a. Ballots
Election records are generally open to public inspection. An individual or group is entitled to inspect the ballots and may take notes regarding the number of votes cast. AGO 93-48. See also Rogers v. Hood, 906 So. 2d 1220, 1223 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005), review denied, 919 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 2005) (voted ballots are public records because they have “memorialized the act of voting”). Cf. Trout v. Bucher, 205 So. 3d 876 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), stating that the supervisor of elections was not required to charge the hourly rate of the lowest paid person capable of providing ballots for inspection because s. 119.07(4)(d), F.S., authorizes the agency to impose a reasonable charge based on labor costs “actually incurred by the agency or attributable to the agency” when extensive clerical or supervisory assistance is required).Section 119.07(5), F.S., prohibits any person other than the supervisor of elections or the supervisor’s employees from touching the ballots. And see s. 101.572, F.S. (no persons other than the supervisor, supervisor’s employees, or the county canvassing board shall handle any official ballot or ballot card). However, this restriction does not prohibit the supervisor from producing copies of optically scanned ballots which were cast in an election in response to a public records request. AGO 04-11. And see AGO 01-37.
Information regarding requests for vote-by-mail ballots that is recorded by the supervisor of elections pursuant to s. 101.62(3), F.S., is confidential and exempt and shall be made available to or reproduced only for the individuals and entities set forth in the exemption, for political purposes only. Section 101.62(3), F.S.
b. Voter Registration and Voter Records
Section 97.0585(1), F.S., states that the following information is confidential and exempt from public disclosure requirements and may be used only for purposes of voter registration:- declinations to register to vote;
- information relating to the place where a person registered to vote or updated a voter registration;
- the social security number, driver license number, and the Florida identification number of a voter registration applicant or voter; and
- all information concerning preregistered voter registration applicants who are 16 or 17 years old.
Section 98.075(2)(b), F.S., allows the Department of State to join a nongovernmental entity composed of state and District of Columbia election officials whose sole purpose is to share and exchange information in order to verify voter registration information. Information received by the department from another state or the District of Columbia which is confidential or exempt pursuant to the laws of that state or the District of Columbia is exempt from disclosure. Section 98.075(2)(c), F.S.
