The Florida Senate

98.065  Registration list maintenance programs.--

(1)  The supervisor must conduct a general registration list maintenance program to protect the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring the maintenance of accurate and current voter registration records in the statewide voter registration system. The program must be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. As used in this subsection, the term "nondiscriminatory" applies to and includes persons with disabilities.

(2)  A supervisor must incorporate one or more of the following procedures in the supervisor's biennial registration list maintenance program under which:

(a)  Change-of-address information supplied by the United States Postal Service through its licensees is used to identify registered voters whose addresses might have changed;

(b)  Change-of-address information is identified from returned nonforwardable return-if-undeliverable mail sent to all registered voters in the county; or

(c)  Change-of-address information is identified from returned nonforwardable return-if-undeliverable address confirmation requests mailed to all registered voters who have not voted in the last 2 years and who did not make a written request that their registration records be updated during that time.

(3)  A registration list maintenance program must be conducted by each supervisor, at a minimum, in each odd-numbered year and must be completed not later than 90 days prior to the date of any federal election. All list maintenance actions associated with each voter must be entered, tracked, and maintained in the statewide voter registration system.

(4)(a)  If the supervisor receives change-of-address information pursuant to the activities conducted in subsection (2), from jury notices signed by the voter and returned to the courts, from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or from other sources, which information indicates that the legal address of a registered voter might have changed, the supervisor shall send by forwardable return-if-undeliverable mail an address confirmation notice to the address at which the voter was last registered. A supervisor may also send an address confirmation notice to any voter who the supervisor has reason to believe has moved from his or her legal residence.

(b)  The address confirmation notice shall contain a postage prepaid, preaddressed return form on which:

1.  If the voter has changed his or her address of legal residence to a location outside the state, the voter shall mark that the voter's legal residence has changed to a location outside the state. The form shall also include information on how to register in the new state in order to be eligible to vote. The form must be returned within 30 days after the date of the notice. The completed form shall constitute a request to be removed from the statewide voter registration system.

2.  If the voter has changed his or her address of legal residence to a location inside the state, the voter shall set forth the updated or corrected address and submit the return form within 30 days after the date of the notice. The completed form shall constitute a request to update the statewide voter registration system with the updated or corrected address information.

3.  If the voter has not changed his or her address of legal residence as printed on the address confirmation notice, the voter shall confirm that his or her address of legal residence has not changed and submit the form within 30 days after the date of the notice.

(c)  The supervisor must designate as inactive all voters who have been sent an address confirmation notice and who have not returned the postage prepaid, preaddressed return form within 30 days or for which an address confirmation notice has been returned as undeliverable. Names on the inactive list may not be used to calculate the number of signatures needed on any petition. A voter on the inactive list may be restored to the active list of voters upon the voter updating his or her registration, requesting an absentee ballot, or appearing to vote. However, if the voter does not update his or her voter registration information, request an absentee ballot, or vote by the second general election after being placed on the inactive list, the voter's name shall be removed from the statewide voter registration system and the voter shall be required to reregister to have his or her name restored to the statewide voter registration system.

(5)  A notice may not be issued pursuant to this section and a voter's name may not be removed from the statewide voter registration system later than 90 days prior to the date of a federal election. However, this section does not preclude the removal of the name of a voter from the statewide voter registration system at any time upon the voter's written request, by reason of the voter's death, or upon a determination of the voter's ineligibility as provided in s. 98.075(7).

(6)(a)  No later than July 31 and January 31 of each year, the supervisor must certify to the department the list maintenance activities conducted during the first 6 months and the second 6 months of the year, respectively, including the number of address confirmation requests sent, the number of voters designated as inactive, and the number of voters removed from the statewide voter registration system.

(b)  If, based on the certification provided pursuant to paragraph (a), the department determines that a supervisor has not conducted the list maintenance activities required by this section, the department shall conduct the appropriate list maintenance activities for that county. Failure to conduct list maintenance activities as required in this section constitutes a violation of s. 104.051

History.--s. 28, ch. 94-224; s. 6, ch. 2002-281; s. 19, ch. 2005-278.