Overview

The County Canvassing Board is responsible for canvassing ballots at the county level. They transmit canvassing certificates to the Department of State for all races. If an election was confined to the county, the County Canvassing Board will be the ultimate certifying authority for those races. Cf. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(7) (noting that County Canvassing Boards are responsible for calling recounts because they are the “board responsible for certifying the election” in the county).

Election-Related Duties

The key duties of the County Canvassing Board are:

1. Canvassing absent electors’ ballots. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(2)(a).
2. Canvassing provisional ballots. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(2)(a).
3. Canvassing the votes for “each candidate, nominee, constitutional amendment, or other [ballot] measure … as shown by the returns then on file in the office of the” Supervisor of Elections. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(2)(a).
4. Reporting “all early voting and all tabulated vote-by-mail results to the Department of State within 30 minutes after the polls close.” Fla. Stat. § 102.141(2)(b). From that moment on, the County Canvassing Board must “report, with the exception of provisional ballot results, updated precinct election results to the [Department of State] at least every 45 minutes until all results are completely reported.” Fla. Stat. § 102.141(2)(b).
5. Making and signing duplicate certificates with the “total number of votes cast for each person nominated or elected, the names of persons for whom such votes were cast, and the number of votes cast for each candidate or nominee.” Fla. Stat. § 102.151. One copy of the certificates is “immediately transmitted” to the Department of State and the other copy is filed in the Supervisor of Elections’ office. Fla. Stat. § 102.151.
6. Ordering a recount if the margin of victory (or defeat) was by 0.5% or less for all races other than those for federal, state, or multi-county offices or races. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(7); see also Fla. Stat. § 102.166(1).
7. “[A]ppoint[ing] as many counting teams of at least two [voters] as is necessary to manually recount the ballots.” Fla. Stat. § 102.166(5)(a).
8. Potentially responding to “staffing shortages or procedural violations by employees or precinct workers … during the conduct of the election.” See Fla. Stat. § 102.141(10(a)(4) (implying that both the Supervisor of Elections and the County Canvassing Board may be required to deal with issues that occur during the election).

Selection and Vacancy Information

• Ex Officio: County Canvassing Boards are made up of the Supervisor of Elections, County Court Judge, and the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, serving ex officio by virtue of these positions. *****Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)*. By default, County Canvassing Board members serve based on their ex officio roles. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1). However, this cycle a number of Supervisors of Election are disqualified for this year’s general election because they are up for re-election in contested races. Therefore, these roles have been filled by appointment following vacancy rules described below.
• Makeup: The County Canvassing Board is composed of a County Court Judge who acts as the chair, the Supervisor of Elections, and the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1). Both the Chief Judge of the Judicial Circuit in which the county is located and the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners for that county must appoint at least one County Court Judge and one member of the Board of County Commissioners, respectively, to serve as alternate canvassing board members. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1); see also Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(e).
  • Alternate members not serving as one of the three members of the County Canvassing Board can “be present, observe, and communicate with the three members constituting the County Canvassing Board, but may not vote in the board’s decisions or determinations.” Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(e)(4). The names of the members of the County Canvassing Board must be published on the Supervisor of Elections website once the logic and accuracy test has been completed. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1).
• Qualifications and Restrictions: Members of the County Canvassing Board cannot be a candidate with “opposition in the election being canvassed.” Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1). They also cannot be “an active participant in the campaign or candidacy of any candidate who has opposition in the election being canvassed…” Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1).
• Vacancy: Vacancies are filled differently depending on the ex officio role where the vacancy exists.
  • Supervisor of Elections: If the Supervisor of Elections is disqualified or unable to serve on the County Canvassing Board, the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners must appoint a substitute from the Board of County Commissioners. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(b). The Supervisor of Elections still “act[s] in an advisory capacity to the canvassing board.” Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(b). The substitute cannot be a candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed, nor can they be an active participant in the campaign or candidacy of any candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(b).
  • County Court Judge: If the original County Court Judge selected by the Chief Judge of the Judicial Circuit is unable to serve or disqualified from serving on the County Canvassing Board, the Chief Judge will select another County Court Judge to serve. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(e)(1). If, on the other hand, all County Court Judges are unable to or disqualified from serving on the County Canvassing Board, the Chief Judge of the Judicial Circuit will appoint a qualified elector of the county who is neither a candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed, nor an active participant in the campaign or candidacy of any candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed. Fla. Stat. §§ 102.141(1)(e)(1), 102.141(1)(a). In this case, the members of the County Canvassing Board meet and elect a chair of the Board. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(a).
  • Chair of the Board of County Commissioners: If the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners is unable to or is disqualified from serving on the County Canvassing Board, the Board of County Commissioners must appoint one of its members as a substitute. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(c). The substitute can be neither a candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed, nor an active participant in the campaign or candidacy of any candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed. Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(c). If, on the other hand, no member from the Board of County Commissioners is able to serve (or all members are disqualified), the Chief Judge of the Judicial Circuit in which the county is located “must appoint as a substitute member or alternate member a qualified elector of the county who is not a candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed and who is not an active participant in the campaign or candidacy of any candidate with opposition in the election being canvassed.” Fla. Stat. §§ 102.141(1)(e)(2), 102.141(1)(d).
  • Temporary Vacancy: There are separate rules if a member of the County Canvassing Board is only temporarily unavailable. In that case “the chair of the County Canvassing Board or his or her designee must designate which alternate member will serve as a member of the board in the place of the member who is unable to participate at that meeting.” Fla. Stat. § 102.141(1)(e)(3).