Texas 2021 - 87th 2nd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB244 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S21487 MLH-D
2	2	By: Toth H.B. No. 244
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to processes to address election irregularities;
8	8	providing a civil penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Chapters 280 and 281 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 280. REQUEST TO ADDRESS ELECTION IRREGULARITY
13	13	Sec. 280.001. REQUEST FOR EXPLANATION. (a) A person
14	14	described by Subsection (f) may issue a written request to the
15	15	county clerk for an explanation and supporting documentation for:
16	16	(1) an action taken by an election officer that
17	17	appears to violate this code;
18	18	(2) irregularities in precinct results; or
19	19	(3) inadequacy or irregularity of documentation
20	20	required to be maintained under this code.
21	21	(b) Not later than the 20th day after the date a request is
22	22	received under Subsection (a), a county clerk shall provide the
23	23	requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
24	24	(c) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
25	25	and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (b) may
26	26	issue a request for further explanation and supporting
27	27	documentation to the county clerk.
28	28	(d) Not later than the 10th day after the date a request is
29	29	received under Subsection (c), the county clerk shall provide the
30	30	requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
31	31	(e) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
32	32	and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (d) may
33	33	issue a request to the secretary of state for an audit of the issue
34	34	described by Subsection (a), as provided by Section 280.002.
35	35	(f) A person may make a request under this section if the
36	36	person participated in the relevant election as:
37	37	(1) a candidate;
38	38	(2) a county chair of a political party;
39	39	(3) a presiding judge;
40	40	(4) an alternate presiding judge; or
41	41	(5) the head of a specific-purpose political committee
42	42	that supports or opposes a ballot measure.
43	43	Sec. 280.002. AUDIT BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) A person to
44	44	whom Section 280.001(e) applies may submit a request for an audit to
45	45	the secretary of state for investigation. A request for an audit
46	46	must include copies of:
47	47	(1) the requests made by the person to the person's
48	48	county clerk under Sections 280.001(a) and (c);
49	49	(2) the explanations provided by the county clerk to
50	50	the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d); and
51	51	(3) any supporting documentation provided by the
52	52	county clerk to the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d).
53	53	(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the secretary
54	54	of state receives a request for an audit under this section, the
55	55	secretary must determine whether the information submitted under
56	56	Subsection (a) sufficiently explains the irregularity identified
57	57	under Section 280.001(a). If the information is insufficient, the
58	58	secretary shall immediately begin an audit of the identified
59	59	irregularity at the expense of the county.
60	60	(c) The county clerk shall cooperate with the office of the
61	61	secretary of state and may not interfere with or obstruct the audit.
62	62	(d) On conclusion of the audit, the secretary of state shall
63	63	provide notice of the findings of the audit to the person who
64	64	submitted the request for the audit and the county clerk.
65	65	Sec. 280.003. FINDING OF VIOLATION. (a) In addition to the
66	66	notice required under Section 280.002(d), the secretary of state
67	67	shall provide special notice to a county clerk detailing any
68	68	violation of this code found during the conduct of an audit under
69	69	Section 280.002.
70	70	(b) If the county clerk does not remedy a violation detailed
71	71	in a notice under Subsection (a) by the 30th day after the date the
72	72	clerk receives the notice, the secretary of state shall assess a
73	73	civil penalty of $500 for each violation not remedied and, if
74	74	possible, remedy the violation on behalf of the county clerk. The
75	75	remedy provided under this subsection is in addition to any other
76	76	remedy available under law for a violation of this code.
77	77	(c) If the secretary of state is not able to remedy the
78	78	violation on behalf of the county clerk, the secretary shall assess
79	79	an additional penalty under Subsection (b) for each day the county
80	80	clerk does not remedy the violation until the violation is
81	81	remedied.
82	82	(d) The secretary of state shall maintain a record of county
83	83	clerks who have been assessed a civil penalty under Subsection (b).
84	84	The secretary of state shall publish the record on the secretary of
85	85	state's Internet website.
86	86	(e) The attorney general may bring an action under this
87	87	section to recover a civil penalty that has not been paid.
88	88	(f) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be
89	89	deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue
90	90	fund.
91	91	CHAPTER 281. REVIEW OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
92	92	Sec. 281.001. REVIEW OF RESULTS OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION
93	93	FOR STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS. (a) In this section, "committee"
94	94	means an election review advisory committee.
95	95	(b) A state or county chair of a political party that made
96	96	nominations by primary election for the last general election for
97	97	state and county officers may request a review of the results of the
98	98	2020 general election for state and county officers by submitting a
99	99	written request to a county clerk. A county chair may only request a
100	100	review from the county clerk of the county served by the party
101	101	chair.
102	102	(c) A county clerk that receives a request under this
103	103	section shall appoint an election review advisory committee to
104	104	conduct a review under this chapter. The county clerk shall
105	105	supervise the committee.
106	106	(d) The county clerk shall appoint members of the committee
107	107	from lists of names of persons eligible for appointment submitted
108	108	to the county clerk by the party chair of each political party that
109	109	made nominations by primary election for the last general election
110	110	for state and county officers. The county clerk shall appoint an
111	111	equal number of members from each list.
112	112	(e) The committee members must be:
113	113	(1) qualified voters of the county; and
114	114	(2) selected with the intent that the committee
115	115	contain expertise in:
116	116	(A) advanced mathematics;
117	117	(B) voting systems;
118	118	(C) statistics;
119	119	(D) computer software operations; and
120	120	(E) methods of random selection.
121	121	(f) A review under this section shall include:
122	122	(1) all ballots voted by mail and on election day from
123	123	a number of randomly selected precincts in the county that
124	124	includes:
125	125	(A) not fewer than three precincts; and
126	126	(B) not more than two percent of the total number
127	127	of precincts in the county; and
128	128	(2) the greater of 1,000 voted ballots or one percent
129	129	of all ballots voted at an early voting location from a number of
130	130	locations equal to:
131	131	(A) three randomly selected early voting
132	132	locations; or
133	133	(B) if the county has fewer than three early
134	134	voting locations, all early voting locations in the county.
135	135	(g) A review under this section shall be limited to not more
136	136	than five contested races or ballot measures. If there are more than
137	137	five contested races or ballot measures identified in the request
138	138	under Subsection (b), the county clerk shall randomly select five
139	139	races or measures for review. At least one of the contested races
140	140	must be a race for:
141	141	(1) electors for president and vice president of the
142	142	United States;
143	143	(2) a federal office;
144	144	(3) a statewide office;
145	145	(4) state senator; or
146	146	(5) state representative.
147	147	(h) The committee shall begin the review not later than the
148	148	20th day after the date the county clerk receives the request under
149	149	Subsection (b). The committee shall have access to ballots in the
150	150	custody of the county clerk for the purpose of review under
151	151	Subsection (f).
152	152	(i) Before beginning the review, the committee shall
153	153	determine an acceptable margin of error appropriate for the county.
154	154	(j) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
155	155	review, the results of the review differ from canvassed results
156	156	from the 2020 general election for state and county officers by an
157	157	amount outside the margin of error determined under Subsection (i)
158	158	for the county, the committee shall conduct another review. A
159	159	review under this subsection shall be conducted in the same manner
160	160	as the initial review, except that the committee shall randomly
161	161	select different precincts for review.
162	162	(k) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
163	163	review under Subsection (j), the results of the review differ from
164	164	canvassed results from the 2020 general election for state and
165	165	county officers by an amount outside the margin of error determined
166	166	under Subsection (i) for the county, the committee shall conduct a
167	167	final review. A review under this subsection shall be conducted in
168	168	the same manner as the initial review, except that:
169	169	(1) for a contested race under Subsections (g)(1)
170	170	through (3), the review shall include the entire county; and
171	171	(2) for any other contested race, the review shall
172	172	include the entire district.
173	173	(l) The committee shall maintain a list of each ballot style
174	174	voted in a precinct or early voting location. The committee shall
175	175	note any ballot style voted in a precinct or early voting location
176	176	that contains a race or ballot measure not applicable to the
177	177	precinct or early voting location at which the ballot was voted.
178	178	(m) The committee shall provide the full results of the
179	179	review to:
180	180	(1) the county clerk;
181	181	(2) the secretary of state; and
182	182	(3) the county chair of each political party in the
183	183	county.
184	184	(n) The secretary of state shall issue a notice of the
185	185	results of the review to:
186	186	(1) the governor;
187	187	(2) the lieutenant governor;
188	188	(3) the speaker of the house of representatives; and
189	189	(4) each member of the legislature.
190	190	(o) The notice under Subsection (n) must include an
191	191	indication whether the result of the review:
192	192	(1) confirmed the final canvass of the 2020 general
193	193	election for state and county officers;
194	194	(2) differed from the final canvass of the 2020
195	195	general election for state and county officers, but by an amount
196	196	within the margin of error identified under Subsection (i); or
197	197	(3) differed from the final canvass of the 2020
198	198	general election for state and county officers by an amount outside
199	199	the margin of error identified under Subsection (i).
200	200	(p) If the notice under Subsection (n) indicates a
201	201	difference greater than the margin of error under Subsection (i),
202	202	the secretary of state shall prepare a report to accompany the
203	203	notice. The report must include:
204	204	(1) an analysis of the difference from the results of
205	205	the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state and county
206	206	officers;
207	207	(2) the likely causes of the difference from the
208	208	results of the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state
209	209	and county officers; and
210	210	(3) recommended measures to avoid similar differences
211	211	in future elections.
212	212	(q) A notice under Subsection (n) and any accompanying
213	213	report shall be posted on:
214	214	(1) the secretary of state's Internet website; and
215	215	(2) the county's Internet website, if the county
216	216	maintains an Internet website.
217	217	(r) This chapter expires on September 1, 2024.
218	218	SECTION 2. A person may make a request under Section
219	219	280.001, Election Code, as added by this Act, only for an election
220	220	held on or after the effective date of this Act.
221	221	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
222	222	last day of the legislative session.