SB193: Bill Text

SB193,14 Section 14 . Subchapter VI of chapter 6 [precedes 6.981] of the statutes is created to read:

SB193,8,20 chapter 6

SB193,8,21 subchapter VI

SB193,8,23 absentee voting efficiency option

SB193,9,14 6.981 Efficiency option. (1) (a) The municipal clerk shall complete the application as provided under s. 6.87 (1) and allow an elector to cast a ballot prior to election day by casting a ballot into an electronic voting system as provided under s. 6.80 at the municipal clerk's office, if the governing body of the municipality has adopted a resolution to allow such voting and the commission has certified the municipality under s. 6.982 (8) (a) to conduct such voting. An elector may vote under this subchapter during the time prescribed for an application made in person pursuant to s. 6.86 (1) (b), but only after the municipality has completed a successful public test of the programmed media necessary to vote under this subchapter and the test occurs no more than 10 days prior to the use of the media for voting under this subchapter. A municipality shall specify the locations, dates, and hours for voting and the location where results will be tallied on election night in the notice under s. 10.01 (2) (e). The municipal clerk, or his or her designee, shall send the notice to the 2 major political parties, as defined in s. 13.46 (5), at the state level and, if applicable, at the county and local levels, on the same date as the notice is posted for the general public.

SB193,9,18 (b) After the governing body of the municipality has adopted a resolution to allow the voting procedure under par. (a), the municipality shall use that procedure for all elections specified in the resolution. The municipal clerk or deputy municipal clerk shall supervise the voting procedure under par. (a).

SB193,9,24 (c) This subchapter does not preclude the clerk from using absentee envelopes when the clerk or the elector determines that such use is necessary. Voting as provided under this subchapter may occur simultaneously or in conjunction with making an application in person using absentee envelopes, but the periods for voting as provided under this subchapter and for making an application in person using absentee envelopes need not be the same.

SB193,10,4 6.982 Administration. (1) (a) Votes cast under s. 6.981 may not be tabulated until the closing of the polls on election day, but the municipal clerk shall publish on the municipality's Internet site a daily tally of the total number of ballots cast under s. 6.981 in the municipality.

SB193,10,8 (b) No person may act in any manner that would give him or her the ability to know or to provide information on the accumulating or final results from the ballots cast under s. 6.981 before the close of the polls on election day. A person who violates this paragraph is guilty of a Class I felony.

SB193,10,11 (c) An elector who casts a ballot under s. 6.981 that is accepted by automatic tabulating equipment may not request that the ballot be returned to him or her as defective in order to cast a new ballot, as provided under s. 6.80 (2) (c).

SB193,10,24 (d) The clerk or deputy clerk shall reconcile the ballots cast each day to ensure that the number of ballots cast equals the number issued. The reconciliation may include performing checks that do not involve examining the ballots cast, including checking data entry and verifying mathematical computations. If the clerk or deputy clerk is unable to reconcile the ballots, the incident log shall include the date and any other information necessary to clearly identify the reconciliation issue. The municipality shall post the daily reconciliation incident report on the municipality's Internet site at the close of each day during the period for voting under this subchapter. If the clerk or deputy clerk is unable to reconcile the ballots, the clerk or deputy clerk shall deliver all ballot bags of unreconciled ballots, along with the daily reconciliation incident reports, to the appropriate board of canvassers as provided under s. 7.53 and the board of canvassers shall complete the reconciliation using the methods provided under s. 7.51.

SB193,11,19 (2) At all times when the process for voting under this subchapter is in use the municipality shall have at least 2 individuals present, not including a candidate on the ballot and not including an elector who is present only to vote. The tabulation equipment shall be in a location that is visible to the clerk or the clerk's designee and to at least one other person. Automatic tabulating equipment used for purposes of this subchapter shall be secured with a tamper-evident security seal and the clerk or the clerk's designee, in the presence of at least one witness, shall check the seals for tampering at the beginning and ending of each day designated for voting under s. 6.981. The areas where the programmed media and the ballots cast are housed shall be secured with tamper-evident security seals. At least 2 persons shall be present for any administrative process that requires access to a sealed area and the breaking of a tamper-evident security seal, including clearing a jammed ballot or emptying a full ballot bin. The clerk or clerk's designee shall daily document all checks and record any such activity and reason in which a seal is broken and replaced under this subsection. The clerk or clerk's designee shall obtain the signature of any witness who was present when any such activity is performed. When not in use the tabulation equipment and the cast ballots sealed inside tamper-evident security seal ballot bags shall be secured in a double-lock location such as a locked cabinet inside a locked office.

SB193,11,23 (3) For purposes of s. 6.981, the municipal clerk or the clerk's designee shall issue ballots using the voter registration and voter information systems established and maintained by the elections commission in the same manner that the systems are used to issue and track absentee ballots.

SB193,12,3 (4) An elector requesting to cast a ballot under s. 6.981 shall state aloud his or her name and address. The elector shall sign an absentee ballot certification request log for purposes of this subchapter.

SB193,12,9 (5) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), the municipal clerk shall seal together all ballots cast in the municipality under s. 6.981 each day in a numbered and tamper-evident security seal ballot bag and document all such action and numbers. All such ballot bags shall remain in the clerk's possession, sealed and secured by the municipal clerk, until such time that they are needed at a central count location or for audit, review at the polling place, recount, or storage.

SB193,12,13 (b) If the municipal clerk is required to report vote totals by ward, but the votes in multiple wards are processed through a single memory device and tabulator, the clerk shall not sort the ballots into wards before placing them into the bag described under par. (a).

SB193,12,20 (6) Section 7.41, regarding the public's right to access the polling place; s. 6.82, regarding assisting electors; s. 5.25 (4) (a), regarding the availability of accessible systems; and s. 6.84 (1), regarding the privilege of absentee voting, apply to voting conducted under s. 6.981. The municipal clerk shall post at a conspicuous space near the tabulation equipment a notice, in 18 point type, warning the elector voting as provided under this subchapter that a ballot cast and accepted by the tabulation equipment may not be retrieved in order to spoil the ballot under s. 6.86 (5).

SB193,13,5 (8) (a) The commission shall establish procedures for certifying municipalities to conduct voting under s. 6.981. The governing body of a municipality wishing to obtain certification under this paragraph shall send a plan for administering the process under this subchapter to the commission for review no later than 60 days prior to the first day on which the municipality would conduct voting under s. 6.981. The commission shall review the plan and give notice of approval or of changes needed to receive approval no later than 20 days after receiving the plan. The commission may send notice to the municipality by electronic mail. The commission shall certify a municipality to conduct voting under s. 6.981 if it determines that the municipality satisfies all of the following:

SB193,13,7 1. Its governing body has approved the use of voting under this subchapter, as provided under s. 6.981 (1) (a).

SB193,13,9 2. It is using equipment capable of capturing a digital image of both the front and back of the ballot.

SB193,13,14 4. It has Internet access at each location where voting will be conducted under this subchapter so that an absentee ballot may be issued to an elector using the statewide voter registration system immediately prior to the elector casting his or her ballot and so that the clerk or clerk's designee may add new or changed registration information prior to issuing an absentee ballot.

SB193,13,15 5. It is able to update its Internet site at the end of each day.

SB193,13,17 6. It is capable of adequately securing all equipment and ballots in a double-lock location.

SB193,13,19 7. Its plan for administering the process under this subchapter satisfies all other requirements set forth in this subchapter.

SB193,13,23 (b) The commission shall establish procedures for the administration of this subchapter, including procedures to facilitate the secure transfer of memory devices from their use for voting under s. 6.981 to their use in tabulating the votes on election day.

SB193,14,3 (c) A municipality certified by the commission to conduct voting under s. 6.981 shall notify the county where the municipality is located at least 70 days before each election at which the municipality is using the option under s. 6.981.

SB193,15 Section 15 . 7.50 (2) (em) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB193,14,13 7.50 (2) (em) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, write-in votes shall only be counted if no candidates have been certified to appear on the ballot. If a candidate has been certified to appear on the ballot, write-in votes may only be counted for a candidate that files a registration statement under s. 11.0202 (1) (a) no later than noon on the Friday immediately preceding the election. If a candidate certified to appear on the ballot dies or withdraws before the election, all write-in votes shall be counted. When write-in votes are counted, every vote shall be counted for the candidate for whom it was intended, if the elector's intent can be ascertained from the ballot itself, the write-in section of the results tape, or the write-in report.

SB193,16 Section 16. 7.52 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB193,15,7 7.52 (3) (b) When the board of absentee ballot canvassers finds that a certification is insufficient, that the applicant is not a qualified elector in the ward or election district, that the ballot envelope is open or has been opened and resealed, that the ballot envelope contains more than one ballot of any one kind, or that the certificate of a military or overseas elector who received an absentee ballot by facsimile transmission or electronic mail is missing, or if proof is submitted to the board of absentee ballot canvassers that an elector voting an absentee ballot has since died, the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall not count the ballot. Each member of the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall endorse every ballot not counted on the back as “rejected (giving the reason)." The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall reinsert each rejected ballot into the certificate envelope in which it was delivered and enclose the certificate envelopes and ballots, and securely seal the ballots and envelopes in an envelope marked for rejected absentee ballots. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall endorse the envelope as “rejected ballots," with a statement of the ward or election district and date of the election, and each member of the board of absentee ballot canvassers shall sign the statement. The board of absentee ballot canvassers shall then return the envelope containing the ballots to the municipal clerk.

SB193,15,8 (End)