Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3666 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R11435 SGM-D
2	2	By: Bucy H.B. No. 3666
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to election practices and procedures.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 32.094, Election Code, is amended by
10	10	amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read
11	11	as follows:
12	12	(a) After each election, each presiding judge serving in the
13	13	election shall prepare and sign[,] in duplicate, or electronically
14	14	submit, a statement containing the following information:
15	15	(1) the name and address of the presiding judge and
16	16	each clerk who served under the judge;
17	17	(2) the number of hours that each election officer
18	18	worked at the polling place or at another location under Section
19	19	62.014(c), excluding time for which payment may not be made; and
20	20	(3) the name of the election officer who delivered the
21	21	election records, keys, and unused supplies, and, if more than one
22	22	officer, the name of and the amount of compensation allocated to
23	23	each officer.
24	24	(e) The original compensation statement shall be used for
25	25	making payment for the services. The general custodian of election
26	26	records shall preserve the duplicate or electronic file for the
27	27	period for preserving the precinct election records. If the
28	28	presiding judge delivers the statement to an authority other than
29	29	the general custodian of election records, the authority receiving
30	30	the statement shall deliver the duplicate or electronic file to the
31	31	general custodian not later than the third day after the date of its
32	32	receipt.
33	33	(f) The secretary of state, or a county, may develop and
34	34	implement an electronic system for a presiding judge to submit the
35	35	information required under this section to the appropriate
36	36	authority. The secretary of state may prescribe rules regarding
37	37	the development and implementation of a system under this
38	38	subsection to ensure compatibility with any other system developed
39	39	and implemented under this section.
40	40	SECTION 2. Section 63.0011, Election Code, is amended by
41	41	adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
42	42	(g) The statement under Subsection (c) may be executed
43	43	electronically on a device provided to the voter.
44	44	SECTION 3. Section 63.011, Election Code, is amended by
45	45	amending Subsections (a-1), (b), and (b-1) and adding Subsections
46	46	(b-2) and (f) to read as follows:
47	47	(a-1) Except as provided by Section 84.032(d-2), a [A]
48	48	person to whom the early voting clerk was required to provide an
49	49	early voting ballot by mail under Section 86.001 and who did not
50	50	vote early by mail may cast a provisional ballot on election day if
51	51	the person executes an affidavit stating that the person:
52	52	(1) is a registered voter in the precinct in which the
53	53	person seeks to vote; and
54	54	(2) did not vote early by mail.
55	55	(b) A form for an affidavit required by this section must be
56	56	in a form prescribed by the secretary of state that includes
57	57	[printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot voted by the
58	58	person may be placed and must include]:
59	59	(1) a space for entering the identification number of
60	60	the provisional ballot voted by the person; [and]
61	61	(2) a space for an election officer to indicate
62	62	whether the person presented a form of identification described by
63	63	Section 63.0101; and
64	64	(3) a space for the person to indicate the reason for
65	65	casting a provisional ballot by choosing from a standardized list.
66	66	(b-1) The affidavit form shall [may] include space for
67	67	disclosure of any necessary information to enable the person to
68	68	register to vote under Chapter 13. Any update to a voter's
69	69	registration information provided by the voter under this section
70	70	is immediately effective [The secretary of state shall prescribe
71	71	the form of the affidavit under this section].
72	72	(b-2) A form for an affidavit required by this section must
73	73	provide for the affidavit to be associated with the envelope in
74	74	which the provisional ballot voted by a person is placed while
75	75	allowing a voter to cast a secret ballot.
76	76	(f) A county may use an electronic affidavit, in a form
77	77	prescribed by the secretary of state, for a provisional ballot
78	78	under this section. Data collected via the electronic affidavit
79	79	shall be retained in a single statewide database maintained by the
80	80	secretary of state.
81	81	SECTION 4. Section 84.032, Election Code, is amended by
82	82	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (d-1), (d-2), and
83	83	(e-1) to read as follows:
84	84	(b) A request must:
85	85	(1) be in writing and signed by the applicant;
86	86	(2) specify the election for which the application was
87	87	made; and
88	88	(3) except as provided by Subsection (c), (d), (d-1),
89	89	or (e), be received by the early voting clerk:
90	90	(A) not later than the third day before election
91	91	day; and
92	92	(B) if an early voting ballot sent to the
93	93	applicant is returned to the clerk as a marked ballot, before the
94	94	marked ballot's arrival at the address on the carrier envelope.
95	95	(d-1) An applicant may also submit a request by voting early
96	96	by personal appearance or by appearing in person to vote on election
97	97	day if:
98	98	(1) the polling place at which the applicant seeks to
99	99	vote by personal appearance uses a signature roster in the form of
100	100	an electronic device that:
101	101	(A) is capable of accurately indicating whether
102	102	the applicant has returned a ballot to be voted by mail; and
103	103	(B) provides information to the early voting
104	104	clerk to ensure that any ballot canceled under this subsection and
105	105	subsequently received will not be counted; and
106	106	(2) the early voting clerk, deputy early voting clerk,
107	107	or presiding election judge, as applicable, determines from the
108	108	signature roster that the applicant has not returned the
109	109	applicant's ballot to be voted by mail.
110	110	(d-2) A person who cancels an application for a ballot to be
111	111	voted early by mail under Subsection (d-1) and is accepted for
112	112	voting is not required to vote a provisional ballot under Section
113	113	63.011(a-1).
114	114	(e-1) An applicant may submit a request for cancellation to
115	115	a deputy early voting clerk at a branch early voting polling place
116	116	or a presiding judge on election day at the applicant's precinct
117	117	polling place if:
118	118	(1) the applicant submits a written request, signed by
119	119	the applicant, that specifies the election for which the
120	120	cancellation request is made; and
121	121	(2) the deputy early voting clerk or presiding judge
122	122	has received confirmation that the voter's marked ballot has not
123	123	been received by the early voting clerk.
124	124	SECTION 5. Section 84.038, Election Code, is amended to
125	125	read as follows:
126	126	Sec. 84.038. CANCELLATION EFFECTIVE FOR SINGLE ELECTION.
127	127	The cancellation of an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
128	128	under Section 84.032(c), (d), (d-1), or (e) is effective for a
129	129	single ballot only and does not cancel the application with respect
130	130	to a subsequent election, including a subsequent election to which
131	131	the same application applies under Section 84.001(e) or 86.0015(b).
132	132	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.