Loading
Active Registered Voters as of 05/23/2013
Democratic: 309,177
Republican: 244,866
Other: 199,106
Total: 753,149
Glossary of Terms
The following glossary is provided to help voters and poll workers to familiarize themselves with the common, and not-so-common terms and acronyms used in the elections business.| Term | Definition |
| Absentee Ballot (Vote By Mail) | Absentee ballots were originally made available for military personnel and those absent during an election. Today absentee ballots are referred to as Vote By Mail ballots. Any registered or qualified voter can request a Vote By Mail ballot or pick it up in advance of an election. |
| ABPS: Assure Ballot Printing System | ABPS allows a voter’s distinct ballot style to be printed on demand at an Early Voting site. It consists of a laptop and a standard printer with specialized software. |
| ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act | ADA prohibits discrimination based on disabilities. The Supervisor of Elections offers specialized voting equipment for persons with disabilities known as AutoMark. There is at least one AutoMark available at each polling place. Additionally, the Supervisor of Elections provides specialized voter education, including a fully ADA-compliant website. |
| AutoMark Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) | The AutoMark Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) allows voters with disabilities and other special needs to mark their ballot privately and independently. It also provides language assistance to voters who need help to better understand written instructions. |
| Canvassing Board | The Canvassing Board provides oversight of the tabulation of ballots to ensure the integrity of the electoral process. It is typically composed of three individuals: the Supervisor of Elections, the County’s Chief Judge, and the Chairman of the Board of the County Commissioners (assuming there is no conflict of interest with any on-going election.) |
| DOJ: Department of Justice | The Department of Justice monitors fair and just implementation of election laws throughout the United States. |
| EAC: Election Assistance Commission | The EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse for information about election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as audits the use of HAVA funds. It is an independent, bipartisan commission. |
| EViD: Electronic Voting identification | EViD is an electronic poll book that allows election workers to quickly and accurately confirm a voter’s eligibility. Once eligibility is confirmed, the EViD links to ABPS to print the appropriate style of ballot for the voter at an Early Voting location. |
| FEC: Federal Election Commission | Enacted in 1975, the FEC governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law (such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions), and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections. |
| FSASE: Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections | FSASE is a statewide professional organization for Florida’s 67 Supervisors of Elections. FSASE assists its members in conducting fair, honest and accurate elections by providing continuing education and certification programs. |
| FVRS/FVRSID: Florida Voter Registration System/Identification | FVRS is an official, uniform and nondiscriminatory statewide computerized voter registration list that is centralized and interactive. |
| GEMS: Global Election Management System | GEMS is election management software. The SOE uses this software to create the election format, and tabulate and report the election results. |
| HAVA: Help America Vote Act | HAVA was enacted in 2002 to improve voter access and voting systems after the challenges in the 2000 presidential election. |
| NCOA: National Change of Address Act | NCOA is a service provided by a licensee of the United States Postal Service. It enables individuals to notify others of their new address. The NCOA file is compiled by the USPS from postal addressees change forms. NCOA is one tool the Supervisor of Elections uses to keep its voter rolls current. |
| NVRA: National Voter Registration Act | The NVRA requires state governments to provide citizens a convenient opportunity to register at many offices that receive federal funding such as public libraries, driver license offices, and social security offices. |
| AccuVote-OSX: Optical Scan Equipment | The precinct electronic digital scanner is commonly referred to as OSX. During voting, the OSX scanner is secured to the ballot box. When a ballot is inserted, the OSX uses light sensors to track and transport it from the scanner to the ballot box. Once the scanner has read the ballot, the ballot box then pulls the ballot in to the bin. The OSX sits atop the ballot box but can be removed to transport and store, or clear a paper jam. |
| PAC: Political Action Committee | A PAC is a legally registered committee formed by business, labor, or other special-interest groups to raise money and make contributions to the campaign funds of federal political candidates they support. |
| Precinct (click here to find your precinct) | A precinct is a geographical district based upon data from the U.S. Census. The physical voting structure of a precinct is known as a polling place. |
| PCS: Premier Central Scan | PCS is a high speed scanner used for counting mail-in ballots. |
| Provisional Ballot | A Provisional Ballot is provided to a voter who claims to be properly registered in the state and eligible to vote at the precinct, but whose eligibility cannot be determined at the polling place. The eligibility of a voter is determined by a canvassing board that never sees the voter’s ballot. Information about whether or not your provisional ballot was counted in the final canvass of votes, and, if not, the reasons why will be mailed no later than 30 days following the election. |
| Relia-Vote | The Relia-Vote system from Pitney Bowes allows the SOE to streamline the Vote By Mail process. Prior to the Relia-Vote, thousands of hours were spent stuffing and mailing absentee ballots. Today, the Relia-Vote stuffs the envelope with the specific ballot and information for the individual voter, applies the correct amount of postage, and offers tracking capabilities. The Relia-Vote ensures more security and integrity to the entire Vote By Mail ballot process. |
| UOCAVA: Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act | The UOCAVA was enacted in 1986. It requires all U.S. states and territories to allow certain groups of citizens, such as those on military duty overseas, to register and vote absentee in elections for federal offices. Today, Vote By Mail voting has become so popular and practical that it is no longer used only by those absent from their home county. |
| Voter Information Card | A Voter Information Card is provided to every eligible voter. It includes precinct and other elections-related information. It is not an acceptable form of ID, and isn’t required in order to receive a ballot. |
