Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 1256
By the Committee on Fiscal Policy; and Senator Martin
594-03804-24 20241256c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to voter registration applications;
3 amending s. 97.053, F.S.; providing an exception to a
4 requirement that certain voter registration applicants
5 must be registered without party affiliation; amending
6 s. 97.057, F.S.; requiring the Department of Highway
7 Safety and Motor Vehicles to notify certain
8 individuals of certain information; prohibiting the
9 department from changing the party affiliation of an
10 applicant except in certain circumstances; requiring
11 the department to provide an applicant with a certain
12 receipt; revising the methods by which an applicant
13 may decline to register to vote or update certain
14 voter registration information; prohibiting a person
15 providing voter registration services for a driver
16 license office from taking certain actions; requiring
17 the department to ensure that information technology
18 processes and updates do not alter certain information
19 without written consent; requiring the department to
20 be in full compliance with the act within a certain
21 period; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section
26 97.053, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27 97.053 Acceptance of voter registration applications.—
28 (5)
29 (b) An applicant who fails to designate party affiliation
30 must be registered without party affiliation, except that the
31 party affiliation of an applicant who is updating a voter
32 registration record may not be changed unless the applicant
33 designates and consents in writing to a change in party
34 affiliation. The supervisor must notify the voter by mail that
35 the voter has been registered without party affiliation and that
36 the voter may change party affiliation as provided in s.
37 97.1031.
38 Section 2. Subsections (2) and (6) of section 97.057,
39 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (14) is added to
40 that section, to read:
41 97.057 Voter registration by the Department of Highway
42 Safety and Motor Vehicles.—
43 (2) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
44 shall:
45 (a) Notify each individual, orally or in writing, that:
46 1. Information gathered for the completion of a driver
47 license or identification card application, renewal, or change
48 of address can be automatically transferred to a voter
49 registration application;
50 2. If additional information and a signature are provided,
51 the voter registration application will be completed and sent to
52 the proper election authority;
53 3. Information provided can also be used to update a voter
54 registration record, except that party affiliation will not be
55 changed unless the individual designates a change in party
56 affiliation and separately consents to such change in writing;
57 4. All declinations will remain confidential and may be
58 used only for voter registration purposes; and
59 5. The particular driver license office in which the person
60 applies to register to vote or updates a voter registration
61 record will remain confidential and may be used only for voter
62 registration purposes.
63 (b) Require a driver license examiner to inquire orally or,
64 if the applicant is hearing impaired, inquire in writing whether
65 the applicant wishes to register to vote or update a voter
66 registration record during the completion of a driver license or
67 identification card application, renewal, or change of address.
68 1. If the applicant chooses to register to vote or to
69 update a voter registration record:
70 a. All applicable information received by the Department of
71 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the course of filling out
72 the forms necessary under subsection (1) must be transferred to
73 a voter registration application.
74 b. The additional necessary information must be obtained by
75 the driver license examiner and must not duplicate any
76 information already obtained while completing the forms required
77 under subsection (1).
78 c. A voter registration application with all of the
79 applicant’s voter registration information required to establish
80 the applicant’s eligibility pursuant to s. 97.041 must be
81 presented to the applicant to review and verify the voter
82 registration information received and provide an electronic
83 signature affirming the accuracy of the information provided.
84 d. The voter registration application may not be used to
85 change the party affiliation of the applicant unless the
86 applicant designates a change in party affiliation and provides
87 a separate signature consenting to the party affiliation change.
88 e. After verifying the voter registration information and
89 providing his or her electronic signature, the applicant must be
90 provided with a printed receipt that includes such information
91 and documents any change in party affiliation.
92 2. If the applicant declines to register to vote, update
93 the applicant’s voter registration record, or change the
94 applicant’s address by either orally declining or by failing to
95 sign the voter registration application, the Department of
96 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles must note such declination on
97 its records and shall forward the declination to the statewide
98 voter registration system.
99 (6) A person providing voter registration services for a
100 driver license office may not:
101 (a) Make any change to an applicant’s party affiliation
102 unless the applicant provides a separate signature consenting to
103 the party affiliation change or discuss or seek to influence an
104 applicant’s political preference or party registration;
105 (b) Display any political preference or party allegiance;
106 (c) Make any statement to an applicant or take any action
107 the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant
108 from registering to vote; or
109 (d) Disclose any applicant’s voter registration information
110 except as needed for the administration of voter registration.
111 (14) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
112 shall ensure that information technology processes and updates
113 do not alter an applicant’s party affiliation without the
114 written consent of the applicant.
115 Section 3. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor
116 Vehicles must be in full compliance with this act within 3
117 months after this act becomes a law.
118 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.