Department of State requests funds to modernize Florida’s voter registration system

Secretary of State Cord Byrd told the subcommittee that the statewide Florida Voter Registration System (FDRS) is the official list of registered voters and was created in 2006 under statutes governing the statewide registration system. Byrd cited section 98.035, Florida Statutes, during his remarks.

Byrd said the current FDRS is outdated and cannot be easily changed to meet new legislative requirements. The department received $450,000 in fiscal year 2022–23 to conduct a feasibility study outlining business, functional and technical requirements for modernization. Byrd said the study recommended a hybrid approach to infrastructure and that modernizing FDRS would increase efficiency, improve compatibility with county supervisors' software, enhance data security and reduce duplicate work.

The Division of Elections requested $2,494,800 in nonrecurring funds and $44,000 in recurring funds to competitively procure a modernized solution for FDRS. Jennifer Kennedy, assistant secretary and chief of staff, told the committee the feasibility study was completed roughly two years ago and the department would provide a copy on request.

Ranking members asked whether the department could incorporate data that helps returned citizens and others verify eligibility under Amendment 4. Byrd said that records used to determine restoration of civil rights are maintained by clerks of court and involve data held by multiple agencies, so any centralized solution would require data sharing with clerks and other partners. Byrd said the department has recently revised rules and processes to make it easier for eligible returning citizens to re‑register.

Byrd and department staff said procurement would proceed competitively if the committee and appropriations process provide funding; the department offered to provide the committee the feasibility study, additional technical details and proposed metrics for the procurement.