No. HB 1419
Filed under Elections.
Elections; Requires that Secretary of State be elected, rather than appointed, & serve specified term; requires Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop & maintain database for specified purpose; provides that driver license or ID card applications, driver license or ID card renewal applications, & applications for changes of address for existing driver licenses or ID cards submitted to DHSMV serve as voter registration applications; requires DHSMV to transmit voter registration information electronically to DOS within specified timeframe; removes provision prohibiting persons providing voter registration services for driver license office from making changes to applicant's party affiliation without applicant's consent & separate signature; revises certain penalties; provides circumstances used to determine whether elections in local government exhibit racially polarized voting; authorizes party that sent notification letter to submit claim for reimbursement from local government; authorizes specified entities to file certain enforcement actions; creates Florida Voting Rights Act Commission within DOS; requires DOS instead of Office of Election Crimes & Security to conduct certain preliminary investigation; establishes General Election Day as paid holiday.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA new Florida Voting Rights Act lets voters, advocacy groups, and the Attorney General sue any local government whose election rules or district lines make it harder for a racial, ethnic, or language-minority group to elect candidates of its choice or to vote at all.
Local governments with a history of discrimination or measurable racial gaps in turnout, registration, or poverty must get advance approval from a new state commission before changing election methods, polling places, or voter rolls.
Every driver's license or ID transaction at DHSMV will automatically register or update a voter unless the applicant opts out, new voters can register and vote the same day at the polls, and civic groups that register voters lose several fraud-related affirmations and fines.
Mail ballots can now be verified with the last four digits of a Social Security number instead of a signature, and Election Day becomes a paid holiday with job protection for any voter needing time off to vote.
AIA new Florida Voting Rights Act bars local governments, state agencies, and officials from any election policy or practice that creates a material disparity in voting access or impairs a protected class's equal opportunity to participate, unless the government proves by clear and convincing evidence the policy is necessary and no less-disparate alternative exists. Voters, organizations, the Attorney General, and a new commission may all sue to enforce it.
AIApplications for a driver license or ID card, their renewals, and address changes filed with DHSMV now serve as voter registration or update applications by default. Unless the applicant declines, submitting the paperwork counts as consent to use the applicant's signature for registration, replacing a process where a clerk had to orally offer registration and collect a separate signature.
AIThe Secretary of State, who oversees the Division of Elections, would be chosen at the statewide general election alongside the Governor and Cabinet and would serve a 4-year term, replacing the current system of gubernatorial appointment confirmed by the Senate and serving at the Governor's pleasure.
AILocal governments that meet any of several triggers -- a discrimination judgment or settlement within 25 years, a 10-point turnout or registration gap for a protected class, or other measurable disparities -- must submit changes to election methods, districts, polling places, or voter-roll purges to a new commission and win approval before enacting them.
AIA person who meets the qualifications to register and provides the required registration information can register and cast a ballot in the same visit to an early voting site or polling place, where current law requires registering in advance of an election.
AIA vote-by-mail request now lasts until the voter cancels it, instead of expiring after one general-election cycle. The cap letting a designee pick up no more than two other voters' ballots, and the photo-ID and affidavit process for that pickup, are also removed. A mailed ballot's signature can now be replaced with the last four digits of the voter's Social Security number.
AIGroups that register voters no longer have to affirm that everyone handling applications is a U.S. citizen with no disqualifying felony conviction, a requirement that had carried a $50,000 fine per violating person. Their registration with the state also no longer automatically expires at the end of each general-election cycle.
AIGeneral Election Day becomes a paid holiday, and any voter -- not only state employees -- is entitled to be absent from work while polls are open. An employer may not penalize a voter for that absence or dock pay on account of it.