Texas 2021 - 87th 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HB197 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Crockett H.B. No. 197
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the selection of presidential electors.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 192.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
9	9	read as follows:
10	10	(a) To be eligible to serve as a presidential elector, a
11	11	person must:
12	12	(1) be a qualified voter of this state;
13	13	(2) be a resident of the congressional district the
14	14	person is chosen to represent, if the person is an elector
15	15	designated under Section 192.003(b)(2); and
16	16	(3) [(2)] not hold the office of United States
17	17	senator, United States representative, or any other federal office
18	18	of profit or trust.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 192.003, Election Code, is amended to
20	20	read as follows:
21	21	Sec. 192.003. METHOD OF BECOMING ELECTOR CANDIDATE. (a)
22	22	To become a presidential elector candidate, a person must be
23	23	nominated as a political party's elector candidate in accordance
24	24	with party rules or named as an elector candidate by an independent
25	25	or write-in candidate for president.
26	26	(b) The presidential elector candidates must be designated
27	27	as follows:
28	28	(1) two persons to serve as at-large electors from the
29	29	state; and
30	30	(2) one person to serve as an elector from each
31	31	congressional district.
32	32	SECTION 3. Section 192.005, Election Code, is amended to
33	33	read as follows:
34	34	Sec. 192.005. VOTE REQUIRED FOR ELECTION. An elector
35	35	candidate is elected if:
36	36	(1) for the persons designated under Section
37	37	192.003(b)(1), the candidates for president and vice-president
38	38	that correspond to the electors receive the most votes in the state;
39	39	and
40	40	(2) for a person designated under Section
41	41	192.003(b)(2), the candidates for president and vice-president
42	42	that correspond to the elector receive the most votes in the
43	43	congressional district the elector represents [The set of elector
44	44	candidates that is elected is the one that corresponds to the
45	45	candidates for president and vice-president receiving the most
46	46	votes].
47	47	SECTION 4. Section 192.007, Election Code, is amended to
48	48	read as follows:
49	49	Sec. 192.007. REPLACEMENT AFTER ELECTION. (a) The
50	50	electors meeting to vote for president and vice-president may
51	51	appoint a replacement elector as provided by Subsection (b) [by a
52	52	majority vote of the qualified electors present] if:
53	53	(1) the vacancy occurred before presidential election
54	54	day and a replacement was not chosen under Section 192.004;
55	55	(2) on or after presidential election day, an elector
56	56	is declared ineligible or dies; or
57	57	(3) the vacancy is declared under Section 192.006(c).
58	58	(b) A replacement elector is chosen by the majority vote of
59	59	the qualified electors present that correspond to the same
60	60	candidates for president and vice-president that received the most
61	61	votes in the area for which the replacement elector is chosen. If
62	62	there are no qualified electors present that correspond to the same
63	63	candidates for president and vice-president that received the most
64	64	votes in the area for which the replacement elector is chosen, a
65	65	replacement elector is chosen by the majority vote of all the
66	66	qualified electors present.
67	67	(c) The chair of the electors shall notify the secretary of
68	68	state of the name and residence address of a replacement elector
69	69	immediately on the replacement's appointment.
70	70	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.