Voter rolls

• With few exceptions, all voter registration information is public, including name, address and party affiliation.
• Individuals may examine and obtain copies of registration records.
• Sources: F.S.A. § 97.0585; F.S.A. § 98.0981(4); Voter Information as a Public Record, Fla. Div. of Elections; Voter Extract Disk Request, Florida Div. of Elections.

Ballots

Initial ballot counts and recount process

• The initial ballot counts, or canvasses, are open to the public. County boards of election will generally post information on their websites about attending canvasses.
• Public notice of a recount must be provided as soon as possible once it is determined that a recount must commence.
• “All procedures relating to recounts shall be open to the public.”
• Sources: F.S.A. § 102.166; F.S.A. § 102.141(2); Fla. Admin. Code r. 1S-2.031; Recount Procedure Summary, Fla. Div. of Elections (last updated July 2016); see, e.g., Public Notice of Palm Beach County Canvassing Board Meeting, Palm Beach Cty. Bd. of Elections (Sept. 22, 2020).

Dates and deadlines for counting ballots

• Ordinarily, 22 days before Election Day (Oct. 12, 2020), canvassing boards may begin counting vote-by-mail ballots for the general election.
• An executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis now allows county canvassing boards to begin counting early ballots as soon as they have verified the accuracy of tabulation equipment per F.S. § 101.5612(2).
• The deadline for county canvassing boards to submit official results to the Florida Department of State is 12 p.m. EST, 12 days after Election Day — this year, Nov. 15, 2020. However, if the results are not sent to the Department of State due to an emergency, the Elections Canvassing Commission must determine a new deadline.
• Sources: F.S. § 101.68(2)(a); F.S. § 102.112; Exec. Order No. 20-149, Office of the Gov. of the State of Fla. (June 17, 2020).

Election result resources

• For current election results, visit the Florida Department of State’s Election Watch website.
• Additionally, websites of county supervisors of elections will post election results. For example, Lee County will begin posting election results after 7 p.m. EST on its website.

Exit polling, newsgathering in or near polling places and ballot selfies

• Although Florida law prohibits “solicitation” both inside polling places and within 150 feet of them, the law contains an express carve-out for exit polling. Fla. Stat. § 102.031(4)(a)–(b).
• The same law also generally prohibits photography in polling places, but a 2019 amendment to the law makes an exception for ballot selfies. § 102.031(5) (“[A]n elector may photograph his or her own ballot”).