86R13507 JRJ-D
By: Turner of Tarrant H.B. No. 3660
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the arrangement of party columns on the ballot.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 52.091, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 52.091. PARTY COLUMNS. [(a)] Party columns shall be
arranged on the ballot using methodical variation as follows:
(1) for the first precinct, the authority ordering the
election shall conduct a drawing and arrange the party columns in
the order the name of the party is drawn, beginning on the left;
(2) for the second precinct, the order of the party
columns in the first precinct shall be rotated so that the party in
the first column moves to the last column and each party column
moves to the left by one position; and
(3) for any subsequent precinct, the order of party
columns shall be rotated in the manner described by Subdivision (2)
[in the following order, beginning on the left:
[(1) columns of parties with nominees for statewide or
district offices;
[(2) columns of parties without nominees for statewide
or district offices.
[(b) Columns of parties specified by Subsection (a)(1)
shall be arranged in descending order of the number of votes
received statewide by each party's candidate for governor in the
most recent gubernatorial general election, beginning on the left
with the party whose candidate received the highest number of
votes. Columns of parties that did not have a candidate for
governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election shall
appear after the columns of parties that had a candidate, and the
order of their columns shall be determined by a drawing conducted by
the secretary of state].
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.