Florida Senate - 2014                                    SB 1566
       
       
        
       By Senator Clemens
       
       
       
       
       
       27-01452-14                                           20141566__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to early voting; amending s. 101.657,
    3         F.S.; revising authority of a supervisor of elections
    4         to designate certain locations as early voting sites;
    5         providing an effective date.
    6          
    7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    8  
    9         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   10  101.657, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   11         101.657 Early voting.—
   12         (1)(a) As a convenience to the voter, the supervisor of
   13  elections shall allow an elector to vote early in the main or
   14  branch office of the supervisor. The supervisor shall mark,
   15  code, indicate on, or otherwise track the voter’s precinct for
   16  each early voted ballot. In order for a branch office to be used
   17  for early voting, it shall be a permanent facility of the
   18  supervisor and shall have been designated and used as such for
   19  at least 1 year before prior to the election. The supervisor may
   20  also designate any suitable location city hall, permanent public
   21  library facility, fairground, civic center, courthouse, county
   22  commission building, stadium, convention center, government
   23  owned senior center, or government-owned community center as an
   24  early voting site sites; however, if so designated, the sites
   25  must be geographically located so as to provide all voters in
   26  the county an equal opportunity to cast a ballot, insofar as is
   27  practicable. In addition, a supervisor may designate one early
   28  voting site per election in an area of the county that does not
   29  have any of the eligible early voting locations. Such additional
   30  early voting site must be geographically located so as to
   31  provide all voters in that area with an equal opportunity to
   32  cast a ballot, insofar as is practicable. Each county shall, at
   33  a minimum, operate the same total number of early voting sites
   34  for a general election which the county operated for the 2012
   35  general election. The results or tabulation of votes cast during
   36  early voting may not be made before the close of the polls on
   37  election day. Results shall be reported by precinct.
   38         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.