87R11435 SGM-D
By: Bucy H.B. No. 3666
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to election practices and procedures.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.094, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read
as follows:
(a) After each election, each presiding judge serving in the
election shall prepare and sign[,] in duplicate, or electronically
submit, a statement containing the following information:
(1) the name and address of the presiding judge and
each clerk who served under the judge;
(2) the number of hours that each election officer
worked at the polling place or at another location under Section
62.014(c), excluding time for which payment may not be made; and
(3) the name of the election officer who delivered the
election records, keys, and unused supplies, and, if more than one
officer, the name of and the amount of compensation allocated to
each officer.
(e) The original compensation statement shall be used for
making payment for the services. The general custodian of election
records shall preserve the duplicate or electronic file for the
period for preserving the precinct election records. If the
presiding judge delivers the statement to an authority other than
the general custodian of election records, the authority receiving
the statement shall deliver the duplicate or electronic file to the
general custodian not later than the third day after the date of its
receipt.
(f) The secretary of state, or a county, may develop and
implement an electronic system for a presiding judge to submit the
information required under this section to the appropriate
authority. The secretary of state may prescribe rules regarding
the development and implementation of a system under this
subsection to ensure compatibility with any other system developed
and implemented under this section.
SECTION 2. Section 63.0011, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) The statement under Subsection (c) may be executed
electronically on a device provided to the voter.
SECTION 3. Section 63.011, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a-1), (b), and (b-1) and adding Subsections
(b-2) and (f) to read as follows:
(a-1) Except as provided by Section 84.032(d-2), a [A]
person to whom the early voting clerk was required to provide an
early voting ballot by mail under Section 86.001 and who did not
vote early by mail may cast a provisional ballot on election day if
the person executes an affidavit stating that the person:
(1) is a registered voter in the precinct in which the
person seeks to vote; and
(2) did not vote early by mail.
(b) A form for an affidavit required by this section must be
in a form prescribed by the secretary of state that includes
[printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot voted by the
person may be placed and must include]:
(1) a space for entering the identification number of
the provisional ballot voted by the person; [and]
(2) a space for an election officer to indicate
whether the person presented a form of identification described by
Section 63.0101; and
(3) a space for the person to indicate the reason for
casting a provisional ballot by choosing from a standardized list.
(b-1) The affidavit form shall [may] include space for
disclosure of any necessary information to enable the person to
register to vote under Chapter 13. Any update to a voter's
registration information provided by the voter under this section
is immediately effective [The secretary of state shall prescribe
the form of the affidavit under this section].
(b-2) A form for an affidavit required by this section must
provide for the affidavit to be associated with the envelope in
which the provisional ballot voted by a person is placed while
allowing a voter to cast a secret ballot.
(f) A county may use an electronic affidavit, in a form
prescribed by the secretary of state, for a provisional ballot
under this section. Data collected via the electronic affidavit
shall be retained in a single statewide database maintained by the
secretary of state.
SECTION 4. Section 84.032, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (d-1), (d-2), and
(e-1) to read as follows:
(b) A request must:
(1) be in writing and signed by the applicant;
(2) specify the election for which the application was
made; and
(3) except as provided by Subsection (c), (d), (d-1),
or (e), be received by the early voting clerk:
(A) not later than the third day before election
day; and
(B) if an early voting ballot sent to the
applicant is returned to the clerk as a marked ballot, before the
marked ballot's arrival at the address on the carrier envelope.
(d-1) An applicant may also submit a request by voting early
by personal appearance or by appearing in person to vote on election
day if:
(1) the polling place at which the applicant seeks to
vote by personal appearance uses a signature roster in the form of
an electronic device that:
(A) is capable of accurately indicating whether
the applicant has returned a ballot to be voted by mail; and
(B) provides information to the early voting
clerk to ensure that any ballot canceled under this subsection and
subsequently received will not be counted; and
(2) the early voting clerk, deputy early voting clerk,
or presiding election judge, as applicable, determines from the
signature roster that the applicant has not returned the
applicant's ballot to be voted by mail.
(d-2) A person who cancels an application for a ballot to be
voted early by mail under Subsection (d-1) and is accepted for
voting is not required to vote a provisional ballot under Section
63.011(a-1).
(e-1) An applicant may submit a request for cancellation to
a deputy early voting clerk at a branch early voting polling place
or a presiding judge on election day at the applicant's precinct
polling place if:
(1) the applicant submits a written request, signed by
the applicant, that specifies the election for which the
cancellation request is made; and
(2) the deputy early voting clerk or presiding judge
has received confirmation that the voter's marked ballot has not
been received by the early voting clerk.
SECTION 5. Section 84.038, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 84.038. CANCELLATION EFFECTIVE FOR SINGLE ELECTION.
The cancellation of an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
under Section 84.032(c), (d), (d-1), or (e) is effective for a
single ballot only and does not cancel the application with respect
to a subsequent election, including a subsequent election to which
the same application applies under Section 84.001(e) or 86.0015(b).
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.