To require use of a uniform form and application and make necessary updates to the rule and voter registration application.

 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Division of Elections

RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:

1S-2.048State and Federal-Designated NVRA Voter Registration Agencies - Responsibilities

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: To require use of a uniform form and application and make necessary updates to the rule and voter registration application.

SUMMARY: Requiring use of a uniform form and updated application and making other changes for consistency or correction.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the Agency.

Upon completion of the SERC checklist, it was determined that this rule amendment will not have a direct or indirect adverse impact on small businesses and will not require legislative ratification.

The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: Upon completion of the SERC checklist, it was determined that this rule amendment will not have a direct or indirect adverse impact on small businesses and will not require legislative ratification.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 20.10(3), 97.012(1), (2), (9), 97.052(1), 97.058(2), (3), (9), F.S.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 97.012(1), (2), (9), 97.052(1), 97.058(2), (3), (9), F.S.

IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: September 4, 2024, 11:00 a.m.

PLACE: Heritage Hall, RA Gray Bldg., 500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399 or 1(888)585-9008 (201 297 717)

Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 3 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Ashley Davis at [e-mail]. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Ashley Davis at [e-mail].

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

Substantial rewording of Rule 1S-2.048 follows. See Florida Administrative Code for present text.

 

1S-2.048 State and Federal-Designated NVRA Voter Registration Agencies-Responsibilities.

(1) General application. These provisions apply to voter registration agencies as defined by Section 97.021, F.S. Voter registration agencies are not third-party voter registration organizations. Applicable voter registration agencies include:

(a) Any office that provides public assistance (e.g., any office that provides assistance through the food assistance program under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Cash Assistance Program (TANF), the Florida Kidcare, the Medicaid Program and the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Department of Children and Families (DCF).

(b) Any office that serves persons with disabilities. The office may be a stand-alone governmental agency or an office operating within a state or local government agency such as the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), a state-funded college or university that serves persons with disabilities, the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), the Florida Department of Children and Family Services (DCF), the Florida Department of Education’s (DOE) Division of Blind Services and Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

(c) Any center for independent living as defined in Section 413.20, F.S.

(d) Any public library. A public library refers to any library that serves a community, district or region and provides an organized collection of printed and other library materials or combination thereof, paid staff, a schedule in which staff services are available to public, facilities to support collection, staff and schedule, and is supported in whole or in part with public funds. The term does not include an academic library.

(e) Any armed forces recruitment office. 

(2)  Except the offices designated pursuant to section (1), no federal or state office may become a voter registration agency unless first designated by the Secretary of State. Thereafter, the state or federal office may then agree to accept such designation.

(3) Forms. The following forms are hereby incorporated by reference and available from the Division of Elections’ website under Forms or by contacting the Division of Elections at [e-mail] or 850-245-6200.

(a) Form DS-DE 77 (eff.__/24 (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-16611), entitled “Voter Registration Agency – Voter Registration Form and Notice to Applicant.”

(b) Form DS-DE 131 (eff. __/24) (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-16612), entitled “Voter Registration Agency - Voter Registration Activities Quarterly Report.”

(4) Voter Registration Agency Coordinator. Each voter registration agency shall designate an agency coordinator for voter registration activities related to NVRA and Section 97.058, F.S. For purposes of designating a coordinator of this subsection and reporting voter registration activities under subsection (7), “each voter registration agency” refers to the highest level of administrative unit or a consortium unit that oversees and monitors activities over one or more jurisdictional, district, or regional offices or divisions. The coordinator shall:

(a) Notify the Division of Elections of his or her name and contact information and keep the Division up-to-date regarding any changes within 10 calendar days of the change.

(b) Identify those agency staff and agents of the agency whose duties involve offering new agency services or renewal or recertification thereof, or the intake of address changes for those services.

(c) Ensure that the duties of persons identified in paragraph (b), delineate responsibility to provide voter registration and update opportunities to their clients at the same time as they are being offered the agency’s services.

(d) Provide training as set forth in subsection (5) to agency staff identified in paragraph (b), which may be satisfied by in-house training, or training offered by the Supervisor of Elections’ office, or the Division of Elections.

(5)  Training. The training must cover at a minimum the following topics: how and to whom voter registration services must be offered whether services are provided in person, by phone, online, or other means, how to process the voter registration of special classes of clients as victims of domestic violence or stalking violence, and high-risk professional classes of applicants who may be entitled to address confidentiality under certain circumstances, what the procedures are for advising clients of certain voter registration rights under federal and state law as set out in the form referenced further in this rule, how to make applications in electronic or paper format available or accessible, what is the degree of assistance required if client requests assistance to complete the application, what are the mandatory and optional fields of a voter registration application, how to record or track an agency’s voter registration activities, and what is the process for collecting and submitting voter registration applications or, if authorized by law, electronic voter registration information.

(6)  Voter registration opportunity. A voter registration agency shall ensure that regardless of the manner in which a person applies (in-person, over the phone, online or other means), for new or renewal or recertification of agency services or for updates to his or her address with respect to those services, the person shall be offered the opportunity to apply to register to vote or update their for voter registration at the same time.  However, if the person has self-identified as a non-United States citizen or the agency has otherwise identified them as a non-United States citizen, then the agency shall not provide any such voter registration opportunity. Otherwise, the offer shall be made by:

(a) Distributing the statewide a voter registration application Form DS-DE 39 or Form DS-DE 77, or making the Florida Department of State’s online voter registration application system (www.RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov) available to the person directly or by incorporating www.RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov or DS-DE 39 into the agency’s procedures or programmatic or electronic interface for input by the agency.  If the application cannot be completed through www.RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov the pre-populated form must be printed for the person.

(b) The person shall be provided the same degree of assistance in completing the application that the agency provides in assisting the person in connection with the agency’s own services, unless the person refuses such assistance.

(7) Notice of Rights. When a person applies for primary agency services or assistance from a voter registration agency for the first time or renews or recertifies eligibility for such services or assistance, or changes his or her address with respect to that service or assistance, the voter registration agency, with the exception of public libraries, must give the person notice about their rights: by distributing Form DS-DE 77.

(8) Reporting Requirements. Each voter registration agency through its coordinator shall submit the following reports to the Division of Elections via email on letterhead to [e-mail] or if email not available, to the Division of Elections, R.A. Gray Building, Room 316, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250:

(a) Quarterly reports regarding the agency’s voter registration activities using Form DS-DE 131, except that public libraries need only report the number of voter registration applications forwarded to the local Supervisor of Elections’ office.  Each report shall include data on the prior 3 full months of voter registration activities. Such reports are due no later than April 15, July 15, October 15, and January 15 each year. Failure to submit shall result in a notice and status of noncompliance until such time as the report is submitted. 

(b) Weekly reports identifying those persons who accepted the opportunity to register or update their registration, but evidence of their non-United States citizenship was found through processing the application for, or providing, agency services. The information must contain the person’s name; address; date of birth; last four digits of the social security number, if applicable; Florida driver license number or Florida identification card number, as available; and alien registration number or other legal status identifier. The data must be provided in an excel spreadsheet or other electronic format that allows for sorting and extraction of data and information.

Rulemaking Authority 20.10(3), 97.012(1), (2), (9), 97.052(1), 97.058(2), (3), (9) FS. Law Implemented 97.052(1), 97.058(2), (3), (9), 97.012(1), (2), (9), FS. History–New 1-2-12; Amended _-_-24.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Maria Matthews

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Cord Byrd

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: August 13, 2024

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: May 6, 2024