Constitutional Amendment Initiative Petition; Submission Deadline; Signature Verification  

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    DEPARTMENT OF STATE
    Division of Elections

    RULE NO: RULE TITLE
    1SER07-1: Constitutional Amendment Initiative Petition; Submission Deadline; Signature Verification
    SPECIFIC REASONS FOR FINDING AN IMMEDIATE DANGER TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY OR WELFARE: Pursuant to Section 120.54(4)(b), Florida Statutes, this emergency rule is a rule pertaining to the public health, safety, and welfare as it involves the interpretation and implementation of the requirements of Chapters 97- 102 and 105 of the Florida Election Code. This emergency rule implements legislative changes as set forth in chapter 2007-30, Laws of Florida, which pertain to new requirements for a supervisor of elections to verify a signature of an elector on initiative petitions. The legislative changes also provide new requirements for electors to have their signatures count, i.e., the elector must be the person who dates the petition form, the elector now may choose to provide a voter registration number in lieu of his or her date of birth on the petition form, and the elector at the time he or she signs the form, must be a registered elector in the county in which the signature is eventually submitted. There is insufficient time to create a new rule incorporating amendments to Rule 1S-2.0091, F.A.C., prior to the effective date of these changes in the law. Procedures must be in place on the effective date of the amendment so that supervisors know what is required for verification and so that electors may properly exercise their right to sign initiative petitions. The absence of a rule with up-to-date applicable procedures for verification of initiative petitions will have an adverse effect of the conduct of elections and the initiative process in the State of Florida. Therefore, this emergency rule is necessary: 1) To establish the procedures for supervisors of elections to verify the signatures of electors on initiative petitions proposing constitutional amendments; 2) To make the electors and political committees know what is required when signing an initiative petition; and 3) To ensure and maintain the efficiency, integrity, and public confidence in the electoral process. The Department of State further finds that the adoption of this rule is necessary to prevent an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare.

    REASON FOR CONCLUDING THAT THE PROCEDURE IS FAIR UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES: The Division of Elections is aware of the rulemaking procedures prescribed by Section 120.54, Florida Statutes. That process requires advance notice to the general public of intended rules and the opportunity to submit comments on the intended rule, prior to the agency’s adoption of the rule. The time period for general rulemaking takes at least 60 days and will prevent the timely amendment and adoption of a rule needed to mandate the implementation of these provisions regarding revocation of initiative petitions by the effective date (August 1, 2007) of the statutory provisions. Florida’s electors are active in signing initiative petitions; currently, there are over 30 approved initiative petitions to amend the state’s constitution. This rule is necessary to have a procedure in place on the effective date of the statutory changes for those who wish to take advantage of their right to sign initiative petitions. The Department of State has initiated rulemaking to create Rule 1S-2.0091, Florida Administrative Code, to incorporate the text of the emergency rule permanently and it held a rule development workshop on the subject matter of the rule on July 23, 2007. To the extent feasible and permissible by law, this emergency rule has incorporated the public comments received at the rule development workshop.

    SUMMARY: This emergency rule implements new legislative changes relating to the requirements for verification of signatures on initiative petitions and adopts procedures for the Secretary of State to deduct from the verified signatures those signatures which have been properly revoked in accordance with the newly legislatively-created revocation process. It also deletes obsolete procedures that were applicable prior to January 1, 2007.

    THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE EMERGENCY RULE IS: Gary J. Holland, Assistant General Counsel, Division of Elections, Department of State, R.A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, (850)245-6536

     

    THE FULL TEXT OF THE EMERGENCY RULE IS:

    1SER07-1 (1S-2.0091) Constitutional Amendment Initiative Petition; Submission Deadline; Signature Verification Verifying Electors’ Signatures.

    (1) Submission. Signed initiative petition forms proposing amendments to the Florida Constitution shall be submitted solely by the sponsoring political committee to the Supervisor of Elections in the county in which the petition forms were circulated. It is the responsibility of the sponsoring political committee to ensure that the signed petition 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 elector. In the case of a misfiled petition, the filing date of the petition is the date such petition is filed with the proper county.

    (2) Signature Verification.

    (a) In accordance with the signature verification fee provisions in Section 99.097(4), F.S., Upon receipt of initiative petition forms, the Supervisor of Elections shall verify the signatures on each initiative petition form within 30 days of receipt of the form to ensure that each person signing the said petition form:

    1. Was, at the time of signing and verification of the petition, is a registered voter elector in the that county in which the petition is submitted,

    2. Had not previously revoked his or her signature on the petition,

    3. Had not and that the date the elector signed the petition form is not more than four years prior to the date the Supervisor verified the petition, and

    4. Had not ever previously signed a petition form containing the identical initiative.

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

    1. The voter’s signee’s name,

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

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

    4. The voter’s original signee’s signature, and

    5. The date the voter elector signed the petition, as recorded by the voter.

    (3) Random Sampling Not Permitted. Supervisors of Elections may not use random sampling as a method for verifying signatures on constitutional amendment initiative petitions.

    (4)(3) Recordation of Verification. Upon completion of the verification as set forth in subsection (2), the Supervisors of Elections shall adhere to the following procedures for submission of verified signature information to the Division of Elections:

    (a) Procedures Applicable Before January 1, 2007.

    1. The Supervisor of Elections shall submit to the Division of Elections a certificate indicating the total number of signatures checked, the number of signatures verified, the number verified as registered electors and the distribution by congressional district. The Division will provide appropriate forms to the Supervisor of Elections to be used for transmission of the required information. In conjunction with each certificate submitted, each Supervisor shall submit a copy of one petition showing the text of the constitutional amendment to which the certified signatures relate. Certificates may be submitted by the Supervisor via facsimile in order to meet the deadline, followed by an original copy by mail.

    2. The Division shall determine from the transmitted certificates whether the requisite number of verified signatures has been obtained with respect to each constitutional amendment for each congressional district and the State as a whole. In order to have the initiative petition timely filed for purposes of appearance on the ballot for the next general election, certificates indicating the requisite number of verified signatures must be received by the Division of Elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 1 of the year in which the general election is held. Upon a determination that the constitutionally requisite number of signatures and distribution of signatures by congressional districts has been obtained, the Secretary of State shall issue a certificate of ballot position to the appropriate sponsoring political committee.

    (b) Procedures Applicable On or After January 1, 2007.

    1. No later than 24 hours after verification of signatures on submitted initiative petition forms, the Supervisor of Elections shall directly record into the statewide voter registration system each valid and verified signature. The appropriate supervisor of elections for each respective voter elector whose signature is verified as valid shall record the date the form was received, the date of the signature, the date the signature was verified, and the assigned serial number for the applicable initiative petition.

    (a) Determination of Constitutionally Requisite Number of Signatures. 2. The Division shall determine from the recorded verified petition signatures recorded in on the statewide voter registration system whether the constitutionally requisite number of verified signatures has been obtained with respect to each constitutional amendment for each congressional district and the State as a whole. In order for the initiative petition to be timely filed for appearance on the ballot for the next general election, the constitutionally requisite number of verified signatures must be recorded in the statewide voter registration system no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 1 of the year in which the general election is held.

    (b) Prior to any determination that the constitutionally requisite number of signatures has been obtained for purposes of placing an amendment by initiative on the ballot, the Division shall determine in accordance with Rule 1SER07-2, the number of verified petition revocations recorded no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 1 of the same year. The Division shall then deduct that number from the number of verified signatures recorded for the underlying applicable constitutional initiative amendment. Upon a determination that the constitutionally requisite number of signatures and distribution of signatures by congressional districts has been obtained, the Secretary of State shall issue a certificate of ballot position in accordance with Section 100.371, F.S., to the appropriate sponsoring political committee and assign a designating ballot number.

    (c) For any constitutional amendment by initiative that obtained a certification of ballot position prior to the effective date of this rule, a determination shall be made whether the number of verified signatures for petition revocations recorded as of 5:00 p.m. on February 1 of the year in which the next general election is held is sufficient to reduce the number of verified signatures for the underlying initiative amendment below the constitutionally required number of signatures obtained for ballot placement. If the number of recorded verified petition revocations is sufficient, then the initiative amendment is removed or stricken from the ballot in accordance with subsection 1S- 2.0011(3), F.A.C.

    (5)(4) Limitation on Use of Verified Signatures. Verified signatures used successfully to place a proposed amendment by 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 petition.

    (6) The effective date of this emergency rule is August 1, 2007.

    Specific Authority 20.10(3), 97.012(1), 100.371(7) FS. Law Implemented 100.371 FS. History–New 1-6-80, Amended 12-20-83, Formerly 1C-7.091, 1C-7.0091, Amended 2-13-90, 3-5-96, 1-5-04, 3-16-06, 8-1-07.

     

    THIS RULE TAKES EFFECT UPON BEING FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE UNLESS A LATER TIME AND DATE IS SPECIFIED IN THE RULE.

    EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 2007

Document Information

Effective Date:
8/1/2007
Subject:
The Division of Elections is aware of the rulemaking procedures prescribed by Section 120.54, Florida Statutes. That process requires advance notice to the general public of intended rules and the opportunity to submit comments on the intended rule, prior to the agency’s adoption of the rule. The time period for general rulemaking takes at least 60 days and will prevent the timely amendment and adoption of a rule needed to mandate the implementation of these provisions regarding revocation of ...
Summary:
This emergency rule implements new legislative changes relating to the requirements for verification of signatures on initiative petitions and adopts procedures for the Secretary of State to deduct from the verified signatures those signatures which have been properly revoked in accordance with the newly legislatively-created revocation process. It also deletes obsolete procedures that were applicable prior to January 1, 2007.
Purpose:
Pursuant to section 120.54(4)(b), Florida Statutes, this emergency rule is a rule pertaining to the public health, safety, and welfare as it involves the interpretation and implementation of the requirements of chapters 97-102 and 105 of the Florida Election Code. This emergency rule implements legislative changes as set forth in chapter 2007-30, Laws of Florida, which pertain to new requirements for a supervisor of elections to verify a signature of an elector on initiative petitions. The ...
Contact:
Gary J. Holland, Assistant General Counsel, Division of Elections, Department of State, R.A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, (850) 245-6536.