BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

Florida League of Cities

Elections (Oppose)

CS/SB 524 (Hutson) and HB 7061 (Public Integrity & Elections Committee) amend various provisions of the Florida Elections Code. The bills create the Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State and revise requirements for special officers who may investigate election law violations. The bills also revise retention, maintenance and information posting requirements for citizens’ initiative petition signature forms. The bills prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting to determine election or nomination to elective office and void existing or future local ordinances authorizing the use of ranked-choice voting. The bills remove the limitation on the amount of aggregate fines that may be assessed against a third-party voter registration organization and revise the candidate oath regarding outstanding fines, fees, or penalties owed for certain ethics or campaign finance violations. The bills authorize a supervisor of elections to designate up to two additional early voting sites per election. (O’Hara)