Florida Senate - 2019 SB 552 By Senator Rader 29-00867-19 2019552__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to presidential electors; amending ss. 3 103.011, 103.021, 103.022, and 103.061, F.S.; revising 4 the manner of allocating the state’s electoral votes 5 in presidential elections to be based on votes cast in 6 each congressional district; providing a limitation 7 regarding the filling of vacancies of presidential 8 electors; conforming provisions to changes made by the 9 act; providing an effective date. 10 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12 13 Section 1. Section 103.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to 14 read: 15 103.011 Electors of President and Vice President.— 16 (1) Electors of President and Vice President, known as 17 presidential electors, shall be elected on the first Tuesday 18 after the first Monday in November of each year the number of 19 which is a multiple of 4. Votes cast for the actual candidates 20 for President and Vice President shall be counted as votes cast 21 for the presidential electors supporting such candidates. The 22 Department of State shall certify as elected the presidential 23 electors of the candidates for President and Vice President as 24 follows: 25 (a) Two at-large electors for the candidates for President 26 and Vice President who receive the highest number of votes 27 statewide. 28 (b) The elector for each congressional district for the 29 candidates for President and Vice President who receive the 30 highest number of votes in that congressional district. 31 Section 2. Subsections (1), (3), and (4) of section 32 103.021, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 33 103.021 Nomination for presidential electors.—Candidates 34 for presidential electors shall be nominated in the following 35 manner: 36 (1) The Governor shall nominate the presidential electors 37 of each political party. The state executive committee of each 38 political party shall by resolution recommend candidates for 39 presidential electors for each congressional district and for 40 the two at-large positions, and deliver a certified copy thereof 41 to the Governor before September 1 of each presidential election 42 year. The Governor shall nominate only the electors recommended 43 by the state executive committee of the respective political 44 party. Each such elector shall be a qualified elector of the 45 party he or she represents, and shall be a resident of the 46 congressional district that he or she is designated as an 47 elector for, if applicable, who has taken an oath that he or she 48 will vote for the candidates of the party that he or she is 49 nominated to represent. The Governor shall certify to the 50 Department of State on or before September 1, in each 51 presidential election year, the names of a number of electors 52 for each political party equal to the number of senators and 53 representatives which this state has in Congress. 54 (3) Candidates for President and Vice President with no 55 party affiliation may have their names printed on the general 56 election ballots if a petition is signed by 1 percent of the 57 registered electors of this state, as shown by the compilation 58 by the Department of State for the last preceding general 59 election. A separate petition from each county for which 60 signatures are solicited mustshallbe submitted to the 61 supervisor of elections of the respective county no later than 62 July 15 of each presidential election year. The supervisor shall 63 check the names and, on or before the date of the primary 64 election, shall certify the number shown as registered electors 65 of the county. The supervisor shall be paid by the person 66 requesting the certification the cost of checking the petitions 67 as prescribed in s. 99.097. The supervisor shall then forward 68 the certificate to the Department of State which shall determine 69 whether or not the percentage factor required in this section 70 has been met. When the percentage factor required in this 71 section has been met, the Department of State shall order the 72 names of the candidates for whom the petition was circulated to 73 be included on the ballot and shall permit the required number 74 of persons to be certified as congressional district and at 75 large electors in the same manner as party candidates. 76 (4)(a) A minor political party that is affiliated with a 77 national party holding a national convention to nominate 78 candidates for President and Vice President of the United States 79 may have the names of its candidates for President and Vice 80 President of the United States printed on the general election 81 ballot by filing with the Department of State a certificate 82 naming the candidates for President and Vice President and 83 listing the required number of persons to serve as electors. 84 Notification to the Department of State under this subsection 85 shall be made by September 1 of the year in which the election 86 is held. When the Department of State has been so notified, it 87 shall order the names of the candidates nominated by the minor 88 political party to be included on the ballot and shall permit 89 the required number of persons to be certified as congressional 90 district and at-large electors in the same manner as other party 91 candidates. As used in this section, the term “national party” 92 means a political party that is registered with and recognized 93 as a qualified national committee of a political party by the 94 Federal Election Commission. 95 (b) A minor political party that is not affiliated with a 96 national party holding a national convention to nominate 97 candidates for President and Vice President of the United States 98 may have the names of its candidates for President and Vice 99 President printed on the general election ballot if a petition 100 is signed by 1 percent of the registered electors of this state, 101 as shown by the compilation by the Department of State for the 102 preceding general election. A separate petition from each county 103 for which signatures are solicited mustshallbe submitted to 104 the supervisors of elections of the respective county no later 105 than July 15 of each presidential election year. The supervisor 106 shall check the names and, on or before the date of the primary 107 election, shall certify the number shown as registered electors 108 of the county. The supervisor shall be paid by the person 109 requesting the certification the cost of checking the petitions 110 as prescribed in s. 99.097. The supervisor shall then forward 111 the certificate to the Department of State, which shall 112 determine whether or not the percentage factor required in this 113 section has been met. When the percentage factor required in 114 this section has been met, the Department of State shall order 115 the names of the candidates for whom the petition was circulated 116 to be included on the ballot and shall permit the required 117 number of persons to be certified as congressional district and 118 at-large electors in the same manner as other party candidates. 119 Section 3. Section 103.022, Florida Statutes, is amended to 120 read: 121 103.022 Write-in candidates for President and Vice 122 President.—Persons seeking to qualify for election as write-in 123 candidates for President and Vice President of the United States 124 may have a blank space provided on the general election ballot 125 for their names to be written in by filing an oath with the 126 Department of State at any time after the 57th day, but before 127 noon of the 49th day, prior to the date of the primary election 128 in the year in which a presidential election is held. The 129 Department of State shall prescribe the form to be used in 130 administering the oath. The candidates shall file with the 131 department a certificate naming the required number of persons 132 to serve as congressional district and at-large electors. Such 133 write-in candidates shall not be entitled to have their names on 134 the ballot. 135 Section 4. Section 103.061, Florida Statutes, is amended to 136 read: 137 103.061 Meeting of electors and filling of vacancies.—Each 138 presidential elector shall, on the day fixed by Congress to 139 elect a President and Vice President and at the time fixed by 140 the Governor, give notice to the Governor that the elector is in 141 Tallahassee and ready to perform the duties of presidential 142 elector. The Governor shall forthwith deliver to the 143 presidential electors present a certificate of the names of all 144 the electors; and if, on examination thereof, it should be found 145 that one or more electors are absent, the electors present shall 146 elect by ballot, in the presence of the Governor, a person or 147 persons to fill such vacancy or vacancies as may have occurred 148 through the nonattendance of one or more of the electors. Any 149 electors present may only fill a vacancy with a person who takes 150 an oath to cast a vote for President and Vice President 151 consistent with the oath taken by the absent elector being 152 succeeded. 153 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.