Nomination for presidential electors.

Candidates for presidential electors shall be nominated in the following manner:

(1)(a) The Governor shall nominate the presidential electors of each political party. The state executive committee of each political party shall by resolution recommend candidates for presidential electors and deliver a certified copy thereof to the Governor no later than noon on August 24 of each presidential election year. The Governor shall nominate only the electors recommended by the state executive committee of the respective political party.

(b) The state executive committee of each political party shall submit the Florida voter registration number and contact information of each presidential elector. Each such presidential elector must be a qualified registered voter of this state and member of the party he or she represents who has taken a written oath that he or she will vote for the candidates of the party that he or she is nominated to represent.

(c) The Governor shall certify to the Department of State no later than 5 p.m. on August 24, in each presidential election year, the names of a number of electors for each political party equal to the number of senators and representatives which this state has in Congress.

(2) The names of the presidential electors may not be printed on the general election ballot, but the names of the actual candidates for President and Vice President for whom the presidential electors will vote if elected must be printed on the ballot in the order in which the party of which the candidate is a nominee polled the highest number of votes for Governor in the last general election.

(3) Candidates for President and Vice President with no party affiliation may have their names printed on the general election ballots if a petition is signed by 1 percent of the registered voters of this state, as shown by the compilation by the Department of State for the last preceding general election. A separate petition from each county for which signatures are solicited shall be submitted to the supervisor of elections of the respective county no later than noon on July 15 of each presidential election year. The supervisor shall check the names and, on or before the date of the primary election, shall certify the number shown as registered voters of the county. The supervisor shall be paid by the person requesting the certification the cost of checking the petitions as prescribed in s. 99.097. The supervisor shall then forward the certificate to the Department of State which shall determine whether or not the percentage factor required in this section has been met. When the percentage factor required in this section has been met, the Department of State shall order the names of the candidates for whom the petition was circulated to be included on the ballot and shall allow the required number of persons to be certified as presidential electors in the same manner as party candidates.

(4)(a) A minor political party that is affiliated with a national party holding a national convention to nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the United States may have the names of its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States printed on the general election ballot by filing with the Department of State a certificate naming the candidates for President and Vice President and listing the required number of persons to serve as presidential electors. Notification to the Department of State under this subsection must be made no later than 5 p.m. on August 24 of the year in which the general election is held. When the Department of State has been so notified, it shall order the names of the candidates nominated by the minor political party to be included on the ballot and shall allow the required number of persons to be certified as presidential electors in the same manner as other party candidates. As used in this section, the term “national party” means a political party that is registered with and recognized as a qualified national committee of a political party by the Federal Election Commission.

(b) A minor political party that is not affiliated with a national party holding a national convention to nominate candidates for President and Vice President of the United States may have the names of its candidates for President and Vice President printed on the general election ballot if a petition is signed by 1 percent of the registered voters of this state, as shown by the compilation by the Department of State for the preceding general election. A separate petition from each county for which signatures are solicited must be submitted to the supervisors of elections of the respective county no later than noon on July 15 of each presidential election year. The supervisor shall check the names and, on or before the date of the primary election, shall certify the number shown as registered voters of the county. The supervisor shall be paid by the person requesting the certification the cost of checking the petitions as prescribed in s. 99.097. The supervisor shall then forward the certificate to the Department of State, which shall determine whether or not the percentage factor required in this section has been met. When the percentage factor required in this section has been met, the Department of State shall order the names of the candidates for whom the petition was circulated to be included on the ballot and shall allow the required number of persons to be certified as presidential electors in the same manner as other party candidates.

(5) When for any reason a person nominated or elected as a presidential elector is unable to serve because of death, incapacity, or otherwise, the Governor may appoint a person to fill such vacancy who possesses the qualifications required for the elector to have been nominated in the first instance. Such person shall file with the Governor a written oath that he or she will support the same candidates for President and Vice President that the person who is unable to serve was committed to support.

(6) A presidential elector’s refusal or failure to vote for the candidates for President and Vice President of the party the presidential elector was nominated to represent constitutes his or her resignation of the position. The vote he or she cast may not be recorded, and his or her position as a presidential elector must be filled as provided in subsection (5).