Florida

Florida has pre-checks to answer prior to validating. Florida is best searched using birthdate mode.

Before validating, you will be prompted to enter the serial number of the petition for each new form, which is preprinted in the top section of the petition form. This is to catch clients who accidentally mix up petitions. Next, enter the voters birthdate. If the birthdate is missing or incomplete, enter the registration number. If both birthdate and registration number are missing, leave blank and immediately press ctrl-s (cmd-s on Mac). Next, enter the signing date using the shortcut method of day and 2-digit month with no slash. No year is required unless different than the current year, in which case enter a 2-digit year. Check the box that the circulator signed, and enter the circulator's signing date also using the shortcut method. The circulator signature and signing date is the second instance at the very bottom of the form. When done, press ctrl-s. If the signing date was too old by Florida law, it will mark the signature as expired.

Any defect during the pre-checks will skip the need to validate, and you will get credit for tagging the signature as deficient.

There are additional deficiency codes that are automatically entered as part of the pre-checks. You can also add these manually, and if a peer reviewer you can verify these codes are correct. They are:

-p = client uploaded a different petition than the one intended (for the current petition, that means the number at the top is not 2501)
-u = unsigned by circulator
-i = no signing date by circulator or signed before the voter signing date
-e = expired, which happens when the signing date is 21 days older than the turn-in date, an internal date which you cannot see
-b = incomplete birthdate and no registration number, or signer was not 18 years of age when signing

Florida gets a lot of out-of-state people who sign petitions, so make sure the zip code starts with a 3, and the county is in Florida. If not, flag it as a bad scan category s.

A birthdate must match in the month/day/year format. If the date is written as 18/04/2025, for example, treat as if no date is written.

Write-overs are allowed on name and address, but not on either signing date or the birthdate. Treat as if no date is written if written over. The default specs explain what a write-over is and isn't and shows examples. Keep in mind that since Ground Game doesn't require a year on signing dates, it's okay if the signing dates' year is written over.

P.O. box is not deficient for an address. However, you will need an exact birthdate match if the address doesn't match or there is a P.O. box instead of a residential address. Some type of address is required and if blank, it is still -a0.

[Added to the default specs] An impossible date such as 2/29 in a non-leap year or 3/32 treat as if no date is entered.

For Ground Game only, not FLRD: If you cannot find the voter, and the checkbox that reads Update my voter registration record to this address is ticked, tag the signature as /0. The tag will appear as REG instead of NON. Only do this if there is no deficiency.

Missing county, missing city, missing circulator signature, and bad circulator signing date are fixable deficiencies of -o#, -c#, -u#, and -i# respectively. If there is no county, search online for the county based on the city. If no county or city, tag -co0, since you have no way to locate the voter. As always, if you cannot find the voter, include the deficiency before adding the zero.

Only use -s if the signature is missing.