By: Faircloth (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 1735
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2017;
May 3, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 12, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 12, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain election officers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Election Code, is amended by adding
Section 1.016 to read as follows:
Sec. 1.016. OATHS BY ELECTION OFFICERS. (a) An oath or
statement required by the Texas Constitution or this code prior to
an election officer entering service may be administered and a
certificate of the fact given by:
(1) the secretary of state, a member of the secretary
of state's staff, or a state inspector appointed by the secretary;
(2) a county or municipal clerk or the clerk's
deputies;
(3) a county tax assessor-collector or the county tax
assessor-collector's deputies;
(4) a city secretary;
(5) a member of a county election commission or county
election board;
(6) a county elections administrator or employee of a
county elections administrator;
(7) the secretary of the governing body of a political
subdivision other than a county or city or the authority performing
the duties of a secretary under this code;
(8) a presiding election judge or alternate presiding
judge who has already entered service;
(9) an early voting clerk or a deputy early voting
clerk who has already entered service;
(10) a member of an early voting ballot board or
signature verification committee who has already entered service;
or
(11) a presiding judge, manager, or tabulation
supervisor of a central counting station who has already entered
service.
(b) An oath, statement, or certificate described under
Subsection (a) is valid for the duration of the election officer's
term of office and shall be filed with election records for the
election in which the election officer is serving.
(c) The secretary of state may prescribe a form of oath,
statement, or certificate that incorporates any oaths or statements
required by the Texas Constitution or this code for an election
officer into a single oath or statement.
SECTION 2. Section 32.002, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) For purposes of this subsection, the county chair
shall provide a list of names of persons eligible for appointment as
election judges. Judges of countywide polling places established
under Section 43.007 must be appointed from the list of names of
persons submitted by the county chair in compliance with Subsection
(c) except that in appointing a person from the list the
commissioners court shall apportion the number of judges in direct
proportion to the percentage of precincts located in each county
commissioners precinct won by each party in the last gubernatorial
election, the commissioners court is not required to make the
appointments based on specific polling locations or precincts, a
presiding judge or alternate presiding judge is not required to
serve in a polling place located in the precinct in which the judge
resides, and more than one presiding judge or alternate presiding
judge may be selected from the same precinct to serve in polling
places not located in the precinct in which the judges reside. The
county chairs may submit, and the commissioners court may
preapprove, the appointment of more presiding judges or alternate
presiding judges than necessary to fill available positions. The
county clerk may select an individual whose appointment was
preapproved by the commissioners court to fill a vacancy in a
position that was held by an individual from the same political
party. Other than a judge's party affiliation, nothing in this
subsection precludes a county clerk from placing an election
officer at a countywide polling place based on the need for services
at that location.
SECTION 3. Section 32.002, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) Following an oral warning to the election judge and with
the concurrence of the county chair of the same political party with
which the judge is affiliated or aligned, the county clerk may
remove, replace, or reassign an election judge who causes a
disruption in a polling location or wilfully disobeys the
provisions of this code. A vacancy created under this subsection
shall be filled in the same manner as an emergency appointment under
Section 32.007.
SECTION 4. Section 32.006(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The county chair of a political party holding a primary
election shall appoint for each primary[, with the approval of the
county executive committee,] the judges for each precinct in which
the election will be held in the county and fill any vacancy that
occurs in the position of presiding judge or alternate presiding
judge.
SECTION 5. Section 32.009(d), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) A notice to a presiding judge must state the name, [and]
address, and any available telephone number and e-mail address of
the alternate, and a notice to an alternate must state the name,
[and] address, and any available telephone number and e-mail
address of the presiding judge.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 32, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 32.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.012. PROVISION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO ELECTION
JUDGES APPOINTED BY COMMISSIONERS COURT. (a) After the
commissioners court appoints a presiding election judge and an
alternate presiding judge, the county clerk shall provide to the
county chair of each political party a list of the individuals
appointed by the commissioners court.
(b) The appointment list must be provided in writing.
SECTION 7. Section 32.034, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) Following an oral warning to the election clerk and with
the concurrence of the county chair of the same political party with
which the election clerk is affiliated or aligned, the county clerk
may remove, replace, or reassign an election clerk who causes a
disruption in a polling location or wilfully disobeys the
provisions of this code. A vacancy created under this subsection
shall be filled by the presiding judge, who shall appoint a
replacement election clerk who is affiliated or aligned with the
same political party as the original clerk, if possible.
SECTION 8. Section 32.114(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) An election judge, early voting clerk, or deputy early
voting clerk in charge of an early voting polling place is entitled
to compensation for attending the training program at an hourly
rate fixed by the appropriate authority in an amount that is equal
to or greater than the federal minimum wage [not to exceed $7].
SECTION 9. Section 43.007, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (m) and (n) to read
as follows:
(a) The secretary of state shall implement a program to
allow each commissioners court participating in the program to
eliminate county election precinct polling places and establish
countywide polling places for:
(1) each general election for state and county
officers;
(2) each election held on the uniform election date in
May and any resulting runoff;
(3) each election on a proposed constitutional
amendment;
(4) each primary election and runoff primary election
if:
(A) the county chair or county executive
committee of each political party participating in a joint primary
election under Section 172.126 agrees to the use of countywide
polling places; or
(B) the county chair or county executive
committee of each political party required to nominate candidates
by primary election agrees to use the same countywide polling
places; and
(5) each election of a political subdivision located
in the county that is held jointly with an election described by
Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4).
(m) In adopting a methodology under Subsection (f), the
county must ensure that:
(1) each county commissioners precinct contains at
least one countywide polling place; and
(2) the total number of permanent branch and temporary
branch polling places open for voting in a county commissioners
precinct does not exceed more than twice the number of permanent
branch and temporary branch polling places in another county
commissioners precinct.
(n) To the greatest extent possible, countywide polling
places shall be located in a precinct where the political party that
received the greatest number of votes in the last gubernatorial
election is the same political party with which the presiding judge
is affiliated.
SECTION 10. Section 85.009(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Before July of each year, the county chair of each
political party holding a primary election in the county shall
submit in writing to the county clerk a list of names of persons in
order of preference for each early voting polling place who are
eligible for selection as an election officer. The county chair
may supplement the list of names of persons until the 30th day
before early voting begins in case an appointed election officer
becomes unable to serve. The county clerk shall appoint the first
person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with
the highest number of votes in the county as the presiding judge
[election officer] of that polling place and the first person
meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list
submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with the
second highest number of votes in the county as the alternate
presiding judge [election officer] of that polling place. The
county clerk shall appoint additional election officers for each
polling place in the manner described by Subsection (a). The
county clerk may reject the list if the persons whose names are
submitted on the list are determined not to meet the applicable
eligibility requirements.
SECTION 11. Subchapter A, Chapter 85, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 85.0091 to read as follows:
Sec. 85.0091. EARLY VOTING ELECTION OFFICERS FOR PRIMARY
ELECTIONS. (a) The early voting clerk shall select election
officers for a primary election for the main early voting polling
place and any branch polling place in a manner consistent with
Section 85.009, except that the early voting clerk shall prescribe
the deadline by which county chairs must submit names of persons
eligible to serve as election officers during early voting.
(b) This section does not apply to a joint primary governed
by Section 172.126.
SECTION 12. Subchapter A, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 87.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 87.006. EARLY VOTING BALLOT BOARD MEMBERS: OATH AND
IDENTIFICATION. (a) A member of the early voting ballot board
shall repeat the following oath aloud:
"I swear (or affirm) that I will objectively work to be sure
every eligible voter's vote is accepted and counted, and that only
the ballots of those voters who violated the Texas Election Code
will be rejected. I will make every effort to correctly reflect the
voter's intent when it can be clearly determined. I will not work
alone when ballots are present and will work only in the presence of
a member of a political party different from my own. I will
faithfully perform my duty as an officer of the election and guard
the purity of the election."
(b) A member of the early voting ballot board who arrives
after the oath is made shall repeat the oath aloud before performing
any duties as a member.
(c) Following administration of the oath, each member of the
early voting ballot board shall be issued a form of identification,
prescribed by the secretary of state, to be displayed by the member
during the member's hours of service on the board.
SECTION 13. Subchapter G, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 87.127 to read as follows:
Sec. 87.127. RESOLUTION OF INCORRECT DETERMINATION BY EARLY
VOTING BALLOT BOARD. (a) If a county election officer, as defined
by Section 31.091, determines a ballot was incorrectly rejected or
accepted by the early voting ballot board before the time set for
convening the canvassing authority, the county election officer may
petition a district court for injunctive or other relief as the
court determines appropriate.
(b) In an election ordered by the governor or by a county
judge, the county election officer must confer with and establish
the agreement of the county chair of each political party before
petitioning the district court.
SECTION 14. Subchapter A, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 127.0015 to read as follows:
Sec. 127.0015. CENTRAL COUNTING STATION OFFICERS: OATH AND
IDENTIFICATION. (a) Election officers appointed under this
subchapter shall repeat the following oath aloud:
"I swear (or affirm) that I will objectively work to be sure
every eligible voter's vote is accepted and counted, and that only
the ballots of those voters who violated the Texas Election Code
will be rejected. I will make every effort to correctly reflect the
voter's intent when it can be clearly determined. I will not work
alone when ballots are present and will work only in the presence of
a member of a political party different from my own. I will
faithfully perform my duty as an officer of the election and guard
the purity of the election."
(b) An officer who arrives after the oath is made shall
repeat the oath aloud before performing any duties as an election
officer.
(c) Following administration of the oath, each election
officer shall be issued a form of identification, prescribed by the
secretary of state, to be displayed by the officer during the
officer's hours of service at the central counting station.
SECTION 15. Section 127.004(b), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) To be eligible for appointment, a person must:
(1) have the competence, training, and experience
required for the proper performance of the work assigned; and
(2) in a county with a population of less than 60,000,
be a registered voter of the political subdivision served by the
authority establishing the counting station or an employee of the
political subdivision that adopts or owns the voting system.
SECTION 16. Section 127.007, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The plan required under this section must be available
to the public on request not later than 5 p.m. on the fifth day
before the date of the election.
SECTION 17. Sections 32.006(b) and 32.010, Election Code,
are repealed.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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