86R19667 SRS-F
By: González of Dallas H.B. No. 1459
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1459:
By: Klick C.S.H.B. No. 1459
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment of early voting boards, including the
signature verification committee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 87.002, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 87.002. COMPOSITION OF BOARD. (a) The early voting
ballot board consists of a presiding judge, an alternate presiding
judge, and at least two other members.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the presiding
judge and the alternate presiding judge are [is] appointed in the
same manner as a presiding election judge under Section 32.002.
Except as provided by Subsection (c), the other members are
appointed by the presiding judge in the same manner as the precinct
election clerks.
(c) In the general election for state and county officers,
each county chair of a political party with nominees on the general
election ballot shall submit to the county election board a list of
names of persons eligible to serve on the early voting ballot board.
The county election board shall appoint at least one person from
each list to serve as a member of the early voting ballot board. The
same number of members must be appointed from each list. If a
political party does not submit a list, the county election board
may make appointments to the board as necessary from any political
party.
(d) In addition to the members appointed under Subsection
(c), the county election board shall appoint the presiding judge
from the list provided under that subsection by the political party
whose nominee for governor received the most votes in the county in
the most recent gubernatorial general election and the alternate
presiding judge from the list provided under that subsection by the
political party whose nominee for governor received the second most
votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general
election.
SECTION 2. Sections 87.027(d), (i), and (j), Election Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(d) The early voting clerk shall determine the number of
members who are to compose the signature verification committee and
shall state that number in the order calling for the committee's
appointment. A committee must consist of not fewer than five
members. In an election in which party alignment is indicated on
the ballot, each county chair of a political party with a nominee or
aligned candidate on the ballot shall submit to the appointing
authority a list of names of persons eligible to serve on the
signature verification committee. The authority shall appoint at
least two persons from each list to serve as members of the
committee. The same number of members must be appointed from each
list. The authority shall appoint the chair of the committee from
the list provided by the political party whose nominee for governor
received the most votes in the county in the most recent
gubernatorial general election. The authority shall also appoint a
vice chair of the committee from the list provided by a political
party whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in
the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. If a
political party does not submit a list, the authority may make
appointments as needed from any political party. A vacancy on the
committee shall be filled by appointment from the original list or
from a new list submitted by the appropriate county chair.
(i) The signature verification committee shall compare the
signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed
for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot
application to determine whether the signatures are those of the
voter. While the committee is reviewing signatures, an equal
number of committee members from each political party that
submitted a list of names shall be present to the extent
practicable. The committee may also compare the signatures with
any two or more signatures of the voter made within the preceding
six years and on file with the county clerk or voter registrar to
determine whether the signatures are those of the voter. Except as
provided by Subsection (l), a determination under this subsection
that the signatures are not those of the voter must be made by a
majority vote of the committee's membership. If a tie vote of the
committee's membership occurs, the signatures are considered to be
those of the voter. The committee shall place the jacket envelopes,
carrier envelopes, and applications of voters whose signatures are
not those of the voter in separate containers from those of voters
whose signatures are those of the voter. The committee chair shall
deliver the sorted materials to the early voting ballot board at the
time specified by the board's presiding judge.
(j) If a signature verification committee is appointed, the
early voting ballot board shall follow the same procedure for
accepting the early voting ballots voted by mail as in an election
without a signature verification committee, except that the board
may not determine whether a voter's signatures on the carrier
envelope certificate and ballot application are those of the same
person if the committee has determined that the signatures are
those of the same person. If the committee has determined that the
signatures are not those of the same person, the board may make a
determination that the signatures are those of the same person by a
[majority] vote of at least one-half of the board's membership. If
a tie vote of the board's membership occurs, the signatures are
considered to be those of the same person.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.