1S-2.046. Initiative Process for Method of Selection for Circuit or County Court Judges

(1) Submission of Initiative Form.

(a) Any proposed initiative to change the method of selection of circuit court judges for placement on the ballot shall be submitted by the sponsoring political committee to the Division of Elections for approval as to format.

(b) Any proposed initiative to change the method of selection of county court judges for placement on the ballot shall be submitted by the sponsoring political committee to the Supervisor of Elections in the affected county for approval as to format.

(c) The submission of the proposed initiative shall be in writing and shall include a copy or a facsimile of the proposed form to be circulated.

(d) No initiative form may be circulated for signatures unless first approved by the Division of Elections or the Supervisor of Elections, as applicable.

(2) Requirements and Approval of Initiative Form. The Division of Elections or Supervisor of Elections, as applicable, shall review the initative form solely for sufficiency of the format and shall render a decision within seven (7) days following receipt. The Division of Elections or Supervisor of Elections, as applicable, shall not review the initiative form for legal sufficiency. The format of the initiative form is deemed sufficient only if the initiative form corresponds to the following:

(a)1. The format of an initiative form submitted for review and approval by the Division of Elections shall be substantially in accordance with Form DS-DE 112 (eff. 12/08), entitled “Circuit Court Judge Selection Initiative Form.”

2. The format of an initiative form submitted for review and approval by a Supervisor of Elections shall be substantially in accordance with Form DS-DE 113 (eff. 12/08), entitled “County Court Judge Selection Initiative Form.”

(b) Is printed on separate cards or individual sheets of paper. The minimum size of such forms shall be 3 inches by 5 inches and the maximum shall be 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches. The initiative form shall be contained on only one-side of the card or paper.

(c) Is clearly and conspicuously entitled at the top of the form “Circuit Court Judge Selection Initiative Form” or “County Court Judge Selection Initiative Form,” as applicable.

(d) Includes adequate space for the voter’s name, residential street address, city, county, voter registration number, date of birth, signature, and date of signature.

(e) Contains the ballot language in Section 101.161(3), F.S., for circuit or county court judges, as applicable. One form may not be used as an initiative to change the method of selection for both circuit and county court judges.

(f) Contains space for only one voter’s signature to be located below the applicable ballot language. Initiative forms providing for multiple signatures per page will not be approved.

(g) Is marked, in accordance with Section 106.143, F.S., governing political disclaimers, with “paid political advertisement” or contains the abbreviation “pd. pol. adv.” and identifies the name and address of the sponsoring political committee, and the name of the entity paying for the production or distribution of the initiative form if different from the name of the sponsoring political committee.

(3) Forms DS-DE 112 and 113 are hereby incorporated by reference and are available from the Division of Elections, Room 316, R. A. Gray Building, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250, [phone], or by download from the Division of Elections’ rules webpage at: http://election.dos.state.fl.us.

(4) Additional Information or Materials. Other than providing information or a method by which the initiative form may be returned by mail to the sponsoring committee, no additional information or materials shall be printed directly on the form.

(5) Assignment of a Serial Number.

(a) The Division of Elections or Supervisor of Elections, as applicable, shall assign a serial number as noted herein to each approved initiative form. The serial number assigned must be printed in the lower right hand corner of the initiative form.

(b) The serial number assigned by the Division of Elections shall begin with the capital letter “C,” followed by the last two digits of the calendar year in which the initiative form is approved and by a number in numerical sequence. For example, the first initiative form approved by the Division of Elections in 2009 would be assigned the serial number C09-1.

(c) The serial number assigned by a Supervisor of Elections shall begin, except as noted herein, with the first three letters of county’s name, followed by the last two digits of the calendar year in which the initiative form is approved and by a number in numerical sequence. Instead of the first three letters in the county’s name, the following counties will use these letters: Collier – CLR and Martin – MRT. For example, the first initiative form approved in 2009 by Palm Beach County would be assigned the serial number PAL09-1 and the first initiative form approved in 2010 by Collier County would be assigned the serial number CLR10-1.

(6) Changes. Any change to a previously approved initiative form shall be submitted to the Division of Elections or Supervisor of Elections, as applicable, for review. No person or entity other than the sponsoring political committee of the previously approved initiative form can submit a change to a previously approved initiative form. The Division of Elections or Supervisor of Elections must approve any material change to a previously approved initiative form. A material change constitutes a change in the wording of the text of the proposed ballot language, a change in punctuation or layout, or a change in the name of the sponsoring political committee. A translation into another language does not constitute a material change to an initiative form. Any material change submitted for approval to a previously approved initiative form constitutes a request for approval of a new initiative form and shall be assigned a different serial number upon approval by the Division of Elections or Supervisor of Elections, as applicable.

(7) Reproduction. An initiative form may be reproduced in newspapers, magazines, and other forms of printed mass media or made available through the internet for download printing, provided the form is reproduced in the same format as approved by the Division of Elections or Supervisor of Elections, as applicable. The initiative form may be included within a larger advertisement, provided the form is clearly defined by a solid or broken line border.

(8) Submission of Signed Initiative Forms. All signed initiative forms shall be returned to the sponsoring political committee. Only the sponsoring political committee shall submit the signed initiative forms for verification of signatures to the Supervisor of Elections and the submission shall be in the county in which the signer is a registered voter. It is the responsibility of the sponsoring political committee to ensure that the signed initiative form is properly filed with, or if misfiled forwarded to, the Supervisor of Elections of the county in which the signee is a registered voter. In the case of a misfiled initiative form, the filing date of the initiative form is the date such form is filed with the proper county.

(9) Signature Verification.

(a) The Supervisor of Elections shall promptly verify the signatures on each initiative form to ensure that each person signing the initiative form:

1. Was, at the time of signing and verification of the initiative form, a registered voter in the county in which the form is submitted,

2. Had not signed the initiative form more than two years prior to the date the Supervisor of Elections verified the form, and

3. Had not ever previously signed an initiative form containing the identical initiative.

(b) The Supervisor of Elections shall not verify a signature on the initiative form unless all of the following information is contained on the initiative form:

1. The voter’s name,

2. The voter’s address (including city and county),

3. The voter’s date of birth or voter registration number,

4. The voter’s original signature, and

5. The date the voter signed the initiative form, as recorded by the voter.

(10) Limitation on Use of Verified Signatures. Verified signatures used successfully to place a proposed initiative on the ballot that subsequently fails to be approved by the electors at the general election shall not be used again in support of any future initiative form.

Rulemaking Authority 20.10(3), 97.012(1), 105.036 FS. Law Implemented Art V, Fla. Const., 101.161, 105.036 FS. History–New 4-15-09.