Florida Florida Statutes

§ 101.62 — Request for vote-by-mail ballots

FS § 101.62Ch. 101

Statute text

(1)REQUEST.—(a) The supervisor shall accept a request for a vote-by-mail ballot only from a voter or, if directly instructed by the voter, a member of the voter's immediate family or the voter's legal guardian. A request may be made in person, in writing, by telephone, or through the supervisor's website. The department shall prescribe by rule by October 1, 2023, a uniform statewide application to make a written request for a vote-by-mail ballot which includes fields for all information required in this subsection. One request is deemed sufficient to receive a vote-by-mail ballot for all elections through the end of the calendar year of the next regularly scheduled general election, unless the voter or the voter's designee indicates at the time the request is made the elections within such period for which the voter desires to receive a vote-by-mail ballot. The supervisor must cancel a request for a vote-by-mail ballot when any first-class mail or nonforwardable mail sent by the supervisor to the voter is returned as undeliverable. If the voter requests a vote-by-mail ballot thereafter, the voter must provide or confirm his or her current residential address.

(b)The supervisor may accept a request for a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed to a voter's address on file in the Florida Voter Registration System from the voter, or, if directly instructed by the voter, a member of the voter's immediate family or the voter's legal guardian. If an in-person or a telephonic request is made, the voter must provide the voter's Florida driver license number, the voter's Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the voter's social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor's records. If the ballot is requested to be mailed to an address other than the voter's address on file in the Florida Voter Registration System, the request must be made in writing. A written request must be signed by the voter and include the voter's Florida driver license number, the voter's Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the voter's social security number. However, an absent uniformed services voter or an overseas voter seeking a vote-by-mail ballot is not required to submit a signed, written request for a vote-by-mail ballot that is being mailed to an address other than the voter's address on file in the Florida Voter Registration System. The person making the request must disclose:1. The name of the voter for whom the ballot is requested. The voter's address. 3. The voter's date of birth. 4. The voter's Florida driver license number, the voter's Florida identification card number, or the last four digits of the voter's social security number, whichever may be verified in the supervisor's records. If the voter's registration record does not already include the voter's Florida driver license number or Florida identification card number or the last four digits of the voter's social security number, the number provided must be recorded in the voter's registration record. 5. The requester's name. 6. The requester's address. 7. The requester's driver license number, the requester's identification card number, or the last four digits of the requester's social security number, if available. 8. The requester's relationship to the voter. 9. The requester's signature (written requests only).

(c)Upon receiving a request for a vote-by-mail ballot from an absent voter, the supervisor of elections shall notify the voter of the free access system that has been designated by the department for determining the status of his or her vote-by-mail ballot.

(d)For purposes of this section, the term “immediate family” refers to the following, as applicable:1. The voter's spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling, or the parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the voter's spouse. 2. The designee's spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling, or the parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the designee's spouse.

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Legislative history

s. 4, ch. 7380, 1917; RGS 371; CGL 432; s. 1, ch. 25385, 1949; s. 5, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 34, ch. 28156, 1953; s. 22, ch. 29934, 1955; s. 1, ch. 61-369; s. 33, ch. 65-380; s. 3, ch. 69-136; s. 5, ch. 69; s. 3, ch. 96-57; s. 25, ch. 96-406; s. 13, ch. 98-129; s. 32, ch. 99-2; s. 6, ch. 99-140; s. 52, ch. 2001-40; s. 5, ch. 2001-75; s. 18, ch. 2003-415; s. 6, ch. 2004-33; s. 43, ch. 2005-277; s. 37, ch. 2005-278; s. 16, ch. 2005-286; s. 30, ch. 2007-30; s. 7, ch. 2010-167; s. 37, ch. 2011-40; s. 17, ch. 2013-37; s. 11, ch. 2013-57; s. 16, ch. 2016-37; s. 15, ch. 2019-162; s. 24, ch. 2021-11; s. 26, ch. 2023-120.