81R13724 ATP-D
By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 3830
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain election practices and procedures; providing
penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2.051(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Sections 2.055 and 2.056, this
subchapter applies only to an election for officers of a political
subdivision other than a county in which write-in votes may be
counted only for names appearing on a list of write-in candidates
and in which[:
[(1)] each candidate for an office that is to appear on
the ballot is unopposed, except as provided by Subsection (b)[; and
[(2) no proposition is to appear on the ballot]. For
purposes of this section, a special election of a political
subdivision is considered to be a separate election with a separate
ballot from:
(1) a general election for officers of the political
subdivision held at the same time as the special election; or
(2) another special election of the political
subdivision held at the same time as the special election.
SECTION 2. Section 2.053, Election Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 2.053. ACTION ON CERTIFICATION. (a) On receipt of the
certification, the governing body of the political subdivision by
order or ordinance may declare each unopposed candidate elected to
the office. If no election is to be held on election day by the
political subdivision, a copy of the order or ordinance shall be
posted on election day at each polling place used or that would have
been used in the election.
(b) If a declaration is made under Subsection (a), the
election is not held. [A copy of the order or ordinance shall be
posted on election day at each polling place that would have been
used in the election.]
(c) The ballots used at a separate election held at the same
time as an election that would have been held if the candidates were
not declared elected under this section shall include the offices
and names of the candidates declared elected under this section
listed separately after the measures or contested races in the
separate election under the heading "Unopposed Candidates Declared
Elected." The candidates shall be grouped in the same relative
order prescribed for the ballot generally. No votes are cast in
connection with the candidates.
(d) The secretary of state by rule may prescribe any
additional procedures necessary to accommodate a particular voting
system or ballot style and to facilitate the efficient and
cost-effective implementation of this section.
(e) A certificate of election shall be issued to each
candidate in the same manner and at the same time as provided for a
candidate elected at the election. The candidate must qualify for
the office in the same manner as provided for a candidate elected at
the election.
SECTION 3. Section 2.054(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) In an election that may be subject to this subchapter, a
[A] person commits an offense if by intimidation or by means of
coercion the person influences or attempts to influence a person
to:
(1) not file an application for a place on the ballot
or a declaration of write-in candidacy; or
(2) withdraw as a candidate [in an election that may be
subject to this subchapter].
SECTION 4. Chapter 2, Election Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. CANCELLATION OF ELECTIONS
Sec. 2.081. CANCELLATION OF MOOT MEASURE. (a) If an
authority that orders an election on a measure determines that the
action to be authorized by the voters may not be taken, regardless
of the outcome of the election, the authority may declare the
measure moot and remove the measure from the ballot.
(b) If a measure is declared moot under this section and is
removed from the ballot, the authority holding the election shall
post notice of the declaration during early voting by personal
appearance and on election day, at each polling place that would
have been used for the election on the measure.
Sec. 2.082. SPECIFIC AUTHORITY FOR CANCELLATION REQUIRED.
An authority that orders an election may cancel the election only if
the power to cancel the election is specifically provided by
statute.
SECTION 5. Section 16.031(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The registrar shall cancel a voter's registration
immediately on receipt of:
(1) notice under Section 13.072(b) or 15.021 or a
response under Section 15.053 that the voter's residence is outside
the county;
(2) an abstract of the voter's death certificate under
Section 16.001(a) or an abstract of an application indicating that
the voter is deceased under Section 16.001(b);
(3) an abstract of a final judgment of the voter's
total mental incapacity, partial mental incapacity without the
right to vote, conviction of a felony, or disqualification under
Section 16.002, 16.003, or 16.004;
(4) notice under Section 112.012 that the voter has
applied for a limited ballot in another county;
(5) notice from a voter registration official in
another state that the voter has registered to vote outside this
state; [or]
(6) notice from the early voting clerk under Section
101.0041 that a federal postcard application submitted by an
applicant states a voting residence address located outside the
registrar's county; or
(7) notice from the secretary of state that the voter
has registered to vote in another county, as determined by the
voter's driver's license number or personal identification card
number issued by the Department of Public Safety or social security
number.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 61, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.016 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.016. EMERGENCY PAPER BALLOTS. (a) An insufficient
number of ballots or a malfunction of electronic voting system
equipment must be remedied through the use of emergency paper
ballots when no other method of voting is available during voting
hours for a person whose acceptance for voting is required by this
code.
(b) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures for
the creation and use of emergency paper ballots as required by this
section.
SECTION 7. Section 67.010, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The presiding officer may make a clerical correction to
the officially canvassed returns based on any authorized amended
county canvass filed with the presiding officer.
SECTION 8. Section 85.001(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) For an election held on the uniform election date in May
and any resulting runoff election, the period for early voting by
personal appearance begins on the 12th day before election day and
continues through the fourth day before election day.
SECTION 9. Section 85.004, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 85.004. PUBLIC NOTICE OF [MAIN] POLLING PLACE
LOCATION. The election order and the election notice must state
the location of each [the main] early voting polling place.
SECTION 10. Chapter 101, Election Code, is amended by
adding Section 101.0041 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.0041. ACTION BY EARLY VOTING CLERK ON CERTAIN
APPLICATIONS. The early voting clerk shall notify the voter
registrar of a federal postcard application submitted by an
applicant that states a voting residence address located outside
the registrar's county.
SECTION 11. Section 112.002(a), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) After changing residence to another county, a person is
eligible to vote a limited ballot by personal appearance during the
early voting period or by mail if:
(1) the person would have been eligible to vote in the
county of former residence on election day if still residing in that
county;
(2) the person is [was] registered to vote in the
county of former residence at the time the person offers to vote in
the county of new [when the voter changed] residence; and
(3) a voter registration for the person in the county
of new residence is not effective on or before election day.
SECTION 12. Subchapter A, Chapter 125, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 125.010 to read as follows:
Sec. 125.010. PRESENCE OF VOTING SYSTEM TECHNICIAN
AUTHORIZED. (a) In this section, "voting system technician" means
a person who as a vocation repairs, assembles, maintains, or
operates voting system equipment.
(b) On the request of the authority holding the election, a
voting system technician may be present at a polling place, a
meeting of the early voting ballot board, or a central counting
station for the purpose of repairing, assembling, maintaining, or
operating voting system equipment.
SECTION 13. Subchapter B, Chapter 141, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 141.040 to read as follows:
Sec. 141.040. NOTICE OF DEADLINES. Not later than the 30th
day before the first day on which a candidate may file an
application for a place on the ballot under this subchapter, the
authority with whom the application must be filed shall post notice
of the dates of the filing period in a public place in a building in
which the authority has an office.
SECTION 14. Section 146.0301(a), Election Code, as amended
by Chapters 1107 (H.B. 2309) and 1109 (H.B. 2339), Acts of the 79th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, is reenacted to read as
follows:
(a) A write-in candidate may not withdraw from the election
after the 67th day before election day.
SECTION 15. Section 172.116(b), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The committee shall convene to conduct the local canvass
at the county seat [not earlier than 6 p.m.] on the second Thursday
[or later than 1 p.m. on the second Friday] after election day at
the hour specified by the county chair.
SECTION 16. Section 172.120, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) The state executive committee shall convene to conduct
the state canvass for the general primary election not later than:
(1) [on] the second Sunday [Wednesday] after general
primary election day, for an election in which three or more
candidates are seeking election to the same office; or
(2) the 22nd day after general primary election day,
for an election not described by Subdivision (1).
(b-1) Not later than the third [second] Saturday after
runoff primary election day, the committee shall convene at the
call of the state chair to conduct the state canvass of the runoff
primary election.
SECTION 17. Section 192.031, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 192.031. PARTY CANDIDATE'S ENTITLEMENT TO PLACE ON
BALLOT. (a) A political party is entitled to have the names of
its nominees for president and vice-president of the United States
placed on the ballot in a presidential general election if:
(1) the nominees possess the qualifications for those
offices prescribed by federal law;
(2) [before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential
election day,] the party's state chair signs [and delivers to the
secretary of state] a written certification of:
(A) the names of the party's nominees for
president and vice-president; and
(B) the names and residence addresses of
presidential elector candidates nominated by the party, in a number
equal to the number of presidential electors that federal law
allocates to this state; [and]
(3) the party's state chair delivers the written
certification to the secretary of state before the later of:
(A) 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential
election day; or
(B) 5 p.m. of the first business day after the
date of final adjournment of the party's national presidential
nominating convention; and
(4) the party is:
(A) required or authorized by Subchapter A of
Chapter 172 to make its nominations by primary election; or
(B) entitled to have the names of its nominees
placed on the general election ballot under Chapter 181.
(b) If the state chair's certification of the party's
nominees is delivered by mail, it is considered to be delivered at
the time of its receipt by the secretary of state.
SECTION 18. Section 192.033(b), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The [Not later than the 62nd day before presidential
election day, the] secretary of state shall deliver the
certification to the authority responsible for having the official
ballot prepared in each county before the later of the 62nd day
before presidential election day or the second business day after
the date of final adjournment of the party's national presidential
nominating convention.
SECTION 19. Section 201.054(a), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a candidate's
application for a place on a special election ballot must be filed
not later than:
(1) 5 p.m. of the 62nd [67th] day before election day,
if election day is on or after the 70th day after the date the
election is ordered;
(2) 5 p.m. of the 31st day before election day, if
election day is on or after the 36th day and before the 70th day
after the date the election is ordered; or
(3) 5 p.m. of a day fixed by the authority ordering the
election, which day must be not earlier than the fifth day after the
date the election is ordered and not later than the 20th day before
election day, if election day is before the 36th day after the date
the election is ordered.
SECTION 20. Section 212.112, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 212.112. AMOUNT OF DEPOSIT. The [(a) Subject to
Subsection (d), the] amount of the recount deposit is [determined
by the number of precincts for which a recount is requested in the
document that the deposit accompanies, in accordance with the
following schedule]:
(1) $60 [five times the maximum hourly rate of pay for
election judges,] for each [a] precinct in which[:
[(A)] regular paper ballots were used; and
(2) $100 for each precinct in which an electronic
voting system was used [(B) electronic voting system ballots,
other than printed images of ballots cast using direct recording
electronic voting machines, are to be recounted manually; or
[(C) both write-in votes and voting system votes
are to be recounted;
[(2) 10 times the maximum hourly rate of pay for
election judges, for a precinct in which printed images of ballots
cast using direct recording electronic voting machines are to be
recounted manually;
[(3) three times the maximum hourly rate of pay for
election judges, for a precinct in which ballots are to be recounted
by automatic tabulating equipment and no write-in votes are to be
recounted; and
[(4) two times the maximum hourly rate of pay for
election judges, for a precinct in which:
[(A) voting machines were used and no write-in
votes are to be recounted; or
[(B) only the write-in votes cast in connection
with a voting system are to be recounted].
[(b) In a recount of an election for which a majority vote is
required for nomination or election to an office, the rate
prescribed by Subsection (a)(1)(C) applies to each precinct in
which a voting system was used, regardless of whether any write-in
votes were cast in the precinct, if:
[(1) the original election results show that write-in
votes were cast in the election; and
[(2) an exclusion of write-in votes from the recount
is not obtained under Section 212.136.
[(c) If more than one method of voting is used for early
voting, each additional method of voting used for the early voting
shall be treated as constituting an additional precinct in
determining the amount of a recount deposit for a recount of early
voting votes.
[(d) The minimum amount of a deposit accompanying a petition
for a recount is $50.]
SECTION 21. Sections 213.013(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g),
(h), and (i), Election Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) In a recount of an election on an office, each candidate
for the office is entitled to be present at the recount and have
watchers [representatives] present in the number corresponding to
the number of counting teams designated for the recount. If only
one counting team is designated or the recount is conducted on
automatic tabulating equipment, each candidate is entitled to two
watchers [representatives].
(c) In a recount of an election on an office for which a
political party has a nominee or for which a candidate is aligned
with a political party, the party is entitled to have watchers
[representatives] present in the same number prescribed for
candidates under Subsection (b).
(d) In a recount of an election on a measure, watchers
[representatives] may be appointed by the campaign treasurer or
assistant campaign treasurer of a specific-purpose political
committee that supports or opposes the measure in the number
corresponding to the number of counting teams designated for the
recount. If only one counting team is designated or the recount is
conducted on automatic tabulating equipment, each eligible
specific-purpose political committee is entitled to two watchers
[representatives].
(e) A watcher [representative] appointed to serve at a
recount must deliver a certificate of appointment to the recount
committee chair at the time the watcher [representative] reports
for service. A watcher [representative] who presents himself or
herself for service at any time immediately before or during the
recount and submits a proper certificate of appointment must be
accepted for service unless the number of appointees to which the
appointing authority is entitled have already been accepted.
(f) The certificate must be in writing and must include:
(1) the printed name and the signature of the watcher
[representative];
(2) the election subject to the recount;
(3) the time and place of the recount;
(4) the measure, candidate, or political party being
represented;
(5) the signature and the printed name of the person
making the appointment; and
(6) an indication of the capacity in which the
appointing authority is acting.
(g) If the watcher [representative] is accepted for
service, the recount committee chair shall keep the certificate and
deliver it to the recount coordinator after the recount for
preservation under Section 211.007. If the watcher
[representative] is not accepted for service, the recount committee
chair shall return the certificate to the watcher [representative]
with a signed statement of the reason for the rejection.
(h) Each person entitled to be present at a recount is
entitled to observe any activity conducted in connection with the
recount. The person is entitled to sit or stand conveniently near
the officers conducting the observed activity and near enough to an
officer who is announcing the votes or examining or processing the
ballots to verify that the ballots are counted or processed
correctly or to an officer who is tallying the votes to verify that
they are tallied correctly. Rules concerning a watcher's
[representative's] rights, duties, and privileges are otherwise
the same as those prescribed by this code for poll watchers to the
extent they can be made applicable.
(i) No mechanical or electronic means of recording images or
sound are allowed inside the room in which the recount is conducted,
or in any hallway or corridor in the building in which the recount
is conducted within 30 feet of the entrance to the room, while the
recount is in progress. However, on request of a person entitled to
appoint watchers [representatives] to serve at the recount, the
recount committee chair shall permit the person to photocopy under
the chair's supervision any ballot, including any supporting
materials, challenged by the person or person's watcher
[representative]. The person must pay a reasonable charge for
making the copies and, if no photocopying equipment is available,
may supply that equipment at the person's expense. The person shall
provide a copy on request to another person entitled to appoint
watchers [representatives] to serve at the recount.
SECTION 22. Section 213.016, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 213.016. PRINTING IMAGES OF BALLOTS CAST USING DIRECT
RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES. During any printing of
images of ballots cast using direct recording electronic voting
machines for the purpose of a recount, the full recount committee is
not required to be present. The recount committee chair shall
determine how many committee members must be present during the
printing of the images. Each candidate is entitled to be present
and to have representatives present during the printing of the
images in the same number as [prescribed by] Section 213.013(b)
prescribes for watchers for a recount [during the printing of the
images].
SECTION 23. Section 221.014(b), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The county shall pay the expenses of a new election
ordered in the contest of a local option election [held under the
Alcoholic Beverage Code] that was financed from money deposited by
the applicants for the petition requesting the election.
SECTION 24. Sections 271.002(a), (b), and (c), Election
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) If the elections ordered by the authorities of two or
more political subdivisions are to be held on the same day in all or
part of the same county [territory], the governing bodies of the
political subdivisions may enter into an agreement to hold the
elections jointly in the election precincts that can be served by
common polling places, subject to Section 271.003.
(b) If an election ordered by the governor and the elections
ordered by the authorities of one or more political subdivisions
are to be held on the same day in all or part of the same county
[territory], the commissioners court of a county in which the
election ordered by the governor is to be held and the governing
bodies of the other political subdivisions may enter into an
agreement to hold the elections jointly in the election precincts
that can be served by common polling places, subject to Section
271.003.
(c) If another law requires two or more political
subdivisions to hold a joint election, the governing body of any
other political subdivision holding an election on the same day in
all or part of the same county [territory] in which the joint
election is to be held may enter into an agreement to participate in
the joint election with the governing bodies of the political
subdivisions holding the joint election.
SECTION 25. Section 277.001, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 277.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
applies to a petition authorized or required to be filed under a law
outside this code in connection with an election[, except a
petition for a local option election held under the Alcoholic
Beverage Code].
SECTION 26. Sections 1.016, 32.051(d), 33.031(b),
41.0041(b), and 65.002(d), Election Code, are repealed.
SECTION 27. The change in law made by the repeal of Section
1.016, Election Code, by this Act does not affect the validity of a
person's action taken before the effective date of this Act,
including a person's registration to vote, if the person was
qualified to take such action before the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 28. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to an election ordered on or after September 1, 2009.
SECTION 29. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.