| 1 | 1 | | 87R1362 BRG-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: González of Dallas H.B. No. 1806 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the composition and duties of early voting boards and |
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| 8 | 8 | | signature verification committees. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 87.002, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 87.002. COMPOSITION OF BOARD. (a) The early voting |
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| 13 | 13 | | ballot board consists of a presiding judge, an alternate presiding |
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| 14 | 14 | | judge, and at least two other members. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the presiding |
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| 16 | 16 | | judge and the alternate presiding judge are [is] appointed in the |
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| 17 | 17 | | same manner as a presiding election judge. Except as provided by |
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| 18 | 18 | | Subsection (c), the other members are appointed by the presiding |
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| 19 | 19 | | judge in the same manner as the precinct election clerks. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (c) In the general election for state and county officers, |
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| 21 | 21 | | each county chair of a political party with nominees on the general |
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| 22 | 22 | | election ballot shall submit to the county election board a list of |
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| 23 | 23 | | names of persons eligible to serve on the early voting ballot board. |
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| 24 | 24 | | The county election board shall appoint at least one person from |
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| 25 | 25 | | each list to serve as a member of the early voting ballot board. The |
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| 26 | 26 | | same number of members must be appointed from each list. If a |
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| 27 | 27 | | political party does not submit a list, the county election board |
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| 28 | 28 | | may make appointments to the board as necessary from any political |
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| 29 | 29 | | party. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (d) In addition to the members appointed under Subsection |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c), the county election board shall appoint the presiding judge |
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| 32 | 32 | | from the list provided under that subsection by the political party |
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| 33 | 33 | | whose nominee for governor received the most votes in the county in |
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| 34 | 34 | | the most recent gubernatorial general election and the alternate |
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| 35 | 35 | | presiding judge from the list provided under that subsection by the |
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| 36 | 36 | | political party whose nominee for governor received the second most |
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| 37 | 37 | | votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general |
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| 38 | 38 | | election. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (e) The alternate presiding judge shall serve as presiding |
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| 40 | 40 | | judge for an election if the regularly appointed presiding judge |
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| 41 | 41 | | cannot serve. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 2. Sections 87.027(d), (i), and (j), Election Code, |
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| 43 | 43 | | are amended to read as follows: |
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| 44 | 44 | | (d) The early voting clerk shall determine the number of |
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| 45 | 45 | | members who are to compose the signature verification committee and |
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| 46 | 46 | | shall state that number in the order calling for the committee's |
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| 47 | 47 | | appointment. A committee must consist of not fewer than five |
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| 48 | 48 | | members. In an election in which party alignment is indicated on |
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| 49 | 49 | | the ballot, each county chair of a political party with a nominee or |
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| 50 | 50 | | aligned candidate on the ballot shall submit to the appointing |
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| 51 | 51 | | authority a list of names of persons eligible to serve on the |
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| 52 | 52 | | signature verification committee. The authority shall appoint at |
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| 53 | 53 | | least two persons from each list to serve as members of the |
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| 54 | 54 | | committee. The same number of members must be appointed from each |
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| 55 | 55 | | list. The authority shall appoint the chair of the committee from |
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| 56 | 56 | | the list provided by the political party whose nominee for governor |
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| 57 | 57 | | received the most votes in the county in the most recent |
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| 58 | 58 | | gubernatorial general election. The authority shall appoint a vice |
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| 59 | 59 | | chair of the committee from the list provided by a political party |
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| 60 | 60 | | whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in the |
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| 61 | 61 | | county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. The vice |
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| 62 | 62 | | chair of the committee shall serve as the chair of the committee if |
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| 63 | 63 | | the regularly appointed chair cannot serve. If a political party |
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| 64 | 64 | | does not submit a list, the authority may make appointments as |
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| 65 | 65 | | needed from any political party. A vacancy on the committee shall |
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| 66 | 66 | | be filled by appointment from the original list or from a new list |
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| 67 | 67 | | submitted by the appropriate county chair. |
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| 68 | 68 | | (i) The signature verification committee shall compare the |
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| 69 | 69 | | signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed |
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| 70 | 70 | | for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot |
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| 71 | 71 | | application to determine whether the signatures are those of the |
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| 72 | 72 | | voter. While the committee is reviewing signatures, an equal |
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| 73 | 73 | | number of committee members from each political party that |
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| 74 | 74 | | submitted a list of names under Subsection (d) shall be present to |
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| 75 | 75 | | the extent practicable. The committee may also compare the |
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| 76 | 76 | | signatures with any two or more signatures of the voter made within |
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| 77 | 77 | | the preceding six years and on file with the county clerk or voter |
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| 78 | 78 | | registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of the |
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| 79 | 79 | | voter. Except as provided by Subsection (l), a determination under |
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| 80 | 80 | | this subsection that the signatures are not those of the voter must |
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| 81 | 81 | | be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership. If a tie |
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| 82 | 82 | | vote of the committee's membership occurs, the signatures are |
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| 83 | 83 | | considered to be those of the voter. The committee shall place the |
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| 84 | 84 | | jacket envelopes, carrier envelopes, and applications of voters |
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| 85 | 85 | | whose signatures are not those of the voter in separate containers |
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| 86 | 86 | | from those of voters whose signatures are those of the voter. The |
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| 87 | 87 | | committee chair shall deliver the sorted materials to the early |
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| 88 | 88 | | voting ballot board at the time specified by the board's presiding |
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| 89 | 89 | | judge. |
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| 90 | 90 | | (j) If a signature verification committee is appointed, the |
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| 91 | 91 | | early voting ballot board shall follow the same procedure for |
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| 92 | 92 | | accepting the early voting ballots voted by mail as in an election |
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| 93 | 93 | | without a signature verification committee, except that the board |
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| 94 | 94 | | may not determine whether a voter's signatures on the carrier |
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| 95 | 95 | | envelope certificate and ballot application are those of the same |
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| 96 | 96 | | person if the committee has determined that the signatures are |
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| 97 | 97 | | those of the same person. If the committee has determined that the |
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| 98 | 98 | | signatures are not those of the same person, the board may make a |
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| 99 | 99 | | determination that the signatures are those of the same person by a |
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| 100 | 100 | | [majority] vote of at least one-half of the board's membership. If |
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| 101 | 101 | | a tie vote of the board's membership occurs, the signatures are |
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| 102 | 102 | | considered to be those of the same person. |
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| 103 | 103 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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