CRESTVIEW — Florida House Bill 185 – providing exemption from public release of the records of certain military and their family members – was signed into law on June 2.
Current and former service members of the U.S. Armed Forces, Reserve Forces or National Guard who served after Sept. 11, 2001 are eligible to apply for the exemption. Military spouses and voting-age children are also able to be protected.
Individuals requesting this exemption for their voter registration information must submit a request form to the Supervisor of Elections.
In doing so, they must agree to having already made a reasonable effort to protect their identity and location information from being accessible through other means available to the public (Facebook, other social media, websites, etc.).
Voter registration information is public record in Florida with a few exceptions. Information such as your Social Security number, driver’s license number, and the source of your voter registration application cannot be released or disclosed to the public under any circumstances. Your signature can be viewed, but not copied. Other information such as your name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, and when you voted is public information.
Exemption request forms can be found on the Supervisor of Elections website at www.GoVote-Okaloosa.com.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Florida public records exemption passes for military voters