Florida Senate - 2015 SB 1492
By Senator Thompson
12-01382A-15 20151492__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to elections; amending s. 100.032,
3 F.S.; requiring a supervisor of elections to submit an
4 election preparation report to the Department of State
5 within a specified time; requiring the department to
6 post the report on its website; amending s. 101.001,
7 F.S.; requiring a notice of intended changes to
8 precinct boundaries and polling places to be posted on
9 the websites of the department and supervisor of
10 elections within a specified time; requiring a
11 description of changes to precinct boundaries or
12 location of polling places to be posted on a
13 supervisor’s website within a specified time; amending
14 s. 101.021, F.S.; authorizing an elector with no party
15 affiliation to vote in a primary election; amending s.
16 102.031, F.S.; prohibiting certain private property
17 owners from restricting access to polling places or
18 early voting sites located on their property during
19 certain periods; providing an effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23 Section 1. Section 100.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to
24 read:
25 100.032 Election preparation report; general election.—At
26 least 3 months before a general election, each supervisor of
27 elections must post a report on his or her official website and
28 submit to the Department of State a report that at least 3
29 months before a general election which outlines preparations for
30 the upcoming general election. The report must include, at a
31 minimum, the following elements: the anticipated staffing levels
32 during the early voting period, on election day and after
33 election day; and the anticipated amount of automatic tabulating
34 equipment at each early voting site and polling place. The
35 department shall post the report on its official website upon
36 receipt from the supervisor.
37 Section 2. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection
38 (4) of section 101.001, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
39 101.001 Precincts and polling places; boundaries.—
40 (1)(a) The board of county commissioners in each county,
41 upon recommendation and approval of the supervisor, shall alter
42 or create precincts for voting in the county. Each precinct
43 shall be numbered and, as nearly as practicable, composed of
44 contiguous and compact areas. The supervisor shall designate a
45 polling place at a suitable location within each precinct. The
46 precinct shall not be changed thereafter except with the consent
47 of the supervisor and a majority of the members of the board of
48 county commissioners. The board of county commissioners and the
49 supervisor may have precinct boundaries conform to municipal
50 boundaries in accordance with the provisions of s. 101.002, but,
51 in any event, the registration books shall be maintained in such
52 a manner that there may be determined therefrom the total number
53 of electors in each municipality.
54 (b) At least 60 days before a board of county commissioners
55 approves or rejects the alteration or creation of a precinct,
56 and at least 60 days before the supervisor changes the location
57 of a polling place within a precinct, the supervisor shall
58 notify the department of the intended change. The supervisor and
59 the department shall make information regarding the intended
60 change available on their respective websites.
61 (4)(a) Within 10 days after there is any change in the
62 division, number, or boundaries of the precincts, or the
63 location of the polling places, the supervisor of elections
64 shall make in writing an accurate description of any new or
65 altered precincts, setting forth the boundary lines and shall
66 identify the location of each new or altered polling place. A
67 copy of the document describing such changes shall be posted at
68 the supervisor’s office and on the supervisor’s official
69 website.
70 Section 3. Section 101.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to
71 read:
72 101.021 Elector to vote the primary ballot of the political
73 party in which he or she is registered; exceptions.—
74 (1) In a primary election a qualified elector is entitled
75 to vote the official primary election ballot of the political
76 party designated in the elector’s registration, and no other. It
77 is unlawful for an any elector to vote in a primary for a any
78 candidate running for nomination from a party other than that in
79 which such elector is registered.
80 (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a qualified elector
81 with no party affiliation is entitled to vote the official
82 primary election ballot of any political party. It is unlawful
83 for an elector with no party affiliation to vote more than one
84 primary election ballot.
85 Section 4. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section
86 102.031, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (a) of that
87 subsection is republished, to read:
88 102.031 Maintenance of good order at polls; authorities;
89 persons allowed in polling rooms and early voting areas;
90 unlawful solicitation of voters.—
91 (4)(a) No person, political committee, or other group or
92 organization may solicit voters inside the polling place or
93 within 100 feet of the entrance to any polling place, a polling
94 room where the polling place is also a polling room, an early
95 voting site, or an office of the supervisor of elections where
96 absentee ballots are requested and printed on demand for the
97 convenience of electors who appear in person to request them.
98 Before the opening of the polling place or early voting site,
99 the clerk or supervisor shall designate the no-solicitation zone
100 and mark the boundaries.
101 (d) Except as provided in paragraph (a), the supervisor or
102 the owner of any private property being used by the supervisor,
103 during the period that the private property is being used as a
104 polling place or early voting site, may not designate a no
105 solicitation zone or otherwise restrict access to any person,
106 political committee, committee of continuous existence,
107 candidate, or other group or organization for the purposes of
108 soliciting voters. This paragraph applies to any public or
109 private property used as a polling place or early voting site,
110 including public or private property located outside of the no
111 solicitation zone.
112 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.