Florida HB537 - Final Section 1-10

Section 1. Subsection (36) of section 97.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
97.021 Definitions.--For the purposes of this code, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term:

(36) "Third-party registration organization" means any person, entity, or organization soliciting or collecting voter registration applications. A third-party voter registration organization does not include:

(a) A person who seeks only to register to vote or collect voter registration applications from that person's spouse, child, or parent; or

(b) A person engaged in registering to vote or collecting voter registration applications as an employee or agent of the division, supervisor of elections, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or a voter registration agency.

Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 97.0575, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
97.0575 Third-party voter registrations.--

(3) A third-party voter registration organization that collects voter registration applications serves as a fiduciary to the applicant, ensuring that any voter registration application entrusted to the third-party voter registration organization, irrespective of party affiliation, race, ethnicity, or gender shall be promptly delivered to the division or the supervisor of elections. If a voter registration application collected by any third-party voter registration organization is not promptly delivered to the division or supervisor of elections, the the third-party voter registration organization liable for the following fines:

(a) A fine in the amount of $50 for each application received by the division or the supervisor of elections more than 10 days after the applicant delivered the completed voter registration application to the third-party voter registration organization or any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf. A fine in the amount of $250 for each application received if the third-party registration organization or person, entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.

(b) A fine in the amount of $100 for each application collected by a third-party voter registration organization or any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf, prior to book closing for any given election for federal or state office and received by the division or the supervisor of elections after the book closing deadline for such election. A fine in the amount of $500 for each application received if the third-party registration organization or person, entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.

(c) A fine in the amount of $500 for each application collected by a third-party voter registration organization or any person, entity, or agent acting on its behalf, which is not submitted to the division or supervisor of elections. A fine in the amount of $1,000 for any application not submitted if the third-party registration organization or person, entity, or agency acting on its behalf acted willfully.

The aggregate fine pursuant to this subsection which may be assessed against a third-party voter registration organization, including affiliate organizations, for violations committed in a calendar year shall be $1,000. The fines provided in this subsection shall be reduced by three-fourths in cases in which the third-party voter registration organization has complied with subsection (1). The secretary shall waive the fines described in this subsection upon a showing that the failure to deliver the voter registration application promptly is based upon force majeure or impossibility of performance.

Section 3. Effective July 1, 2007, subsections (1), (2), (3), and (6) of section 103.101, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
103.101 Presidential preference primary.--

(1) Each political party other than a minor political party shall, on the last Tuesday in January in each year the number of which is a multiple of 4, elect one person to be the candidate for nomination of such party for President of the United States or select delegates to the national nominating convention, as provided by party rule.

(2) There shall be a Presidential Candidate Selection Committee composed of the Secretary of State, who shall be a nonvoting chair; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the President of the Senate; the minority leader of each house of the Legislature; and the chair of each political party required to have a presidential preference primary under this section.

(a) By October 31 of the year preceding the presidential preference primary, each political party shall submit to the Secretary of State a list of its presidential candidates to be placed on the presidential preference primary ballot or candidates entitled to have delegates appear on the presidential preference primary ballot.

The Secretary of State shall prepare and publish a list of the names of the presidential candidates submitted. The Secretary of State shall submit such list of names of presidential candidates to the selection committee on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary. Each person designated as a presidential candidate shall have his or her name appear, or have his or her delegates' names appear, on the presidential preference primary ballot unless all committee members of the same political party as the candidate agree to delete such candidate's name from the ballot. The selection committee shall meet in Tallahassee on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary. The selection committee shall publicly announce and submit to the Department of State no later than 5 p.m. on the following day the names of presidential candidates who shall have their names appear, or who are entitled to have their delegates' names appear, on the presidential preference primary ballot. The Department of State shall immediately notify each presidential candidate designated by the committee. Such notification shall be in writing, by registered mail, with return receipt requested.

(b) Any presidential candidate whose name does not appear on the list submitted to the Secretary of State may request that the selection committee place his or her name on the ballot. Such request shall be made in writing to the Secretary of State no later than the second Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary.

(c) If a presidential candidate makes a request that the selection committee reconsider placing the candidate's name on the ballot, the selection committee will reconvene no later than the second Thursday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary to reconsider placing the candidate's name on the ballot. The Department of State shall immediately notify such candidate of the selection committee's decision.

(3) A candidate's name shall be printed on the presidential preference primary ballot unless the candidate submits to the Department of State, prior to the second Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary, an affidavit stating that he or she is not now, and does not presently intend to become, a candidate for President at the upcoming nominating convention. If a candidate withdraws pursuant to this subsection, the Department of State shall notify the state executive committee that the candidate's name will not be placed on the ballot. The Department of State shall, no later than the third Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary, certify to each supervisor of elections the name of each candidate for political party nomination to be printed on the ballot.

(6) Delegates must qualify no later than the second Friday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary in the manner provided by party rule.

Section 4. Effective July 1, 2007, subsection (3) is added to section 101.75, Florida Statutes, to read:

101.75 Municipal elections; change of dates for cause.--

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of local law, for any municipality whose election is scheduled to be held in March 2008, the governing body of the municipality, notwithstanding any municipal charter provision, may, by ordinance, move the date of the general municipal election in 2008 and in each subsequent year that is a multiple of 4 to the date concurrent with the presidential preference primary. The dates for qualifying for the general municipal election moved by the passage of such an ordinance shall be specifically provided for in the ordinance and shall run for no less than 14 days. The term of office for any elected municipal official shall commence as provided by the relevant municipal charter or ordinance, and the term of office for any elected municipal official whose term was due to expire in March 2008 shall expire as provided by the relevant municipal charter or ordinance.

Section 5. Effective July 1, 2008, subsection (1) of section 101.151, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
101.151 Specifications for ballots.--

(1)

(a) Marksense ballots shall be printed on paper of such thickness that the printing cannot be distinguished from the back and shall meet the specifications of the voting system that will be used to tabulate the ballots.

(b) Early voting sites may employ a ballot-on-demand production system to print individual marksense ballots, including provisional ballots, for eligible electors pursuant to s. 101.657. Ballot-on-demand technology may be used to produce marksense absentee ballots. Not later than 30 days before an election, the Secretary of State may also authorize in writing the use of ballot-on-demand technology for the production of election-day ballots.

Section 6. Effective July 1, 2008, section 101.56075, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
101.56075 Voting methods.--

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), all voting shall be by marksense ballot utilizing a marking device for the purpose of designating ballot selections.

(2) Persons with disabilities may vote on a voter interface device that meets the voting system accessibility requirements for individuals with disabilities pursuant to section 301 of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and s. 101.56062.

(3) By 2012, persons with disabilities shall vote on a voter interface device that meets the voter accessibility requirements for individuals with disabilities under section 301 of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and s. 101.56062, which are consistent with subsection (1) of this section.

Section 7. Effective July 1, 2008, subsection (5) is added to section 101.5612, Florida Statutes, to read:
101.5612 Testing of tabulating equipment.--

(5) Any tests involving marksense ballots pursuant to this section shall employ pre-printed ballots, if pre-printed ballots will be used in the election, and ballot-on-demand ballots, if ballot-on-demand technology will be used to produce ballots in the election, or both.

Section 8. Effective July 1, 2008, section 101.591, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
(Substantial rewording of section. See s. 101.591, F.S., for present text.) 101.591 Voting system audit.--

(1) Immediately following the certification of each election, the county canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying the election shall conduct a manual audit of the voting systems used in randomly selected precincts.

(2) The audit shall consist of a public manual tally of the votes cast in one randomly selected race that appears on the ballot. The tally sheet shall include election-day, absentee, early voting, provisional, and overseas ballots, in at least 1 percent but no more than 2 percent of the precincts chosen at random by the county canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying the election. If 1 percent of the precincts is less than one entire precinct, the audit shall be conducted using at least one precinct chosen at random by the county canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying the election. Such precincts shall be selected at a publicly-noticed canvassing board meeting.

(3) The canvassing board shall post a notice of the audit, including the date, time, and place, in four conspicuous places in the county and on the home page of the county supervisor of elections web site.

(4) The audit must be completed and the results made public no later than 11:59 p.m. on the 7th day following certification of the election by the county canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying the election.

(5) Within 15 days after completion of the audit, the county canvassing board or the board responsible for certifying the election shall provide a report with the results of the audit to the Department of State in a standard format as prescribed by the department. The report shall contain, but is not limited to, the following items:

The overall accuracy of audit.
A description of any problems or discrepancies encountered.
The likely cause of such problems or discrepancies.
Recommended corrective action with respect to avoiding or mitigating such circumstances in future elections.

Section 9.

Effective upon this act becoming a law, the Department of State shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of s. 101.591, Florida Statutes, as amended by section 8 which prescribe detailed audit procedures for each voting system, which shall be uniform to the extent practicable, along with the standard form for audit reports.

Section 10. Effective upon this act becoming a law:

(1) Notwithstanding ss. 101.292-101.295 and s. 101.5604, Florida Statutes, as a condition of the state purchasing optical scan voting equipment and ballot-on-demand equipment to replace touchscreen equipment as provided in section 11, each recipient county hereby authorizes the Secretary of State to act as its agent to negotiate the purchase of new equipment and the sale, exchange, or other disposition of existing touchscreen voting equipment that is not necessary to conduct voting for individuals with disabilities. Further, each such county hereby designates the Secretary of State as the authorized recipient of all proceeds realized from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of the voting equipment, after satisfying obligations or indebtedness associated with the voting equipment, up to and including the state's cost to fund the county's new equipment. The secretary shall deposit the proceeds in the Grants and Donations Trust Fund within 60 days after the sale, exchange, or other disposition.

(2) A county commission may choose to opt out of this state funding scheme by filing a notice to that effect with the Department of State no later than June 30, 2007. Any county choosing to opt out shall continue to be governed by the provisions of ss. 101.292-101.295 and s. 101.5604, Florida Statutes, with respect to the purchase of new voting systems and equipment.