Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 780
       
       
        
       By Senator Yarborough
       
       
       
       
       
       4-00395-24                                             2024780__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to early voting sites; amending s.
    3         101.657, F.S.; authorizing supervisors of elections to
    4         designate additional early voting sites in certain
    5         areas; providing an effective date.
    6          
    7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    8  
    9         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   10  101.657, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   11         101.657 Early voting.—
   12         (1)(a) As a convenience to the voter, the supervisor of
   13  elections shall allow an elector to vote early in the main or
   14  branch office of the supervisor. The supervisor shall mark,
   15  code, indicate on, or otherwise track the voter’s precinct for
   16  each early voted ballot. In order for a branch office to be used
   17  for early voting, it shall be a permanent facility of the
   18  supervisor and shall have been designated and used as such for
   19  at least 1 year prior to the election. The supervisor may also
   20  designate any city hall, permanent public library facility,
   21  fairground, civic center, courthouse, county commission
   22  building, stadium, convention center, government-owned senior
   23  center, or government-owned community center as an early voting
   24  site; however, if so designated, the sites must be
   25  geographically located so as to provide all voters in the county
   26  an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is
   27  practicable, and must provide sufficient nonpermitted parking to
   28  accommodate the anticipated amount of voters. In addition, a
   29  supervisor may also designate one early voting sites in areas
   30  site per election in an area of the county that are not within 5
   31  miles of does not have any of the eligible early voting
   32  locations. Such additional early voting site must be
   33  geographically located so as to provide all voters in that area
   34  with an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is
   35  practicable, and must provide sufficient nonpermitted parking to
   36  accommodate the anticipated amount of voters. Each county shall,
   37  at a minimum, operate the same total number of early voting
   38  sites for a general election which the county operated for the
   39  2012 general election. The results or tabulation of votes cast
   40  during early voting may not be made before the close of the
   41  polls on election day. Results shall be reported by precinct.
   42         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.