Florida HB 537 - Draft Sections 11-20
Note: Additions are notated in
this manner; deletions are notated in this manner.
Section 11. Effective July 1, 2007:
(1) The Department of State is authorized to purchase:
(a) Election-day optical scan voting equipment, for the following counties: Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Sumter.
(b) Ballot-on-demand equipment for use at early voting sites, including optical scan tabulators, for the following counties: Bay, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Escambia, Hillsborough, Indian River, Jackson, Lake, Lee, Levy, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, St. Johns, Sumter, Taylor, and Washington.
(2) The sum of $27,861,850 is appropriated from the Grants and Donations Trust Fund to the Division of Elections within the Department of State for the purpose of implementing this section.
Section 12. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
97.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
97.041 Qualifications to register or vote.--
(1)
(b) A person who is otherwise qualified may preregister on or after that person's 17th birthday or receipt of a valid Florida driver's license, whichever occurs earlier, and may vote in any election occurring on or after that person's 18th birthday.
Section 13. Subsections (6) and (7) of section 97.053,
Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
97.053 Acceptance of voter registration applications.--
(6) A voter registration application may be accepted as
valid only after the department has verified the
authenticity or nonexistence of the driver's license number, the Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the
social security number provided by the applicant. If a
completed voter registration application has been received by the
book472 closing deadline but the driver's license number, the Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the
social security number provided by the applicant cannot be verified, the applicant shall be notified that the
application is incomplete and that the voter must provide evidence to
the supervisor sufficient to verify the authenticity of the
number provided on the application. If the voter provides the
necessary evidence, the supervisor shall place the voter's name on the registration rolls as an active voter. If the voter has not
provided the necessary evidence or the number has not
otherwise been verified prior to the applicant presenting himself or herself to vote, the applicant shall be provided a
provisional ballot. The provisional ballot shall be counted only if the application is verified by the end of the canvassing period
or if the applicant presents evidence to the supervisor of elections sufficient to verify the authenticity of the
driver's license number, Florida identification card number, or last
four digits of the social security number provided on the
application no later than 5 p.m. of the second
third day following the election.
(7) All voter registration applications received by a
voter registration official shall be entered into the
statewide voter registration system within 13
15 days after receipt.
Once entered, the application shall be immediately forwarded to
the appropriate supervisor of elections.
Section 14. Section 99.012, Florida Statutes, is amended
to read:
99.012 Restrictions on individuals qualifying for public office.--
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Officer" means a person, whether elected or appointed, who has the authority to exercise the sovereign power of the state pertaining to an office recognized under the State Constitution or laws of the state. With respect to a municipality, the term "officer" means a person, whether elected or appointed, who has the authority to exercise municipal power as provided by the State Constitution, state laws, or municipal charter.
(b) "Subordinate officer" means a person who has been delegated the authority to exercise the sovereign power of the state by an officer. With respect to a municipality, subordinate officer means a person who has been delegated the authority to exercise municipal power by an officer.
(2) No person may qualify as a candidate for more than one
public office, whether federal, state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently
with each other.
(3)
(a) No officer may qualify as a candidate for another public office, whether state, district, county, or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other, without resigning from the office he or she presently holds.
(b) The resignation is irrevocable.
(c) The written resignation must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the first day of qualifying for the office he or she intends to seek.
(d) The resignation must be effective no later than the earlier of the following dates:
-
The date the officer would take office, if elected; or
-
The date the officer's successor is required to take office.
(e)
-
An elected district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer before whom he or she qualified for the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State.
-
An appointed district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer or authority which appointed him or her to the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State.
-
All other officers must submit their resignations to the Governor with a copy to the Department of State.
(f)
-
With regard to an elective office, the resignation creates a vacancy in office to be filled by election. Persons may qualify as candidates for nomination and election as if the public officer's term were otherwise scheduled to expire.
-
With regard to an elective charter county office or elective municipal office, the vacancy created by the officer's resignation may be filled for that portion of the officer's unexpired term in a manner provided by the respective charter. The office is deemed vacant upon the effective date of the resignation submitted by the official in his or her letter of resignation.
(g) Any officer who submits his or her resignation, effective immediately or effective on a date prior to the date of his or her qualifying for office, may then qualify for office as a nonofficeholder, and the provisions of this subsection do not apply.
(4)
(a) Any officer who qualifies for federal public office
must resign from the office he or she presently holds if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other.
(b) The resignation is irrevocable.
(c) The resignation must be submitted no later than the
date upon which the officer qualifies for office.
(d) The written resignation must be effective no later
than the earlier of the following dates:
-
The date the officer would take office, if elected; or -
The date the officer's successor is required to take office.
(e)
-
An elected district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer before whom he or she qualified for the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State. -
An appointed district, county, or municipal officer must submit his or her resignation to the officer or authority which appointed him or her to the office he or she holds, with a copy to the Governor and the Department of State. -
All other officers must submit their resignations to the Governor with a copy to the Department of State.
(f)
-
The failure of an officer who qualifies for federal public office to submit a resignation pursuant to this subsection constitutes an automatic irrevocable resignation, effective immediately, from the office he or she presently holds. -
The Department of State shall send a notice of the automatic resignation to the Governor, and in the case of a district, county, or municipal officer, a copy to:
-
The officer before whom he or she qualified if the officer held an elective office; or -
The person or authority who appointed the officer if the officer held an appointive office.
(g) The provisions of any special act to the contrary
notwithstanding, with regard to an elective office, the resignation creates a vacancy in office to be filled by
election, thereby permitting persons to qualify as
candidates for nomination and election as if the officer's term were otherwise scheduled to expire. With regard to an elective
charter county office or elective municipal office, the
vacancy created by the officer's resignation may be filled for that portion of the officer's unexpired term in a manner provided
by the respective charter. The office is deemed vacant upon the effective date of the resignation submitted by the official
in his or her letter of resignation.
(4)(5) A person who is a subordinate officer, deputy
sheriff, or police officer must resign effective upon
qualifying pursuant to this chapter if the person is seeking to qualify
for a public office that is currently held by an officer who has authority to appoint, employ, promote, or otherwise
supervise that person and who has qualified as a candidate for
reelection to that office.
(5)(6) The name of any person who does not comply with
this section may be removed from every ballot on which it appears when ordered by a circuit court upon the petition of
an elector or the Department of State.
(6)(7) This section does not apply to:
-
Political party offices.
-
Persons serving without salary as members of an appointive board or authority.
-
Persons seeking any federal public office.
(7)(8) Nothing contained in subsections (3) and (4) relates to persons holding any federal office.
Section 15. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
99.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
99.021 Form of candidate oath.--
(1)(a)1. Each candidate, whether a party candidate, a candidate with no party affiliation, or a write-in candidate, in order to qualify for nomination or election to any office other than a judicial office as defined in chapter 105 or a federal office, shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in writing. A printed copy of the oath or affirmation shall be furnished to the candidate by the officer before whom such candidate seeks to qualify and shall be substantially in the following form:
State of Florida
County of
Before me, an officer authorized to administer oaths, personally appeared please print name as you wish it to appear on the ballot) , to me well known, who, being sworn, says that he or she is a candidate for the office of ; that he or she is a qualified elector of County, Florida; that he or she is qualified under the Constitution and the laws of Florida to hold the office to which he or she desires to be nominated or elected; that he or she has taken the oath required by ss. 876.05-876.10, Florida Statutes; that he or she has qualified for no other public office in the state, the term of which office or any part thereof runs concurrent with that of the office he or she seeks; and that he or she has resigned from any office from which he or she is required to resign pursuant to s. 99.012, Florida Statutes.
(Signature of candidate)
(Address)
Sworn to and subscribed before me this day of , (year)
, at
County, Florida.
(Signature and title of officer administering oath)
2. Each candidate for federal office, whether a party candidate, a candidate with no party affiliation, or a write-in candidate, in order to qualify for nomination or election to office shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in writing. A printed copy of the oath or affirmation shall be furnished to the candidate by the officer before whom such candidate seeks to qualify and shall be substantially in the following form:
State of Florida
County of __________
Before me, an officer authorized to administer oaths, personally appeared (please print name as you wish it to appear on the ballot), to me well known, who, being sworn, says that he or she is a candidate for the office of __________; that he or she is qualified under the Constitution and laws of the United States to hold the office to which he or she desires to be nominated or elected; that he or she has qualified for no other public office in the state, the term of which office or any part thereof runs concurrent with that of the office he or she seeks; and that he or she has resigned from any office from which he or she is required to resign pursuant to s. 99.012, Florida Statutes.
(Signature of candidate)
(Address)
Sworn to and subscribed before me this _____ day of ______(year), at _____ County, Florida.
(Signature and title of officer administering oath)
Section 16. Section 99.061, Florida Statutes, is amended
to read:
99.061 Method of qualifying for nomination or election to federal, state, county, or district office.--
(1) The provisions of any special act to the contrary notwithstanding, each person seeking to qualify for
nomination or election to a federal, state, or multicounty district
office, other than election to a judicial office as defined in
chapter 105 or the office of school board member, shall file his or
her qualification papers with, and pay the qualifying fee, which shall consist of the filing fee and election assessment, and
party assessment, if any has been levied, to, the Department
of State, or qualify by the petition process pursuant to s.
99.095 with the Department of State, at any time after noon of the
1st day for qualifying, which shall be as follows: the 120th day prior to the primary election, but not later than noon of
the 116th day prior to the date of the primary election, for
persons seeking to qualify for nomination or election to federal
office or to the office of the state attorney or the public
defender; and noon of the 71st 50th day prior to the primary election,
but not later than noon of the 67th 46th day prior to the date
of the primary election, for persons seeking to qualify for nomination or election to a state or multicounty district
office, other than the office of the state attorney or the public defender.
(2) The provisions of any special act to the contrary
notwithstanding, each person seeking to qualify for
nomination or election to a county office, or district or special
district office not covered by subsection (1), shall file his or her qualification papers with, and pay the qualifying fee, which
shall consist of the filing fee and election assessment, and party assessment, if any has been levied, to, the supervisor
of elections of the county, or shall qualify by the petition process pursuant to s. 99.095 with the supervisor of
elections, at any time after noon of the 1st day for qualifying, which shall be the
71st 50th day prior to the primary election or
special district election, but not later than noon of the
67th 46th day prior to the date of the primary election or
special district election. However, if a special district election
is held at the same time as the general election, qualifying
shall be the 50th day prior to the primary election, but not later than noon of the 46th day prior to the date of the primary
election. Within 30 days after the closing of qualifying
time, the supervisor of elections shall remit to the secretary of
the state executive committee of the political party to which
the candidate belongs the amount of the filing fee, two-thirds
of which shall be used to promote the candidacy of candidates
for county offices and the candidacy of members of the
Legislature.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of any special act to the contrary, each person seeking to qualify for election to a special district office shall qualify between noon of the 71st day prior to the primary election and noon of the 67th day prior to the date of the primary election. Candidates for single county special districts shall qualify with the supervisor of elections in the county in which the district is located. If the district is a multicounty district, candidates shall qualify with the Department of State. All special district candidates shall qualify by paying a filing fee of $25 or qualify by the petition process pursuant to s. 99.095. Notwithstanding s. 106.021, a candidate who does not collect contributions and whose only expense is the filing fee or signature verification fee is not required to appoint a campaign treasurer or designate a primary campaign depository.
(4)(3)
(a) Each person seeking to qualify for election to office as a write-in candidate shall file his or her qualification papers with the respective qualifying officer at any time after noon of the 1st day for qualifying, but not later than noon of the last day of the qualifying period for the office sought.
(b) Any person who is seeking election as a write-in
candidate shall not be required to pay a filing fee,
election assessment, or party assessment. A write-in candidate is
shall not be entitled to have his or her name printed on any
ballot; however, space for the write-in candidate's name to be
written in must shall be provided on the general election ballot.
A
No person may not qualify as a write-in candidate if the person
has also otherwise qualified for nomination or election to such office.
(5)(4) At the time of qualifying for office, each candidate for a constitutional office shall file a full and
public disclosure of financial interests pursuant to s. 8,
Art. II of the State Constitution, and a candidate for any other office, including local elective office, shall file a
statement of financial interests pursuant to s. 112.3145.
(6)(5) The Department of State shall certify to the supervisor of elections, within 7 days after the closing
date for qualifying, the names of all duly qualified candidates
for nomination or election who have qualified with the
Department of State.
(6) Notwithstanding the qualifying period prescribed in
this section, if a candidate has submitted the necessary petitions by the required deadline in order to qualify by
the petition process pursuant to s. 99.095 as a candidate for nomination or election and the candidate is notified after
the 5th day prior to the last day for qualifying that the
required number of signatures has been obtained, the candidate is entitled to subscribe to the candidate's oath and file the
qualifying papers at any time within 5 days from the date
the candidate is notified that the necessary number of
signatures has been obtained. Any candidate who qualifies within the
time prescribed in this subsection is entitled to have his or her name printed on the ballot.
(7)
(a) In order for a candidate to be qualified, the following items must be received by the filing officer by the end of the qualifying period:
1. A properly executed check drawn upon the candidate's campaign account in an amount not less than the fee required by s. 99.092 or, in lieu thereof, as applicable, the copy of the notice of obtaining ballot position pursuant to s. 99.095. The filing fee for a special district candidate is not required to be drawn upon the candidate's campaign account. If a candidate's check is returned by the bank for any reason, the filing officer shall immediately notify the candidate and the candidate shall, the end of qualifying notwithstanding, have 48 hours from the time such notification is received, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, to pay the fee with a cashier's check purchased from funds of the campaign account. Failure to pay the fee as provided in this subparagraph shall disqualify the candidate.
2. The candidate's oath required by s. 99.021, which must contain the name of the candidate as it is to appear on the ballot; the office sought, including the district or group number if applicable; and the signature of the candidate, duly acknowledged.
3. The loyalty oath required by s. 876.05, signed by the candidate and duly acknowledged.
4. If the office sought is partisan, the written statement of political party affiliation required by s. 99.021(1)(b).
5. The completed form for the appointment of campaign treasurer and designation of campaign depository, as required by s. 106.021.
6. The full and public disclosure or statement of financial interests required by subsection
(5) (4). A public
officer who has filed the full and public disclosure or statement of financial interests with the Commission on
Ethics or the supervisor of elections prior to qualifying for
office may file a copy of that disclosure at the time of
qualifying.
(b) If the filing officer receives qualifying papers that do not include all items as required by paragraph (a) prior to the last day of qualifying, the filing officer shall make a reasonable effort to notify the candidate of the missing or incomplete items and shall inform the candidate that all required items must be received by the close of qualifying. A candidate's name as it is to appear on the ballot may not be changed after the end of qualifying.
(8) Notwithstanding the qualifying period prescribed in this section, a qualifying office may accept and hold qualifying papers submitted not earlier than 14 days prior to the beginning of the qualifying period, to be processed and filed during the qualifying period.
(9) Notwithstanding the qualifying period prescribed by
this section, in each year in which the Legislature
apportions the state, the qualifying period for persons seeking to
qualify for nomination or election to federal office shall be
between noon of the 71st 57th day prior to the primary election, but
not later than noon of the 67th 53rd day prior to the primary election.
(10) The Department of State may prescribe by rule requirements for filing papers to qualify as a candidate under this section.
Section 17. Subsections (2) and (4) of section 99.095,
Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
99.095 Petition process in lieu of a qualifying fee and party assessment.--
(2)
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a candidate
must shall obtain the number of signatures of voters in the geographical area represented by the office sought equal to
at least 1 percent of the total number of registered voters of
that geographical area, as shown by the compilation by the
department for the immediately last preceding general election.
Signatures may not be obtained until the candidate has filed the appointment of campaign treasurer and designation of
campaign depository pursuant to s. 106.021.
(b) A candidate for a special district office shall obtain 25 signatures of voters in the geographical area represented by the office sought.
(c)(b) The format of the petition shall be prescribed by
the division and shall be used by candidates to reproduce petitions for circulation. If the candidate is running for
an office that requires a group or district designation, the petition must indicate that designation and, if it does not,
the signatures are not valid. A separate petition is required
for each candidate.
(4)
(a) Certifications for candidates for federal, state, or multicounty district, or multicounty special district office shall be submitted to the division no later than the 7th day before the first day of the qualifying period for the office sought. The division shall determine whether the required number of signatures has been obtained and shall notify the candidate.
(b) For candidates for county,
or district, or special
district office not covered by paragraph (a), the supervisor shall determine whether the required number of signatures
has been obtained and shall notify the candidate.
Section 18. Effective upon this act becoming a law,
section 99.096, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
99.096 Minor political party candidates; names on ballot.--
(1) No later than noon of the third day prior to the first
day of the qualifying period prescribed for federal
candidates, the executive committee of a minor political party shall
submit to the Department of State a list of federal candidates nominated by the party to be on the general election ballot.
No later than noon of the third day prior to the first day of
the qualifying period for state candidates, the executive
committee of a minor political party shall submit to the filing
officer for each of the candidates the official list of the state, multicounty, and county candidates nominated by that party
to be on the ballot in the general election. The official list of nominated candidates may not be changed by the party after
having been filed with the filing officers, except that vacancies in nominations may be filled pursuant to s.
100.111.
(2) Each person seeking to qualify for election as a
candidate of a minor political party shall file his or her qualifying papers with, and pay the qualifying fee and, if
one has been levied, the party assessment, or qualify by the petition process pursuant to s. 99.095, with the officer and
at the times and under the circumstances provided in s. 99.061.
Section 19. Effective upon this act becoming a law, section 99.0965, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
Section 20. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
100.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
100.041 Officers chosen at general election.--
(2)(a) Each county commissioner from an odd-numbered district shall be elected at the general election in each year the number of which is a multiple of 4, for a 4-year term commencing on the second Tuesday following such election, and each county commissioner from an even-numbered district shall be elected at the general election in each even-numbered year the number of which is not a multiple of 4, for a 4-year term commencing on the second Tuesday following such election. A county commissioner is "elected" for purposes of this paragraph on the date that the county canvassing board certifies the results of the election pursuant to s. 102.151.