Title: Voter Registration

Summary: Providing that driver license or identification card applications, driver license or identification card renewal applications, and changes of address for existing driver licenses or identification cards submitted to the department serve as voter registration applications; requiring the supervisor of elections to provide a notification of registration to each applicant; providing that an applicant is registered, or has his or her voter registration record updated, if he or she fails to respond to the notification within a specified timeframe, etc.

Full Text:
WHEREAS, voter registration is one of the biggest barriers to full participation in our democracy, and WHEREAS, Congress enacted the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly known as the  Motor Voter Act,  with findings recognizing that the right of citizens to vote is a fundamental right and that federal, state, and local governments have the duty to promote the exercise of this right, and WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to provide residents of this state with enhanced access to participate in democracy through the exercise of their fundamental right to vote by streamlining and modernizing voter registration procedures used by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, NOW, THEREFORE, Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Subsections (1) through (5) of section 97.057, Florida Statutes, are amended, new subsections (6) and (7) are added to that section, and present subsections (6) through (12) of that section are renumbered as subsections (8) through (14), respectively, to read: 97.057 Voter registration by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.  (Substantial rewording of subsections. See s. 97.057(1)-(5), F.S., for present text.) (1) Each of the following serve sas an application to register to vote or to update a voter registration record when submitted to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles: (a) An application for a driver license, including a renewal application or a change of address for an existing driver license.(b) An application for an identification card issued pursuant to chapter 322, including a renewal application or a change of address for an existing identification card.For voter registration purposes, an applicant must consent to the use of the signature from his or her driver license or identification card application unless the applicant declines to register to vote or declines to update his or her voter registration record.(2) An application for a driver license or an identification card must include a voter registration component. The voter registration component must be approved by the Department of State. The voter registration component of a driver license or identification card application must contain: (a) The minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and preserve the ability of the department and supervisors of elections to assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter registration and other provisions of the Florida Election Code.(b) A statement setting forth voting eligibility requirements. ( c)  An explanation that the applicant has consented,for voter registration purposes, to the use of his or her signature from the applicant s driver license or identification card application.By consenting to the use of his or her signature, the applicant is deemed to have subscribed to the oath required by s. 3, Art. VI of the State Constitution and s. 97.051 and to have sworn and affirmed that the voter registration information contained in the applic ation is true under penalty for false swearing pursuant to s. 104.011. (d) An option that allows the applicant to decline to register to vote or to decline to update his or her voter registration record. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall note any such declination in its records and forward the declination to the statewide voter registration system. (3) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle sshall develop a voter registration component for paper-based renewal applications which meets the requirements in subsection (2). The voter registration component must be approved by the Department of State. (4) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall electronically transmit the voter registration component of an applicant s driver license or identification card application to the statewide voter registration system within hours after receipt. Upon receipt of the voter registration component, the Department of State shall provide the information to the supervisor of the county in which the applicant has be en registered as an elector. For completed paper-based applications, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall forward the voter registration component to the supervisor of the county where the office that process es or receive sthat application is located within days after receipt. (5) Following receipt of voter registration information, the supervisor shall notify each applicant of the process to: (a) Decline being registered as an elector or decline to update his or her voter registration record. (b)  Designate a party affiliation if the applicant is not currently registered to vote in this state.(6) If an applicant who is notified under subsection (5) does not decline to be registered as an elector or does not decline to update his or her voter registration record within calendar days after the supervisor issues the notification, the applicant s voter registration component of his or her application constitutes a completed voter registration application for purposes of this chapter. The applicant shall be registered to vote if the supervisor determines that the applicant is eligible to vote under s. 97.041 and the applicant is not already registered to vote. An applicant who does not respond to the notification to designate a party affiliation shall be registered without party affiliation as provided under s. 97.053(5)(b). (7) If an applicant declines to register to vote or declines to update his or her voter registration record after receiving a notification issued pursuant to subsection (5), the supervisor sh all note such declination in his or her records and forward the declination to the statewide voter registration system. However, an applicant s declination may not be used for any purpose other than voter registration. Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 98.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 98.045 Administration of voter registration.  (4) STATEWIDE ELECTRONIC DATABASE OF VALID RESIDENTIAL STREET ADDRESSES.  (b) The department shall make the statewide database of valid street addresses available to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles as provided in s. 97.057(12) s. 97.057(10).The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall use the database for purposes of validating the legal residential addresses provided in voter registration applications received by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Section 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2019.