Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2672 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R8453 SGM-D
2	2	By: Guillen H.B. No. 2672
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to public inspection of certain early voting information;
8	8	creating a criminal offense.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 87.121, Election Code, as amended by
11	11	Chapters 1083 (H.B. 1850) and 1215 (S.B. 902), Acts of the 86th
12	12	Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 87.121. EARLY VOTING ROSTERS. (a) The early voting
15	15	clerk shall maintain for each election a roster listing each person
16	16	who votes an early voting ballot by personal appearance and a roster
17	17	listing each person to whom an early voting ballot to be voted by
18	18	mail is sent.
19	19	(b) For each person listed, the applicable roster must
20	20	include:
21	21	(1) the person's name, address, and voter registration
22	22	number;
23	23	(2) an identification of the person's county election
24	24	precinct of registration; and
25	25	(3) the date of voting or the date the ballot was
26	26	mailed to the person, as applicable.
27	27	(c) Each roster shall be updated daily.
28	28	(d) Each roster may be maintained in any form approved by
29	29	the secretary of state.
30	30	(e) The clerk shall preserve each roster after the election
31	31	for the period for preserving the precinct election records.
32	32	(f) Information on the roster for a person to whom an early
33	33	voting mail ballot has been sent is not available for public
34	34	inspection, except to the voter seeking to verify that the
35	35	information pertaining to the voter is accurate, until the first
36	36	business day after election day.
37	37	(g) Information on the roster for a person who votes an
38	38	early voting ballot by personal appearance shall be made available
39	39	for public inspection as provided by Subsection (i) not later than
40	40	11 a.m. on the day after the date the information is entered on the
41	41	roster under Subsection (c). On the request of a person, the early
42	42	voting clerk shall provide a copy of the roster in a paper or an
43	43	electronic format.
44	44	(h) Information on the roster for a person who votes an
45	45	early voting ballot by mail shall be made available for public
46	46	inspection as provided by Subsection (i) not later than 11 a.m. on
47	47	the day following the day the early voting clerk receives a ballot
48	48	voted by mail. On the request of a person, the early voting clerk
49	49	shall provide a copy of the roster in a paper or an electronic
50	50	format.
51	51	(i) The information under Subsections (g) and (h) must be
52	52	made available:
53	53	(1) for an election in which the county clerk is the
54	54	early voting clerk:
55	55	(A) on the publicly accessible Internet website
56	56	of the county; or
57	57	(B) if the county does not maintain a website, on
58	58	the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the
59	59	commissioners court; or
60	60	(2) for an election not described by Subdivision (1):
61	61	(A) on the publicly accessible Internet website
62	62	of the authority ordering the election; or
63	63	(B) if the authority ordering the election does
64	64	not maintain a website, on the bulletin board used for posting
65	65	notice of meetings of the governing body of the authority.
66	66	(j) [(i)] The early voting clerk for a primary election or
67	67	the general election for state and county officers shall submit to
68	68	the secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state's
69	69	Internet website the information described by:
70	70	(1) Subsection (g) not later than 11 a.m. on the day
71	71	after the date the information is entered on the roster under
72	72	Subsection (c); and
73	73	(2) Subsection (h) not later than 11 a.m. on the day
74	74	following the day the early voting clerk receives a ballot voted by
75	75	mail.
76	76	(k) [(j)] The secretary of state shall [make any early
77	77	voting roster created under this section available to the public on
78	78	the secretary's Internet website.
79	79	[(j) The secretary of state shall] post the information
80	80	described by Subsection (j) [(i)] on the secretary of state's
81	81	Internet website in a downloadable format.
82	82	(l) [(k)] The secretary of state shall create a system for
83	83	an early voting clerk for a primary election or the general election
84	84	for state and county officers to provide the information to the
85	85	secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state's Internet
86	86	website under Subsection (j) [(i)].
87	87	(m) A person commits an offense if the person:
88	88	(1) is responsible for maintaining the roster under
89	89	this section; and
90	90	(2) fails to provide information on or a copy of the
91	91	roster under Subsection (g) or (h).
92	92	(n) An offense under Subsection (m) is a Class C
93	93	misdemeanor.
94	94	SECTION 2. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
95	95	over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
96	96	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
97	97	codes.
98	98	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.