| 1 | 1 | | 87R10987 SLB-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1663 |
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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 administration of the countywide polling place |
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| 8 | 8 | | program. |
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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 43.007, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsection (m) and adding Subsection (m-1) to read as |
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| 12 | 12 | | follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (m) In adopting a methodology under Subsection (f), the |
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| 14 | 14 | | county must ensure that: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) in a county with a population of less than one |
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| 16 | 16 | | million: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (A) each county commissioners precinct contains |
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| 18 | 18 | | at least one countywide polling place; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | (B) the deviation in the percentage of the total |
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| 20 | 20 | | number of countywide polling places located in a commissioners |
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| 21 | 21 | | precinct does not vary by more than one percentage point in a |
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| 22 | 22 | | precinct; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) in a county with a population of one million or |
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| 24 | 24 | | more, the number of polling places located in each state |
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| 25 | 25 | | representative district included in the territory of the county is |
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| 26 | 26 | | calculated by dividing the number of voters residing in that |
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| 27 | 27 | | district by the total number of voters residing in the county and |
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| 28 | 28 | | using the number generated as a percentage to allocate the same |
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| 29 | 29 | | percentage of polling place locations, rounding up to the nearest |
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| 30 | 30 | | whole number, if necessary [the total number of permanent branch |
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| 31 | 31 | | and temporary branch polling places open for voting in a county |
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| 32 | 32 | | commissioners precinct does not exceed more than twice the number |
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| 33 | 33 | | of permanent branch and temporary branch polling places in another |
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| 34 | 34 | | county commissioners precinct]. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (m-1) Election officials and voting equipment, materials, |
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| 36 | 36 | | and supplies must be allocated to each polling place based on the |
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| 37 | 37 | | same percentage as polling place locations are determined under |
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| 38 | 38 | | Subsection (m) with no greater than a five percent deviation in the |
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| 39 | 39 | | allocation between polling place locations. Each polling place |
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| 40 | 40 | | location must be able to accommodate 100 percent of the equipment |
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| 41 | 41 | | allocated to be operational at the same time. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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