§ 99.09651 Signature requirements for ballot position in year of apportionment.
Overview of Statute
Statute
(1) In a year of apportionment, any candidate for representative to Congress, state Senate, or state House of Representatives seeking ballot position by the petition process prescribed in s. 99.095 shall obtain at least the number of signatures equal to one-third of 1 percent of the ideal population for the district of the office being sought.
(2) For the purposes of this section, “ideal population” means the total population of the state based upon the most recent decennial census divided by the number of districts for representative to Congress, state Senate, or state House of Representatives. For the purposes of this section, ideal population shall be calculated as of July 1 of the year prior to apportionment. The ideal population for a state Senate district and a state representative district shall be calculated by dividing the total population of the state by 40 for a state Senate district and by dividing by 120 for a state representative district.
(3) Signatures may be obtained from any registered voter in Florida regardless of party affiliation or district boundaries.
(4) Petitions shall state the name of the office the candidate is seeking, but shall not include a district number.
History:
s. 3, ch. 91-107; s. 4, ch. 99-318; s. 17, ch. 2005-277.
- Cross-References:
- Ballot Access
- Candidate Methods of Nomination
- Circulation
- Petitions for Nomination
- Signature Requirements
1. Definition for Ballot
As used in the Electronic Voting Systems Act, ballot means the card, tape, or other vehicle upon which the elector’s choices are recorded. Fla. Stat. § 101.5603(2).
2. Definition for Candidate
Any person to whom any one or more of the following applies:
Cases
Florida Cases
Case Name: Carroll v. Mack
Citation: 766 So.2d 1216
Year: 2000
Case URL: https://www.ravellaw.com/opinions/46eccdd6fcfdbdde957791b6b5804df3?query=766%20S[...]
Case Summary: Carroll v. Mack held that even though the candidate did not know about the boundaries of a newly-created district at the time of filing, she did not meet the statutory signature requirement that would have allowed her to qualify without paying a filing fee. She was unable to use signatures collected throughout the county to meet the requirement.
Out-of-State Cases
Federal Cases
Case Name: Johnson v. Mortham
Citation: 926 F.Supp. 1540
Federal District Court: Northern District of Florida
Year: 1996
Case URL: https://www.ravellaw.com/opinions/bf95606fdf08d671303e75efeed23fef?query=926%20F[...]
Case Summary: Johnson v. Mortham held that a stay of remedial proceedings after a Florida congressional district was struck down was not warranted, and further proceedings could go on as planned.
Case Name: U.S. Taxpayers Party of Florida v. Smith
Citation: 871 F.Supp. 426
Federal District Court: Northern District of Florida
Year: 1993
Case URL: https://www.ravellaw.com/opinions/5500ccf8b5189a65032711e716c08695?query=U.S.%20[...]
Case Summary: U.S. Taxpayers Party of Florida v. Smith held that the statutes requiring minor parties to file signatures by specified deadlines were not unconstitutional, since Florida had an interest in an early deadline to be able to prepare ballots and verify signatures, and the statutes were necessary to further that interest.