1999 Florida Code
TITLE IX ELECTORS AND ELECTIONS
Chapter 101 Voting Methods and Procedure  
101.161   Referenda; ballots.

101.161  Referenda; ballots.--

(1)  Whenever a constitutional amendment or other public measure is submitted to the vote of the people, the substance of such amendment or other public measure shall be printed in clear and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of candidates, followed by the word "yes" and also by the word "no," and shall be styled in such a manner that a "yes" vote will indicate approval of the proposal and a "no" vote will indicate rejection. The wording of the substance of the amendment or other public measure and the ballot title to appear on the ballot shall be embodied in the joint resolution, constitutional revision commission proposal, constitutional convention proposal, taxation and budget reform commission proposal, or enabling resolution or ordinance. The substance of the amendment or other public measure shall be an explanatory statement, not exceeding 75 words in length, of the chief purpose of the measure. The ballot title shall consist of a caption, not exceeding 15 words in length, by which the measure is commonly referred to or spoken of.

(2)  The substance and ballot title of a constitutional amendment proposed by initiative shall be prepared by the sponsor and approved by the Secretary of State in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to s. 120.54. The Department of State shall give each proposed constitutional amendment a designating number for convenient reference. This number designation shall appear on the ballot. Designating numbers shall be assigned in the order of filing or certification of the amendments. The Department of State shall furnish the designating number, the ballot title, and the substance of each amendment to the supervisor of elections of each county in which such amendment is to be voted on.

(3)(a)  The ballot for the general election in the year 2000 must contain a statement allowing voters to determine whether circuit or county court judges will be selected by merit selection and retention as provided in s. 10, Art. V of the State Constitution. The ballot in each circuit must contain the statement in paragraph (c). The ballot in each county must contain the statement in paragraph (e).

(b)  For any general election in which the Secretary of State, for any circuit, or the supervisor of elections, for any county, has certified the ballot position for an initiative to change the method of selection of judges, the ballot for any circuit must contain the statement in paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) and the ballot for any county must contain the statement in paragraph (e) or paragraph (f).

(c)  In any circuit where the initiative is to change the selection of circuit court judges to selection by merit selection and retention, the ballot shall state: "Shall circuit court judges in the  (number of the circuit)  judicial circuit be selected through merit selection and retention?" This statement must be followed by the word "yes" and also by the word "no."

(d)  In any circuit where the initiative is to change the selection of circuit court judges to election by the voters, the ballot shall state: "Shall circuit court judges in the  (number of the circuit)  judicial circuit be selected by vote of the electorate of the circuit?" This statement must be followed by the word "yes" and also by the word "no."

(e)  In any county where the initiative is to change the selection of county court judges to merit selection and retention, the ballot shall state: "Shall county court judges in  (name of county)  be selected through merit selection and retention?" This statement must be followed by the word "yes" and also by the word "no."

(f)  In any county where the initiative is to change the selection of county court judges to election by the voters, the ballot shall state: "Shall county court judges in  (name of the county)  be selected by vote of the electorate of the county?" This statement must be followed by the word "yes" and also by the word "no."

History.--s. 34, ch. 4328, 1895; GS 218; RGS 262; CGL 318; ss. 1-11, ch. 16180, 1933; s. 1, ch. 16877, 1935; s. 4, ch. 17898, 1937; s. 1, ch. 22626, 1945; s. 5, ch. 26870, 1951; ss. 10, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 73-7; s. 13, ch. 77-175; s. 16, ch. 79-365; s. 2, ch. 80-305; s. 32, ch. 84-302; s. 11, ch. 90-203; s. 10, ch. 99-355.

Note.--Former s. 99.16.