Florida Senate - 2025                                     SB 974
       
       
        
       By Senator Bernard
       
       
       
       
       
       24-01615-25                                            2025974__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to access to testing of tabulating
    3         equipment; amending s. 101.5612, F.S.; requiring that
    4         designated experts be allowed to observe certain tests
    5         being conducted and votes being counted; providing an
    6         effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 101.5612, Florida
   11  Statutes, is amended to read:
   12         101.5612 Testing of tabulating equipment.—
   13         (2) On any day not more than 25 days before the
   14  commencement of early voting as provided in s. 101.657, the
   15  supervisor of elections shall have the automatic tabulating
   16  equipment publicly tested to ascertain that the equipment will
   17  correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all
   18  measures. If the ballots to be used at the polling place on
   19  election day are not available at the time of the testing, the
   20  supervisor may conduct an additional test not more than 10 days
   21  before election day. Public notice of the time and place of the
   22  test must shall be given at least 48 hours prior thereto by
   23  publication on the county website as provided in s. 50.0311, on
   24  the supervisor of elections’ website, or once in one or more
   25  newspapers of general circulation in the county. If the
   26  applicable website becomes unavailable or if there is no
   27  newspaper of general circulation in the county, the notice must
   28  be posted in at least four conspicuous places in the county. The
   29  supervisor or the municipal elections official may, at the time
   30  of qualifying, give written notice of the time and location of
   31  the public preelection test to each candidate qualifying with
   32  that office and obtain a signed receipt that the notice has been
   33  given. The Department of State shall give written notice to each
   34  statewide candidate at the time of qualifying, or immediately at
   35  the end of qualifying, that the voting equipment will be tested
   36  and advise each candidate to contact the county supervisor of
   37  elections as to the time and location of the public preelection
   38  test. The supervisor or the municipal elections official shall,
   39  at least 30 days before the commencement of early voting as
   40  provided in s. 101.657, send written notice by certified mail to
   41  the county party chair of each political party and to all
   42  candidates for other than statewide office whose names appear on
   43  the ballot in the county and who did not receive written
   44  notification from the supervisor or municipal elections official
   45  at the time of qualifying, stating the time and location of the
   46  public preelection test of the automatic tabulating equipment.
   47  The canvassing board shall convene, and each member of the
   48  canvassing board shall certify to the accuracy of the test. For
   49  the test, the canvassing board may designate one member to
   50  represent it. The test is shall be open to representatives of
   51  the political parties, the press, and the public. Each political
   52  party may designate one person with expertise in the computer
   53  field who is shall be allowed in the central counting room when
   54  all tests are being conducted and when the official votes are
   55  being counted. The designated expert must be allowed to observe
   56  the tests being conducted and the votes being counted. The
   57  designee may not interfere with the normal operation of the
   58  canvassing board.
   59         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.