Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 101.151 (2025)

Specifications for ballots.

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101.151 Specifications for ballots.—

(1)(a) Marksense ballots shall be printed on paper of such thickness that the printing cannot be distinguished from the back and shall meet the specifications of the voting system that will be used to tabulate the ballots.

(b) Polling places and early voting sites may employ a ballot-on-demand production system to print individual marksense ballots, including provisional ballots, for eligible electors. Ballot-on-demand technology may be used to produce marksense vote-by-mail and election-day ballots.

(2)(a) The ballot must include the following office titles above the names of the candidates for the respective offices in the following order:

1. The office titles of President and Vice President above the names of the candidates for President and Vice President of the United States nominated by the political party that received the highest vote for Governor in the last general election of the Governor in this state, followed by the names of other candidates for President and Vice President of the United States who have been properly nominated.

2. The office titles of United States Senator and Representative in Congress.

3. The office titles of Governor and Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Chief Financial Officer; Commissioner of Agriculture; State Attorney, with the applicable judicial circuit; and Public Defender, with the applicable judicial circuit.

4. The office titles of State Senator and State Representative, with the applicable district for the office printed beneath.

5. The office titles of Clerk of the Circuit Court or, when the Clerk of the Circuit Court also serves as the County Comptroller, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, when authorized by law; Clerk of the County Court, when authorized by law; Sheriff; Property Appraiser; Tax Collector; District Superintendent of Schools; and Supervisor of Elections.

6. The office titles of Board of County Commissioners, with the applicable district printed beneath each office, and such other county and district offices as are involved in the election, in the order fixed by the Department of State, followed, in the year of their election, by “Party Offices,” and thereunder the offices of state and county party executive committee members.

(b) In a general election, in addition to the names printed on the ballot, a blank space shall be provided under each office for which a write-in candidate has qualified. With respect to write-in candidates, if two or more candidates are seeking election to one office, only one blank space shall be provided.

(c) When more than one candidate is nominated for office, the candidates for such office shall qualify and run in a group or district, and the group or district number shall be printed beneath the name of the office. Each nominee of a political party chosen in a primary shall appear on the general election ballot in the same numbered group or district as on the primary election ballot.

(d) If in any election all the offices as set forth in paragraph (a) are not involved, those offices not to be filled shall be omitted and the remaining offices shall be arranged on the ballot in the order named.

(3)(a) The names of the candidates of the party that received the highest number of votes for Governor in the last election in which a Governor was elected shall be placed first for each office on the general election ballot, together with an appropriate abbreviation of the party name; the names of the candidates of the party that received the second highest vote for Governor shall be placed second for each office, together with an appropriate abbreviation of the party name.

(b) Minor political party candidates shall have their names appear on the general election ballot following the names of recognized political parties, in the same order as they were qualified, followed by the names of candidates with no party affiliation, in the order as they were qualified.

(4)(a) The names of candidates for each office shall be arranged alphabetically as to surnames on a primary election ballot.

(b) When two or more candidates running for the same office on an election ballot have the same or a similar surname, the word “incumbent” must appear next to the incumbent’s name.

(5) The primary election ballot shall be arranged so that the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are joined in a single voting space to allow each elector to cast a single vote for the joint candidacies for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, if applicable.

(6) The general election ballot shall be arranged so that the offices of President and Vice President are joined in a single voting space to allow each elector to cast a single vote for the joint candidacies for President and Vice President and so that the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor are joined in a single voting space to allow each elector to cast a single vote for the joint candidacies for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

(7) Except for justices or judges seeking retention, the names of unopposed candidates shall not appear on the general election ballot. Each unopposed candidate shall be deemed to have voted for himself or herself.

(8) In counties subject to multi-language ballot requirements, the supervisor may petition the United States Department of Justice for authorization for the supervisor to print and deliver single-language ballots for each minority language required.

(9)(a) The Department of State shall adopt rules prescribing a uniform primary and general election ballot for each certified voting system. The rules shall incorporate the requirements set forth in this section and shall prescribe additional matters and forms that include, without limitation:

1. The ballot title followed by clear and unambiguous ballot instructions and directions limited to a single location on the ballot, either:

a. Centered across the top of the ballot; or

b. In the leftmost column, with no individual races in that column unless it is the only column on the ballot;

2. Individual race layout; and

3. Overall ballot layout.

(b) The rules must graphically depict a sample uniform primary and general election ballot form for each certified voting system.

History.—s. 35, ch. 4328, 1895; GS 219; s. 1, ch. 5612, 1907; RGS 264; CGL 320; s. 5, ch. 17898, 1937; ss. 2, 3, ch. 25187, 1949; s. 5, ch. 26870, 1951; s. 3, ch. 29937, 1955; s. 1, ch. 57-235; s. 2, ch. 59-334; s. 1, ch. 65-52; s. 2, ch. 65-60; s. 8, ch. 65-380; s. 4, ch. 67-386; ss. 10, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 8, ch. 69-281; s. 1, ch. 69-380; s. 37, ch. 73-333; s. 1, ch. 77-102; s. 13, ch. 77-175; s. 33, ch. 79-400; s. 6, ch. 81-105; s. 11, ch. 81-304; s. 9, ch. 82-143; s. 20, ch. 89-338; s. 556, ch. 95-147; s. 14, ch. 99-318; s. 11, ch. 99-326; s. 14, ch. 99-355; s. 7, ch. 2001-40; s. 7, ch. 2002-17; s. 29, ch. 2005-277; s. 5, ch. 2007-30; s. 28, ch. 2011-40; s. 5, ch. 2013-57; s. 6, ch. 2013-109; s. 10, ch. 2016-37; s. 9, ch. 2019-162; s. 17, ch. 2022-73; s. 23, ch. 2023-120.

Note.—Former ss. 99.18, 99.171.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases, 1979–2020 · leading case: Nancy Carola Jacobsen v. Florida Sec'y of State, 974 F.3d 1236 (11th Cir. 2020).

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Nancy Carola Jacobsen v. Florida Sec'y of State, 974 F.3d 1236 (11th Cir. 2020). · cites it 7× “Laws 871 (originally codified at Fla. Stat. § 101.151 (4) (1951)). The statute requires the candidate of the party that won the last gubernatorial election to appear first beneath each office listed on the ballot, with the candidate of the second-place party appearing second.”

Nancy Carola Jacobsen v. Florida Sec'y of State, 957 F.3d 1193 (11th Cir. 2020). · cites it 4× “Laws 871 (originally codified at Fla. Stat. § 101.151 (4) (1951)). The statute requires the candidate of the party that won the last gubernatorial election to appear first beneath each office listed on the ballot, with the candidate of the second-place party appearing second.”

Martinez v. Bush, 234 F. Supp. 2d 1275 (S.D. Fla. 2002). · cites it 4× “If an election is uncontestedthat is, if there is only one candidate whose name would appear on the ballot and no write-in candidates have qualifiedthe race does not even appear on the ballot; the single candidate is deemed to have prevailed.”

Jenkins v. State, 385 So. 2d 1356 (Fla. 1980). · cites it 2× “The substance of the amendment to be placed on the ballot (section 101.151, Florida Statutes), was as follows: "An amendment to the State Constitution to modify the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.”

Jennifer Brinkmann v. Tyron Francois, etc., 184 So. 3d 504 (Fla. 2016). · cites it 2× “” Fla. Stat. § 101.151 (7). It is this type of primary that is, by definition, a de facto general election because there will actually be no opportunity to vote at all in the general election — the election for the office of Miami-Dade State’s Attorney will be absent from the…”

Nikolits v. Nicosia, 682 So. 2d 663 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). · cites it 7× “§ 101.151, Fla. Stat. (1995). Instead, the abbreviation of party affiliation of the candidate is placed next to the candidate's name.”

Orange Cnty., Florida v. Rick Singh, etc., 268 So. 3d 668 (Fla. 2019). · cites it 3× “See § 101.151(2)(c), Fla. Stat. (2018) (“Each nominee of a political party chosen in a primary shall appear on the general election ballot in the same numbered group or district as on the 3.”

Browning v. Sarasota All., 968 So. 2d 637 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). “Section 101.151 provides instructions regarding the content and style of ballots.”

Smith v. Smathers, 372 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 1979). · cites it 2× “See § 101.151(6), Fla. Stat. (1977). The right asserted by petitioner Smith to be a writein candidate is necessarily intertwined with the election procedure which eliminates an unopposed candidate's name from the ballot.”

Atl. Gulf Communities Corp. v. City of Port St. Lucie, 764 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). · cites it 2× “141, Florida Statutes) that is omitted from another section (section 101.151, Florida Statutes) and not with the wording of two subsections of the same statutory section.”

Lacasa v. Townsley, 883 F. Supp. 2d 1231 (S.D. Fla. 2012). · cites it 2× “” Fla. Stat. § 101.151 (7). It is this type of primary that is, by definition, a de facto general election because there will actually be no opportunity to vote at all in the general election — the election for the office of Miami-Dade State’s Attorney will be absent from the…”

Jacobson v. Lee (N.D. Fla. 2019). · cites it 33× “§ 101.151(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2019). Within each office block, the candidates’ names are arranged according to the following scheme: The names of the candidates of the party that received the highest number of votes for Governor in the last election in which a Governor was…”

Show all 13 citing cases →

— 101.151(2)(a) — 1 case

Jacobson v. Lee (N.D. Fla. 2019). “§ 101.151(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2019). Within each office block, the candidates’ names are arranged according to the following scheme: The names of the candidates of the party that received the highest number of votes for Governor in the last election in which a Governor was…”

— 101.151(2)(c) — 2 cases

Orange Cnty., Florida v. Rick Singh, etc., 268 So. 3d 668 (Fla. 2019). “See § 101.151(2)(c), Fla. Stat. (2018) (“Each nominee of a political party chosen in a primary shall appear on the general election ballot in the same numbered group or district as on the 3.”

Orange Cnty., Florida v. Rick Singh, etc. (Fla. 2019).

— 101.151(3)(a) — 1 case

— 101.151(3)(b) — 1 case

— 101.151(4)(a) — 1 case

— 101.151(6) — 1 case

Smith v. Smathers, 372 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 1979). “See § 101.151(6), Fla. Stat. (1977). The right asserted by petitioner Smith to be a writein candidate is necessarily intertwined with the election procedure which eliminates an unopposed candidate's name from the ballot.”

— 101.151(8) — 1 case

Nikolits v. Nicosia, 682 So. 2d 663 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). “§ 101.151, Fla. Stat. (1995). Instead, the abbreviation of party affiliation of the candidate is placed next to the candidate's name.”

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