87R5036 MLH-D
By: Beckley H.B. No. 1899
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the posting of voter information on Internet websites.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.010, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) If the office, agency, or other authority maintains an
Internet website, the forms shall be made available on that
authority's Internet website.
SECTION 2. Section 3.003(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Not later than the 36th day before election day, a copy
of the proclamation ordering an election shall be posted on the
Internet websites of the governor and of the secretary of state and
shall be mailed to the county judge of each county wholly or partly
in the territory covered by the election.
SECTION 3. Section 12.004(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The registrar may keep the office open for voter
registration activities at times other than regular office hours.
The registrar shall post notice of the irregular days and hours the
office will be open. The notice must remain posted continuously at
each entrance to the registrar's office and on the registrar's
Internet website, if the registrar maintains a website, for the
period beginning not later than the third day before the day the
office is to be open during irregular hours and ending after the
last time specified in the notice for the office to be open.
SECTION 4. Section 12.005, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.005. BRANCH OFFICES. The registrar may establish
one or more branch offices in the county to conduct voter
registration activities for the convenience of persons desiring to
register. A branch office may be temporary or permanent. The hours
of a branch office must be posted on the registrar's Internet
website, if the registrar maintains a website.
SECTION 5. Section 12.032(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The county clerk shall deliver a certified copy of the
order to the secretary of state and shall post the order on the
county's Internet website, if the county maintains a website, not
later than the third day after the date the order is adopted.
SECTION 6. Section 12.034(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Not later than the third day after the date the
rescission order is adopted, the county clerk shall deliver a
certified copy of the order to the secretary of state and shall post
the order on the county's Internet website, if the county maintains
a website.
SECTION 7. Section 18.008(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) If the list is recorded electronically [on magnetic
tape], the copy shall be furnished electronically [in the form of a
tape or printout], as requested.
SECTION 8. Section 19.001, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The secretary of state shall promptly post each
statement on the secretary of state's Internet website.
SECTION 9. Section 31.002, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) The secretary of state shall post each form described by
Subsection (a) on the secretary of state's Internet website.
SECTION 10. Section 32.012, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) If the county maintains an Internet website, the
appointment list shall be posted on that website.
SECTION 11. Section 32.114, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(c) The county clerk shall:
(1) post a notice of the time and place of each session
on the county's Internet website, if the county maintains an
Internet website, in the same location that the county clerk
provides information on elections held in the county [and may post
the notice on the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings
of the commissioners court] and shall include on the notice a
statement that the program is open to the public;
(1-a) post notice of the time and place of each session
on the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the
commissioners court, if the county does not maintain an Internet
website, and shall include on the notice a statement that the
program is open to the public;
(2) notify each presiding judge appointed by the
commissioners court of the time and place of each session and of the
duty of each election judge to complete the training program;
(3) notify the county chair of each political party in
the county of the time and place of each session; and
(4) notify the voter registrar of the date, hour, and
place of each session.
(c-1) If the county maintains an Internet website, the
county clerk may post the notice required under Subsection (c)(1)
on the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the
commissioners court.
SECTION 12. Section 42.035(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) If no newspaper is published in the county, the
commissioners court shall post the notice as required by Subsection
(a)(2) and at the county courthouse on the bulletin board used for
posting notice of meetings of the commissioners court. The notice
must remain posted continuously for three consecutive weeks.
SECTION 13. Section 52.094(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The authority conducting the drawing shall post in the
authority's office, and on the authority's Internet website if the
authority maintains a website, a notice of the date, hour, and place
of the drawing. The notice must remain posted continuously for 72
hours immediately preceding the scheduled time of the drawing.
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.