Precincts and polling places; boundaries.

(1) The board of county commissioners in each county, upon recommendation and approval of the supervisor, shall alter or create precincts for voting in the county. Each precinct shall be numbered and, as nearly as practicable, composed of contiguous and compact areas. The supervisor shall designate a polling place at a suitable location within each precinct. The precinct shall not be changed thereafter except with the consent of the supervisor and a majority of the members of the board of county commissioners. The board of county commissioners and the supervisor may have precinct boundaries conform to municipal boundaries in accordance with the provisions of s. 101.002, but, in any event, the registration books shall be maintained in such a manner that there may be determined therefrom the total number of electors in each municipality.

(2) When in any election there are fewer than 25 registered electors of the only political party having candidates on the ballot at any precinct, such precinct may be combined with other adjoining precincts upon the recommendation of the supervisor and the approval of the county commissioners. Notice of the combination of precincts shall be given in the same manner as provided in s. 101.71(2).

(3)(a) Each supervisor of elections shall maintain a geographical information system map clearly delineating all major observable features such as roads, streams, and railway lines and showing the current geographical boundaries of each precinct, representative district, and senatorial district, and other type of district in the county subject to the elections process in this code. A supervisor may coordinate with other governmental entities to comply with this subsection.

(b) The supervisor of elections shall notify the Secretary of State in writing within 10 days after any reorganization of precincts and shall furnish a copy of the geographical information system compatible map showing the geographical boundaries and designation of each new precinct.

(c) Any precinct established or altered under this section must consist of areas bounded on all sides only by census block boundaries from the most recent United States Census. If the census block boundaries split or conflict with a municipal or other political subdivision boundary, the boundary listed below may be used as a precinct boundary:

1. Governmental unit boundaries reported in the most recent Boundary and Annexation Survey published by the United States Census Bureau; or

2. Boundaries of counties, incorporated municipalities, or other political subdivisions that meet criteria established by the United States Census Bureau for block boundaries.

(4)(a) Within 10 days after there is any change in the division, name, number, or boundaries of the precincts, or the location of the polling places, the supervisor of elections shall make in writing an accurate description of any new or altered precincts, setting forth the boundary lines and shall identify the location of each new or altered polling place. A copy of the document describing such changes must be posted at the supervisor’s office.

(b) Any changes in the county precinct data shall be provided to the department within 10 days after a change.

(c) Precinct data shall include all precincts for which precinct-level election results and voting history results are reported.