[Editor's Note: This story has been changed to reflect a correction. If you are changing your address within the county you can change it on voting day. If you switching from an out-of-county address to an address in the county then you have to vote with a provisional ballot, except uniformed service personnel and their family members.]
A house bill passed last year may affect student voting eligibility in the Jan. 31 elections and the November presidential election.
The Florida House of Representatives bill put more restrictions on voting registration, location and duration.
The bill adds restrictions on organizations that register people to vote among other changes, said Pam Carpenter, Alachua County supervisor of elections.
The bill, Florida House Bill 1355, was approved by Gov. Rick Scott on May 19.
If you are changing your address within the county, you can change it on voting day. If you switching from an out-of-county address to an address in the county then you have to vote with a provisional ballot, except uniformed service personnel and their family members.
Third parties can still register people to vote, but now all registration forms must be turned in to a county supervisor of elections office within 48 hours of completion.
There is a $50 fine per application if the form is unintentionally late and a $250 fine if the form is intentionally late, Carpenter said.
It is illegal to vote in a precinct to which you are not assigned, Carpenter said.
Some UF students are unhappy with the effect this bill may have on upcoming city and national elections.
David Bergstein, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party, said this bill targets Democratic voters, including students and low-income residents.
"The only reason the Republicans are trying to keep people from voting is because they know people won't be voting for them," said Bergstein, 23. "They know they can't win in a fair fight, so they are trying to stack the deck."
Erin Murphy, president of UF College Democrats, said the restrictions make registering people to vote unnecessarily complicated.
"When you are trying to register hundreds or thousands of voters, it can be very complex to turn in those forms downtown within 48 hours," Murphy said.
The Florida Democratic Party plans on registering the voters they need under the new laws, Bergstein said.
UF College Democrats registered more than 1,000 people on the last day of voter registration in 2008, she said, and 250 students registered last semester.
Some students say the bill will eliminate voter fraud and will lead to a more efficient voting process.
"I really don't think it is going to affect college students greatly," said Matt Pesek, 19-year-old UF religion and political science sophomore and public relations officer for College Republicans. "At least for the meantime, these laws will make Florida elections more credible."
The law ensures the supervisor of elections knows who is being registered and that the process is completed in a timely manner, he said.
"Just because a bank has never been robbed doesn't mean it doesn't upgrade its security," said Brian Hughes, spokesman for the Republican Party of Florida.
He said voter fraud does still happen, and in November, the FBI arrested eight people, including the supervisor of elections, for illegally casting absentee ballots in Madison County.
"We will get used to these laws and hopefully not find ways around them," Pesek said.
