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The Florida Senate

2004 Florida Statutes

Section 102.166, Florida Statutes 2004

102.166  Manual recounts.--

(1)  If the second set of unofficial returns pursuant to s. 102.141 indicates that a candidate for any office was defeated or eliminated by one-quarter of a percent or less of the votes cast for such office, that a candidate for retention to a judicial office was retained or not retained by one-quarter of a percent or less of the votes cast on the question of retention, or that a measure appearing on the ballot was approved or rejected by one-quarter of a percent or less of the votes cast on such measure, the board responsible for certifying the results of the vote on such race or measure shall order a manual recount of the overvotes and undervotes cast in the entire geographic jurisdiction of such office or ballot measure.

(2)(a)  If the second set of unofficial returns pursuant to s. 102.141 indicates that a candidate for any office was defeated or eliminated by between one-quarter and one-half of a percent of the votes cast for such office, that a candidate for retention to judicial office was retained or not retained by between one-quarter and one-half of a percent of the votes cast on the question of retention, or that a measure appearing on the ballot was approved or rejected by between one-quarter and one-half of a percent of the votes cast on such measure, any such candidate, the political party of such candidate, or any political committee that supports or opposes such ballot measure is entitled to a manual recount of the overvotes and undervotes cast in the entire geographic jurisdiction of such office or ballot measure, provided that a request for a manual recount is made by 5 p.m. on the third day after the election.

(b)  For federal, statewide, state, and multicounty races and ballot issues, requests for a manual recount shall be made in writing to the state Elections Canvassing Commission. For all other races and ballot issues, requests for a manual recount shall be made in writing to the county canvassing board.

(c)  Upon receipt of a proper and timely request, the Elections Canvassing Commission or county canvassing board shall immediately order a manual recount of overvotes and undervotes in all affected jurisdictions.

(3)(a)  Any hardware or software used to identify and sort overvotes and undervotes for a given race or ballot measure must be certified by the Department of State as part of the voting system pursuant to s. 101.015 Any such hardware or software must be capable of simultaneously counting votes. For certified voting systems, the department shall certify such hardware or software by July 1, 2002. If the department is unable to certify such hardware or software for a certified voting system by July 1, 2002, the department shall adopt rules prescribing procedures for identifying and sorting such overvotes and undervotes. The department's rules may provide for the temporary use of hardware or software whose sole function is identifying and sorting overvotes and undervotes.

(b)  This subsection does not preclude the department from certifying hardware or software after July 1, 2002.

(c)  Overvotes and undervotes shall be identified and sorted while recounting ballots pursuant to s. 102.141, if the hardware or software for this purpose has been certified or the department's rules so provide.

(4)  Any manual recount shall be open to the public.

(5)(a)  A vote for a candidate or ballot measure shall be counted if there is a clear indication on the ballot that the voter has made a definite choice.

(b)  The Department of State shall adopt specific rules for each certified voting system prescribing what constitutes a "clear indication on the ballot that the voter has made a definite choice." The rules may not:

1.  Exclusively provide that the voter must properly mark or designate his or her choice on the ballot; or

2.  Contain a catch-all provision that fails to identify specific standards, such as "any other mark or indication clearly indicating that the voter has made a definite choice."

(6)  Procedures for a manual recount are as follows:

(a)  The county canvassing board shall appoint as many counting teams of at least two electors as is necessary to manually recount the ballots. A counting team must have, when possible, members of at least two political parties. A candidate involved in the race shall not be a member of the counting team.

(b)  Each duplicate ballot prepared pursuant to s. 101.5614(5) or s. 102.141(6) shall be compared with the original ballot to ensure the correctness of the duplicate.

(c)  If a counting team is unable to determine whether the ballot contains a clear indication that the voter has made a definite choice, the ballot shall be presented to the county canvassing board for a determination.

(d)  The Department of State shall adopt detailed rules prescribing additional recount procedures for each certified voting system which shall be uniform to the extent practicable. The rules shall address, at a minimum, the following areas:

1.  Security of ballots during the recount process;

2.  Time and place of recounts;

3.  Public observance of recounts;

4.  Objections to ballot determinations;

5.  Record of recount proceedings; and

6.  Procedures relating to candidate and petitioner representatives.

History.--s. 9, ch. 18405, 1937; CGL 1940; Supp. 337(23-b); s. 7, ch. 22858, 1945; s. 5, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 30, ch. 28156, 1953; s. 24, ch. 57-1; s. 29, ch. 65-380; s. 27, ch. 77-175; s. 48; ch. 79-400; s. 15, ch. 89-348; s. 601, ch. 95-147; s. 1, ch. 99-339; s. 42, ch. 2001-40; s. 21, ch. 2002-17.

Note.--Former s. 100.25; s. 101.57.