Fla. Stat. § 97.041

Qualifications to register or vote

Known as the Florida Voter Registration Act

The act spans §§ 97–97 (20 sections).

Applied in 11 court decisions — leading case U. S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995)

Most recently applied in Acklie v. Nebraska Dept. of Rev. (December 2022)

History.--ss. 1, chs. 3850, 3879, 1889; RS 154; s. 1, ch. 4328, 1895; GS 170; RGS 215; s. 1, ch. 8583, 1921; CGL 248; s. 1, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 2, ch. 28156, 1953; s. 1, ch. 63-…

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1)(a) A person may become a registered voter only if that person:

1. Is at least 18 years of age;

2. Is a citizen of the United States;

3. Is a legal resident of the State of Florida;

4. Is a legal resident of the county in which that person seeks to be registered; and

5. Registers pursuant to the Florida Election Code.

(b) A person who is otherwise qualified may preregister on or after that person’s 16th birthday and may vote in any election occurring on or after that person’s 18th birthday.

(2) The following persons, who might be otherwise qualified, are not entitled to register or vote:

(a) A person who has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated with respect to voting in this or any other state and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.

(b) A person who has been convicted of any felony by any court of record and who has not had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law.

(3) A person who is not registered may not vote.

Official source: Online Sunshine (Florida Legislature). Reproduced from public-domain Florida statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.