Florida SB 1598: Elections

Bill Text

1598 
Elections 
2026-01-09T06:51:12Z 
Requiring that the Secretary of State be elected, rather than appointed, and serve a specified term; requiring the Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop and maintain a database for a specified purpose; authorizing a person who meets certain requirements to register to vote for the early voting period or election day at an early voting site or his or her polling place and cast a ballot immediately thereafter; authorizing the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to preregister certain individuals to vote; revising the information a third-party voter registration organization is required to provide to the Division of Elections of the Department of State, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1598 

 By Senator Bracy Davis 

 15-00639A-26 20261598__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to elections; amending s. 20.10, F.S.; 
 3 requiring that the Secretary of State be elected, 
 4 rather than appointed, and serve a specified term; 
 5 specifying when such election must occur; amending s. 
 6 20.32, F.S.; requiring the Florida Commission on 
 7 Offender Review to develop and maintain a database for 
 8 a specified purpose; specifying database requirements; 
 9 requiring specified entities to provide specified 
 10 information to the commission on a monthly basis; 
 11 requiring the Department of Management Services, 
 12 acting through the Florida Digital Service, to provide 
 13 technical assistance to the commission in developing 
 14 and maintaining the database; authorizing the 
 15 Department of Management Services to adopt rules; 
 16 requiring the commission to make the database publicly 
 17 available on a website by a specified date; requiring 
 18 the commission to update the database monthly; 
 19 requiring the commission to publish certain 
 20 instructions on the website; requiring the commission 
 21 to submit a certain comprehensive plan to the Governor 
 22 and the Legislature by a specified date; specifying 
 23 requirements for the comprehensive plan; providing 
 24 that certain persons who register to vote may not be 
 25 charged with certain violations as a result of such 
 26 registration or voting; requiring the Division of 
 27 Elections and the supervisors of elections to complete 
 28 the necessary steps to reregister individuals under 
 29 specified conditions; requiring the division and 
 30 supervisors to send certain mail to individuals under 
 31 specified conditions; requiring the information in the 
 32 statewide database to be updated weekly rather than 
 33 monthly during a specified timeframe; requiring the 
 34 commission to adopt rules; amending s. 97.021, F.S.; 
 35 defining terms; revising the definition of the term 
 36 “election”; providing construction; repealing s. 
 37 97.022, F.S., relating to the Office of Election 
 38 Crimes and Security; repealing s. 97.0291, F.S., 
 39 relating to prohibiting the use of private funds for 
 40 election-related expenses; creating s. 97.0556, F.S.; 
 41 authorizing a person who meets certain requirements to 
 42 register to vote for the early voting period or 
 43 election day at an early voting site or his or her 
 44 polling place and cast a ballot immediately 
 45 thereafter; amending s. 97.057, F.S.; authorizing the 
 46 Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to 
 47 preregister certain individuals to vote; providing 
 48 that driver license or identification card 
 49 applications, driver license or identification card 
 50 renewal applications, and applications for changes of 
 51 address for existing driver licenses or identification 
 52 cards submitted to the department serve as voter 
 53 registration applications; providing that an applicant 
 54 is deemed to have consented to the use of his or her 
 55 signature for voter registration purposes unless a 
 56 declination is made; requiring that specified 
 57 applications include a voter registration component, 
 58 subject to approval by the Department of State; 
 59 providing requirements for the voter registration 
 60 component; requiring the Department of Highway Safety 
 61 and Motor Vehicles to transmit voter registration 
 62 information electronically to the Department of State 
 63 within a specified timeframe; requiring the Department 
 64 of State to provide such information to supervisors of 
 65 elections; deleting a provision prohibiting persons 
 66 providing voter registration services for a driver 
 67 license office from making changes to an applicant’s 
 68 party affiliation without the applicant’s consent and 
 69 separate signature; requiring the Department of 
 70 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to ensure that all 
 71 registration services comply with state and federal 
 72 laws; requiring the Department of Highway Safety and 
 73 Motor Vehicles, as soon as practicable, to notify the 
 74 Department of State of any chang