82R7808 JRJ-D
By: Jackson S.B. No. 1128
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the conduct and administration of elections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.035, Election Code, is transferred to
Subchapter E, Chapter 31, Election Code, redesignated as Section
31.124, Election Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 31.124 [31.035]. RESTRICTIONS ON POLITICAL
ACTIVITIES. (a) A county elections administrator or other
government official who oversees, manages, or administers the
election process may not be a candidate for a public office or an
office of a political party, hold a public office, or hold an office
of or position in a political party. At the time an administrator
or official becomes a candidate or accepts an office or position in
violation of this subsection, the administrator or official vacates
the position [of administrator].
(b) A county elections administrator commits an offense if
the administrator makes a political contribution or political
expenditure, as defined by the law regulating political funds and
campaigns, or publicly supports or opposes a candidate for public
office or a measure to be voted on at an election. An offense under
this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. On a final conviction,
the administrator's employment is terminated, and the person
convicted is ineligible for future appointment as county elections
administrator.
(c) In this section, "candidate" means a person who has
taken affirmative action, as described by the law regulating
political funds and campaigns, for the purpose of gaining
nomination or election.
(d) This section does not apply to a county clerk or a county
tax assessor-collector.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 32, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 32.076 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.076. OBSERVING VOTER ASSISTANCE. (a) The
presiding judge or alternate presiding judge may observe assistance
being provided to a voter to ensure compliance with the oath taken
under Section 64.034 and that Section 64.036(a) is not being
violated if the judge has reason to believe that a person assisting
a voter under Section 64.032(c) is violating Section 64.036(a) or
the oath taken under Section 64.034.
(b) If a watcher appointed under Chapter 33 requests the
observation under Section 33.057(c), two election officers
affiliated or aligned with different political parties shall
observe the assistance provided to a voter to ensure that the person
assisting the voter complies with the oath taken under Section
64.034 and does not violate Section 64.036(a).
SECTION 3. Section 33.057, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A watcher may request that two election officers
affiliated or aligned with different political parties observe the
assistance provided to a voter to ensure that the person assisting
the voter complies with the oath taken under Section 64.034 and does
not violate Section 64.036(a).
SECTION 4. Section 43.007, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
(k) Each county that previously participated in a program
under this section is authorized to continue participation in the
program for future elections described by Subsection (a) if:
(1) the commissioners court of the county approves
participation in the program; and
(2) the secretary of state determines the county's
participation in the program was successful.
(l) Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (i) do not apply to a
county participating in the program under Subsection (k).
SECTION 5. Subchapter E, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 127.1311 to read as follows:
Sec. 127.1311. ANNOUNCING UNOFFICIAL RESULTS. (a) Except
as provided by Subsection (b), unofficial election results shall be
released as soon as they are available after the polls close.
(b) The presiding judge of the central counting station, in
cooperation with the county clerk, may withhold the release of
unofficial election results until the last voter has voted.
SECTION 6. Section 573.061, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 573.061. GENERAL EXCEPTIONS. Section 573.041 does not
apply to:
(1) an appointment to the office of a notary public or
to the confirmation of that appointment;
(2) an appointment of a page, secretary, attendant, or
other employee by the legislature for attendance on any member of
the legislature who, because of physical infirmities, is required
to have a personal attendant;
(3) a confirmation of the appointment of an appointee
appointed to a first term on a date when no individual related to
the appointee within a degree described by Section 573.002 was a
member of or a candidate for the legislature, or confirmation on
reappointment of the appointee to any subsequent consecutive term;
(4) an appointment or employment of a bus driver by a
school district if:
(A) the district is located wholly in a county
with a population of less than 35,000; or
(B) the district is located in more than one
county and the county in which the largest part of the district is
located has a population of less than 35,000;
(5) an appointment or employment of a personal
attendant by an officer of the state or a political subdivision of
the state for attendance on the officer who, because of physical
infirmities, is required to have a personal attendant;
(6) an appointment or employment of a substitute
teacher by a school district; [or]
(7) an appointment or employment of a person by a
municipality that has a population of less than 200; or
(8) an appointment of an election clerk under Section
32.031, Election Code, who is not related in the first degree by
consanguinity or affinity to an elected official of the authority
that appoints the election judges for that election.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.