recounts of overvotes and undervotes.—
148 (4)(a) A vote for a candidate or ballot measure shall be
149 counted if there is a clear indication on the ballot that the
150 voter has made a definite choice.
151 (b) The Department of State shall adopt specific rules for
152 the federal write-in absentee ballot and for each certified
153 voting system prescribing what constitutes a “clear indication
154 on the ballot that the voter has made a definite choice.” The
155 rules shall be consistent, to the extent practicable, and may
156 not:
157 1. Exclusively provide that the voter must properly mark or
158 designate his or her choice on the ballot; or
159 2. Contain a catch-all provision that fails to identify
160 specific standards, such as “any other mark or indication
161 clearly indicating that the voter has made a definite choice.”
162 (c) The rule for the federal write-in absentee ballot must
163 address, at a minimum, the following issues:
164 1. The appropriate lines or spaces for designating a
165 candidate choice and, for state and local races, the office to
166 be voted, including the proximity of each to the other and the
167 effect of intervening blank lines.
168 2. The sufficiency of designating a candidate's first or
169 last name when no other candidate in the race has the same or a
170 similar name.
171 3. The sufficiency of designating a candidate's first or
172 last name when an opposing candidate has the same or a similar
173 name, notwithstanding generational suffixes and titles such as
174 "Jr.," "Sr.," or "III." The rule should contemplate the
175 sufficiency of additional first names and first initials, middle
176 names and middle initials, generational suffixes and titles,
177 nicknames, and, in general elections, the name or abbreviation
178 of a political party.
179 4. Candidate designations containing both a qualified
180 candidate's name and a political party, including where the
181 party designated is the candidate's party, is not the
182 candidate's party, has an opposing candidate in the race, or
183 does not have an opposing candidate in the race.
184 5. Situations where the abbreviation or name of a candidate
185 is the same as the abbreviation or name of a political party to
186 which the candidate does not belong, including where the party
187 designated has another candidate in the race or does not have a
188 candidate in the race.
189 6. The use of marks, symbols, or language, such as arrows,
190 quotation marks, or the word "same" or "ditto," to indicate that
191 the same political party designation applies to all listed
192 offices.
193 7. Situations where an elector designates the name of a
194 qualified candidate for an incorrect office.
195 8. Situations where an elector designates an otherwise
196 correct office name that includes an incorrect district number.
197 Section 4. Section 104.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to
198 read:
199 104.18 Casting more than one ballot at any election.—Except
200 as provided in s. 101.6952, whoever willfully votes more than
201 one ballot at any election commits is guilty of a felony of the
202 third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
203 or s. 775.084.
204 Section 5. Subsection (5) of section 102.166, Florida
205 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
206 102.166 Manual recounts of overvotes and undervotes.—
207 (5) Procedures for a manual recount are as follows:
208 (a) The county canvassing board shall appoint as many
209 counting teams of at least two electors as is necessary to
210 manually recount the ballots. A counting team must have, when
211 possible, members of at least two political parties. A candidate
212 involved in the race shall not be a member of the counting team.
213 (b) Each duplicate ballot prepared pursuant to s.
214 101.5614(5) or s. 102.141(7) shall be compared with the original
215 ballot to ensure the correctness of the duplicate.
216 (c) If a counting team is unable to determine whether the
217 ballot contains a clear indication that the voter has made a
218 definite choice, the ballot shall be presented to the county
219 canvassing board for a determination.
220 (d) The Department of State shall adopt detailed rules
221 prescribing additional recount procedures for each certified
222 voting system which shall be uniform to the extent practicable.
223 The rules shall address, at a minimum, the following areas:
224 1. Security of ballots during the recount process;
225 2. Time and place of recounts;
226 3. Public observance of recounts;
227 4. Objections to ballot determinations;
228 5. Record of recount proceedings; and
229 6. Procedures relating to candidate and petitioner
230 representatives.
231 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.