Florida Senate - 2020                      CS for CS for SB 1372
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Judiciary; and Ethics and Elections; and
       Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       590-03952-20                                          20201372c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to elections; amending s. 101.043,
    3         F.S.; deleting a provision that prohibits the use of
    4         an address appearing on identification presented by an
    5         elector at the polls as a basis to confirm an
    6         elector’s legal residence; amending s. 101.131, F.S.;
    7         revising requirements for eligibility to serve as a
    8         poll watcher; amending s. 101.5612, F.S.; revising the
    9         timeframes for conducting public preelection testing
   10         of automatic tabulating equipment; amending s.
   11         101.5614, F.S.; removing the requirement that
   12         duplicate ballots be made of vote-by-mail ballots
   13         containing overvoted races; amending s. 101.6103,
   14         F.S.; revising the timeframe in which the supervisor
   15         of elections must mail ballots in elections conducted
   16         under the Mail Ballot Election Act; amending s.
   17         103.091, F.S.; authorizing a qualifying office to
   18         accept and hold qualifying papers for candidates for
   19         political party executive committees before the
   20         beginning of the qualifying period; amending s.
   21         104.0616, F.S.; prohibiting a person from providing,
   22         offering to provide, or accepting a pecuniary or other
   23         benefit in exchange for distributing, ordering,
   24         requesting, collecting, delivering, or otherwise
   25         physically possessing any vote-by-mail ballot;
   26         providing exceptions; providing a penalty; amending s.
   27         901.15, F.S.; authorizing a law enforcement officer to
   28         arrest a person without a warrant when probable cause
   29         exists that the person committed a specified violation
   30         involving a vote-by-mail ballot; amending s. 106.08,
   31         F.S.; preempting counties, municipalities, and other
   32         local governmental entities from enacting or adopting
   33         any limitation or restriction involving certain
   34         contributions and expenditures, or establishing
   35         contribution limits different than those established
   36         in the Florida Election Code; providing applicability;
   37         providing an effective date.
   38          
   39  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   40  
   41         Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
   42  101.043, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   43         101.043 Identification required at polls.—
   44         (1)
   45         (b) If the picture identification does not contain the
   46  signature of the elector, an additional identification that
   47  provides the elector’s signature shall be required. The address
   48  appearing on the identification presented by the elector may not
   49  be used as the basis to confirm an elector’s legal residence or
   50  otherwise challenge an elector’s legal residence. The elector
   51  shall sign his or her name in the space provided on the precinct
   52  register or on an electronic device provided for recording the
   53  elector’s signature. The clerk or inspector shall compare the
   54  signature with that on the identification provided by the
   55  elector and enter his or her initials in the space provided on
   56  the precinct register or on an electronic device provided for
   57  that purpose and allow the elector to vote if the clerk or
   58  inspector is satisfied as to the identity of the elector.
   59         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 101.131, Florida
   60  Statutes, is amended to read:
   61         101.131 Watchers at polls.—
   62         (1) Each political party and each candidate may have one
   63  watcher in each polling room or early voting area at any one
   64  time during the election. A political committee formed for the
   65  specific purpose of expressly advocating the passage or defeat
   66  of an issue on the ballot may have one watcher for each polling
   67  room or early voting area at any one time during the election. A
   68  No watcher may not shall be permitted to come closer to the
   69  officials’ table or the voting booths than is reasonably
   70  necessary to properly perform his or her functions, but is each
   71  shall be allowed within the polling room or early voting area to
   72  watch and observe the conduct of electors and officials. The
   73  poll watchers shall furnish their own materials and necessities
   74  and may shall not obstruct the orderly conduct of any election.
   75  The poll watchers shall pose any questions regarding polling
   76  place procedures directly to the clerk for resolution. They may
   77  not interact with voters. Each poll watcher must shall be a
   78  qualified and registered elector of this state the county in
   79  which he or she serves.
   80         Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 101.5612, Florida
   81  Statutes, is amended to read:
   82         101.5612 Testing of tabulating equipment.—
   83         (2) On any day not more than 25 10 days before prior to the
   84  commencement of early voting as provided in s. 101.657, the
   85  supervisor of elections shall have the automatic tabulating
   86  equipment publicly tested to ascertain that the equipment will
   87  correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all
   88  measures. If the ballots to be used at the polling place on
   89  election day are not available at the time of the testing, the
   90  supervisor may conduct an additional test not more than 10 days
   91  before election day. Public notice of the time and place of the
   92  test shall be given at least 48 hours prior thereto by
   93  publication on the supervisor of elections’ website and once in
   94  one or more newspapers of general circulation in the county or,
   95  if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county,
   96  by posting the notice in at least four conspicuous places in the
   97  county. The supervisor or the municipal elections official may,
   98  at the time of qualifying, give written notice of the time and
   99  location of the public preelection test to each candidate
  100  qualifying with that office and obtain a signed receipt that the
  101  notice has been given. The Department of State shall give
  102  written notice to each statewide candidate at the time of
  103  qualifying, or immediately at the end of qualifying, that the
  104  voting equipment will be tested and advise each candidate to
  105  contact the county supervisor of elections as to the time and
  106  location of the public preelection test. The supervisor or the
  107  municipal elections official shall, at least 30 15 days before
  108  prior to the commencement of early voting as provided in s.
  109  101.657, send written notice by certified mail to the county
  110  party chair of each political party and to all candidates for
  111  other than statewide office whose names appear on the ballot in
  112  the county and who did not receive written notification from the
  113  supervisor or municipal elections official at the time of
  114  qualifying, stating the time and location of the public
  115  preelection test of the automatic tabulating equipment. The
  116  canvassing board shall convene, and each member of the
  117  canvassing board shall certify to the accuracy of the test. For
  118  the test, the canvassing board may designate one member to
  119  represent it. The test shall be open to representatives of the
  120  political parties, the press, and the public. Each political
  121  party may designate one person with expertise in the computer
  122  field who shall be allowed in the central counting room when all
  123  tests are being conducted and when the official votes are being
  124  counted. The designee shall not interfere with the normal
  125  operation of the canvassing board.
  126         Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
  127  101.5614, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  128         101.5614 Canvass of returns.—
  129         (4)(a) If any vote-by-mail ballot is physically damaged so
  130  that it cannot properly be counted by the automatic tabulating
  131  equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged
  132  ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the
  133  damaged ballot. Likewise, A duplicate ballot must also shall be
  134  made of a vote-by-mail ballot containing an overvoted race or a
  135  marked vote-by-mail ballot in which every race is undervoted,
  136  including which shall include all valid votes as determined by
  137  the canvassing board based on rules adopted by the division
  138  pursuant to s. 102.166(4). Upon request, a physically present
  139  candidate, a political party official, a political committee
  140  official, or an authorized designee thereof, must be allowed to
  141  observe the duplication of ballots. All duplicate ballots shall
  142  be clearly labeled “duplicate,” bear a serial number which shall
  143  be recorded on the defective ballot, and be counted in lieu of
  144  the defective ballot. After a ballot has been duplicated, the
  145  defective ballot shall be placed in an envelope provided for
  146  that purpose, and the duplicate ballot shall be tallied with the
  147  other ballots for that precinct.
  148         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 101.6103, Florida
  149  Statutes, is amended to read:
  150         101.6103 Mail ballot election procedure.—
  151         (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7), the
  152  supervisor of elections shall mail all official ballots with a
  153  secrecy envelope, a return mailing envelope, and instructions
  154  sufficient to describe the voting process to each elector
  155  entitled to vote in the election not sooner than the 40th 20th
  156  day before the election and not later than the 10th day before
  157  the date of the election. All such ballots shall be mailed by
  158  first-class mail. Ballots shall be addressed to each elector at
  159  the address appearing in the registration records and placed in
  160  an envelope which is prominently marked “Do Not Forward.”
  161         Section 6. Subsection (4) of section 103.091, Florida
  162  Statutes, is amended to read:
  163         103.091 Political parties.—
  164         (4) Any political party other than a minor political party
  165  may by rule provide for the membership of its state or county
  166  executive committee to be elected for 4-year terms at the
  167  primary election in each year a presidential election is held.
  168  The terms begin shall commence on the first day of the month
  169  following each presidential general election,; but the names of
  170  candidates for political party offices may shall not be placed
  171  on the ballot at any other election. The results of such
  172  election shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast.
  173  In such event, electors seeking to qualify for such office shall
  174  do so with the Department of State or supervisor of elections no
  175  not earlier than noon of the 71st day, or later than noon of the
  176  67th day, preceding the primary election. Notwithstanding the
  177  qualifying period prescribed in this subsection, a qualifying
  178  office may accept and hold qualifying papers submitted no
  179  earlier than 14 days before the beginning of the qualifying
  180  period, to be processed and filed during the qualifying period.
  181  The outgoing chair of each county executive committee shall,
  182  within 30 days after the committee members take office, hold an
  183  organizational meeting of all newly elected members for the
  184  purpose of electing officers. The chair of each state executive
  185  committee shall, within 60 days after the committee members take
  186  office, hold an organizational meeting of all newly elected
  187  members for the purpose of electing officers.
  188         Section 7. Section 104.0616, Florida Statutes, is amended
  189  to read:
  190         104.0616 Vote-by-mail ballots and voting; violations.—
  191         (1) For purposes of this section, the term “immediate
  192  family” means a person’s spouse or the parent, child,
  193  grandparent, or sibling of the person or the person’s spouse.
  194         (2) Any person who provides or offers to provide, and any
  195  person who accepts, a pecuniary or other benefit in exchange for
  196  distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, delivering, or
  197  otherwise physically possessing any more than two vote-by-mail
  198  ballots, except per election in addition to his or her own
  199  ballot, or a ballot belonging to an immediate family member, or
  200  except as provided in ss. 101.6105-101.694, commits a
  201  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
  202  775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
  203         Section 8. Subsection (17) is added to section 901.15,
  204  Florida Statutes, to read:
  205         901.15 When arrest by officer without warrant is lawful.—A
  206  law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a warrant
  207  when:
  208         (17) There is probable cause to believe that a person has
  209  committed a violation involving a vote-by-mail ballot as
  210  provided in s. 104.0616.
  211         Section 9. Subsection (11) is added to section 106.08,
  212  Florida Statutes, to read:
  213         106.08 Contributions; limitations on; preemption.—
  214         (11)(a) A county, a municipality, or any other local
  215  governmental entity is expressly preempted from enacting or
  216  adopting:
  217         1. Contribution limits that differ from the limitations
  218  established in subsection (1);
  219         2. Any limitation or restriction involving contributions to
  220  a political committee or an electioneering communications
  221  organization; or
  222         3. Any limitation or restriction on expenditures for an
  223  electioneering communication or an independent expenditure.
  224         (b) Any existing or future limitation or restriction
  225  enacted or adopted by a county, a municipality, or any other
  226  local governmental entity which is in conflict with this
  227  subsection is void.
  228         Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.