Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Application
and Forms. The process in this rule applies solely to constitutional amendments
proposed by initiative. The form referenced herein is incorporated by reference
and is available online on the Division of Elections' website at
https://www.dos.myflorida.com/elections
under header for forms, through the rule as adopted under
www.flrules.org, or from the Florida
Department of State, Division of Elections, Room 316, R.A. Gray Building, 500
S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, 32399-0250, (850)245-6200.
(2) Submission.
(a) Signed initiative petition forms
proposing amendments to the Florida Constitution shall be submitted by the
sponsoring political committee (hereinafter "petition sponsor") to the
Supervisor of Elections for the county of residence listed by the person
signing the form.
(b) If a form
submitted by a paid petition circulator is not timely submitted within 30 days
after the voter signs the form, the petition sponsor is liable for the fines
set forth in Section 100.371(7)(a)1. and 2., F.S. If the 30th day falls on a
weekend, holiday, or other day on which the Supervisor of Elections office is
closed, the petition form must be delivered to the Supervisor of Elections by
the following business day. Supervisors shall submit copies of untimely filed
petitions filed by paid petition circulators to the Division of Elections via
file utility transfer utilizing the Supervisor of Elections portal. The
Division will then review and provide notification to petition sponsors and
impose statutory fines. The untimely filing of a form does not invalidate the
signature on the form.
(c) If the
Supervisor of Elections determines that the signer of the petition is a
registered voter in another county, the Supervisor of Elections shall notify
the petition sponsor that the petition has been misfiled. It is the
responsibility of the petition sponsor thereafter to ensure that the misfiled
petition form is properly filed with the Supervisor of Elections for the county
in which the signer is a registered voter. In the case of a misfiled petition
by a paid petition circulator, the filing date of the petition is the date such
petition is filed with a Supervisor of Elections. The petition sponsor shall
make all reasonable efforts to file in the the proper county. The initially
receiving Supervisor of Elections shall submit copies of any untimely filed
forms to the Division, as may be necessary pursuant to subsection (b), above,
and notate the forms so as to alert the subsequent receiving Supervisor of
Elections that the forms have been previously received and reported as
untimely.
(d) For petition forms
submitted less than 60 days before February 1, of an even-numbered year, the
petition sponsor shall ensure that the forms are bundled or separated in some
manner by circulator prior to submitting the forms to the Supervisor of
Elections.
(3) Signature
Verification.
(a) In accordance with the
signature verification fee provisions in Sections
99.097(4) and
100.371(11)(b),
F.S., the Supervisor of Elections for the county in which the signee is a
registered voter shall verify the signatures on each initiative petition form
within 60 days, except for a petition form submitted less than 60 days before
February 1 of an even-numbered year, which must be verified within 30 days,
after receipt of the form to ensure that the petition signer:
1. Was, at the time of signing and
verification of the petition, a registered voter in the state,
2. For petition forms signed prior to April
8, 2020, has not signed the petition form more than two years prior to the date
the Supervisor verified the petition. For petition forms signed on or after
April 8, 2020, has not signed the petition form more than two years prior to
the next February 1 occurring in an even-numbered year, and
3. Had not ever previously signed a petition
form containing the identical initiative which had been verified as
valid.
(b) The Supervisor
shall not verify as valid a signature on an initiative petition form unless the
petition is on the proper form prescribed by the Division of Elections as
specified in Rule 1S-2.009, F.A.C. and all of the
following information is contained on the petition form:
1. The voter's name,
2. The voter's address (including city and
county),
3. The voter's date of
birth or voter registration number,
4. The voter's original signature,
5. The date the voter signed the petition, as
recorded by the voter, and
6. For
forms circulated by a paid petition circulator, a signed Petition Circulator's
Affidavit as required by Section
100.371(5),
F.S. Additionally, the paid petition circulator must have been registered with
the Division of Elections to collect petitions on the date of the voter's
signature.
(4)
Random Sampling Not Permitted. Supervisors of Elections may not use random
sampling as a method for verifying signatures on constitutional amendment
initiative petitions.
(5)
Recordation of Verification.
(a) After
completing the signature verification process pursuant to subsection (3), the
Supervisor of Elections shall report to the Division of Elections the following
information:
1. The assigned serial number
for the applicable initiative petition,
2. The date the signature was
verified,
3. The number of valid
verified signatures, by congressional district in the county,
4. The number of invalid signatures,
and
5. For forms gathered by a paid
petition circulator, the circulator's registration number.
(b) This information shall be submitted to
the Division via data entry on the Supervisor of Elections application portal
no later than 60 days after receipt of the petition by the Supervisor of
Elections and payment of the fee for signature verification, except that for
petition forms submitted less than 60 days before February 1 of an
even-numbered year, the information must be submitted within 30 days after
receipt and payment.
(6)
Complaints. Any person claiming to have had his or her signature on an
initiative petition form misrepresented, forged, or not delivered to a
Supervisor of Elections shall use Form DS-DE 153 (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13555,
eff. 10/2021), entitled "Form for Complaint Against Petition Circulator" to
file the complaint with the Division.
(7) Filing Deadline. In order for the
initiative petition to be timely filed for appearance on the ballot for the
next general election, the constitutionally requisite number of verified
signatures must be verified and reported to the Division no later than 5:00
p.m. on February 1 of the year in which the general election is held.
(8) Within ten days of a petition sponsor
being notified that an initiative has made ballot position, the committee shall
notify the Division as to whether it intends for Supervisors of Elections to
continue verifying signatures on initiative petition forms.
(9) Nothing in this rule prohibits a voter
from signing a successive initiative petition form containing the text of a
former petition if the successive petition form has a different serial number
assigned to it pursuant to Rule
1S-2.009,
F.A.C.
Rulemaking Authority
20.10(3),
97.012(1),
100.371(6) FS.
Law Implemented 100.371
FS.
New 1-6-80, Amended 12-20-83, Formerly 1C-7.091, 1C-7.0091,
Amended 2-13-90, 3-5-96, 1-5-04, 3-16-06, 10-15-07, 10-13-08, 7-18-10, 9-7-11,
10-1-21.
