Fla. Stat. § 98.065 — Florida Code / Title IX / Chapter 98 / Section 98.065
98.065 Registration list maintenance programs.
Status: in_force

(1) The supervisor must conduct a general registration list maintenance program to protect the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring the maintenance of accurate and current voter registration records in the statewide voter registration system. The program must be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. As used in this subsection, the term “nondiscriminatory” applies to and includes persons with disabilities.

(2) A supervisor must incorporate one or more of the following procedures in the supervisor’s annual registration list maintenance program under which the supervisor shall: (a) Use change-of-address information supplied by the United States Postal Service through its licensees to identify registered voters whose addresses might have changed. Additionally, in odd-numbered years, unless the supervisor is conducting the procedure specified in paragraph (b), the supervisor must identify change-of-address information from address confirmation final notices mailed to all registered voters who have not voted in the preceding two general elections or any intervening election and who have not made a request that their registration records be updated during that time; or (b) Identify change-of-address information from returned nonforwardable return-if-undeliverable address confirmation requests sent to all registered voters in the county.

(3) A registration list maintenance program must be conducted by each supervisor, at a minimum, once each year, beginning no later than April 1, and must be completed at least 90 days before the date of any federal election. All list maintenance actions associated with each voter must be entered, tracked, recorded, and maintained in the statewide voter registration system.

(4)(a) If the supervisor receives change-of-address information pursuant to the activities conducted in subsection (2), from jury notices signed by the voter and returned to the courts, from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, or from other sources which indicates that a registered voter’s legal residence might have changed to another location within the state, the supervisor must change the registration records to reflect the new address and must send the voter an address change notice as provided in s. 98.0655(2). (b) If the supervisor of elections receives change-of-address information pursuant to the activities conducted in subsection (2), from jury notices signed by the voter and returned to the courts, or from other sources which indicates that a registered voter’s legal residence might have changed to a location outside the state, the supervisor of elections shall send an address confirmation final notice to the voter as provided in s. 98.0655(3). (c) If an address confirmation request required by paragraph (2)(b) is returned as undeliverable without indication of an address change, or if any other nonforwardable return-if-undeliverable mail is returned as undeliverable with no indication of an address change, the supervisor must send an address confirmation final notice to the voter. (d) The supervisor must designate as inactive all voters who have been sent an address confirmation final notice and who have not returned the postage prepaid, preaddressed return form within 30 days or for which the final notice has been returned as undeliverable. Names on the inactive list may not be used to calculate the number of signatures needed on any petition. A voter on the inactive list may be restored to the active list of voters upon the voter updating his or her registration and confirming his or her current address of legal residence, requesting a vote-by-mail ballot and confirming his or her current address of legal residence, or appearing to vote and confirming his or her current address of legal residence. However, if the voter does not update his or her voter registration information, request a vote-by-mail ballot, or vote by the second general election after being placed on the inactive list, the voter’s name shall be removed from the statewide voter registration system and the voter shall be required to reregister to have his or her name restored to the statewide voter registration system.

(5) A notice may not be issued pursuant to this section and a voter’s name may not be removed from the statewide voter registration system later than 90 days prior to the date of a federal election. However, this section does not preclude the correction of registration records based on information submitted by the voter or removal of the name of a voter from the statewide voter registration system at any time upon the voter’s written request, by reason of the voter’s death, or upon a determination of the voter’s ineligibility as provided in s. 98.075(7).

(6) The supervisor shall, at a minimum, conduct an annual review of voter registration records to identify registration records in which a voter is registered at an address that may not be an address of legal residence for the voter. For those registration records with such addresses that the supervisor has reasonable belief are not legal residential addresses, the supervisor shall initiate list maintenance activities pursuant to s. 98.075(6) and (7).

(7)(a) No later than July 31 and January 31 of each year, the supervisor must certify to the department the address list maintenance activities conducted during the first 6 months and the second 6 months of the year, respectively, including the number of address confirmation requests sent, the number of voters designated as inactive, and the number of voters removed from the statewide voter registration system. (b) If, based on the certification provided pursuant to paragraph (a), the department determines that a supervisor has not conducted the list maintenance activities required by this section, the department shall conduct the appropriate list maintenance activities for that county. Failure to conduct list maintenance activities as required in this section constitutes a violation of s. 104.051.

History: s. 28, ch. 94-224; s. 6, ch. 2002-281; s. 19, ch. 2005-278; s. 6, ch. 2008-95; s. 4, ch. 2016-37; s. 8, ch. 2022-73; s. 23, ch. 2023-8; s. 7, ch. 2023-120.