FL H0109

Authorizes absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters to use the federal write-in absentee ballot in any state or local election, not just federal elections.

Permits electors to vote on any ballot measure and judicial merit retention elections using the federal write-in absentee ballot, with votes on judicial merit retention elections treated the same as ballot measures with "Yes" or "No" responses only.

Allows abbreviations, misspellings, and minor variations in the names of candidates, offices, ballot measures, and political parties to be disregarded when determining ballot validity.

Prohibits canvassing of federal write-in absentee ballots from overseas voters in presidential preference primary or general elections until 10 days after the election date, unless the voter's official absentee ballot is received by that deadline.

Requires the Department of State to adopt specific rules for federal write-in absentee ballots establishing standards for what constitutes a valid vote, addressing candidate designations, name sufficiency, and various marking methods like arrows or "ditto" marks.