Texas 2021 - 87th 2nd C.S.

Texas Senate Bill SB97 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Bettencourt, et al. S.B. No. 97
	1	+	By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 97
	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed August 31, 2021; August 31, 2021,
	3	+	read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
	4	+	September 1, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
	5	+	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 2;
	6	+	September 1, 2021, sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
	8	+	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 97 By: Hall
2	9
3	10
4	11		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	12		AN ACT
6	13		relating to processes to address election irregularities;
7	14		providing a civil penalty.
8	15		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	16		SECTION 1. Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding
10	17		Chapters 280 and 281 to read as follows:
11	18		CHAPTER 280. REQUEST TO ADDRESS ELECTION IRREGULARITY
12	19		Sec. 280.001. REQUEST FOR EXPLANATION. (a) A person
13	20		described by Subsection (f) may issue a written request to the
14	21		county clerk for an explanation and supporting documentation for:
15	22		(1) an action taken by an election officer that
16	23		appears to violate this code;
17	24		(2) irregularities in precinct results; or
18	25		(3) inadequacy or irregularity of documentation
19	26		required to be maintained under this code.
20	27		(b) Not later than the 20th day after the date a request is
21	28		received under Subsection (a), a county clerk shall provide the
22	29		requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
23	30		(c) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
24	31		and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (b) may
25	32		issue a request for further explanation and supporting
26	33		documentation to the county clerk.
27	34		(d) Not later than the 10th day after the date a request is
28	35		received under Subsection (c), the county clerk shall provide the
29	36		requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
30	37		(e) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
31	38		and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (d) may
32	39		issue a request to the secretary of state for an audit of the issue
33	40		described by Subsection (a), as provided by Section 280.002.
34	41		(f) A person may make a request under this section if the
35	42		person participated in the relevant election as:
36	43		(1) a candidate;
37	44		(2) a county chair of a political party;
38	45		(3) a presiding judge;
39	46		(4) an alternate presiding judge; or
40	47		(5) the head of a specific-purpose political committee
41	48		that supports or opposes a ballot measure.
42	49		Sec. 280.002. AUDIT BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) A person to
43	50		whom Section 280.001(e) applies may submit a request for an audit to
44	51		the secretary of state for investigation. A request for an audit
45	52		must include copies of:
46	53		(1) the requests made by the person to the person's
47	54		county clerk under Sections 280.001(a) and (c);
48	55		(2) the explanations provided by the county clerk to
49	56		the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d); and
50	57		(3) any supporting documentation provided by the
51	58		county clerk to the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d).
52	59		(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the secretary
53	60		of state receives a request for an audit under this section, the
54	61		secretary must determine whether the information submitted under
55	62		Subsection (a) sufficiently explains the irregularity identified
56	63		under Section 280.001(a). If the information is insufficient, the
57	64		secretary shall immediately begin an audit of the identified
58	65		irregularity at the expense of the county.
59	66		(c) The county clerk shall cooperate with the office of the
60	67		secretary of state and may not interfere with or obstruct the audit.
61	68		(d) On conclusion of the audit, the secretary of state shall
62	69		provide notice of the findings of the audit to the person who
63	70		submitted the request for the audit and the county clerk.
64	71		Sec. 280.003. FINDING OF VIOLATION. (a) In addition to
65	72		the notice required under Section 280.002(d), the secretary of
66	73		state shall provide special notice to a county clerk detailing any
67	74		violation of this code found during the conduct of an audit under
68	75		Section 280.002.
69	76		(b) If the county clerk does not remedy a violation detailed
70	77		in a notice under Subsection (a) by the 30th day after the date the
71	78		clerk receives the notice, the secretary of state shall assess a
72	79		civil penalty of $500 for each violation not remedied and, if
73	80		possible, remedy the violation on behalf of the county clerk. The
74	81		remedy provided under this subsection is in addition to any other
75	82		remedy available under law for a violation of this code.
76	83		(c) If the secretary of state is not able to remedy the
77	84		violation on behalf of the county clerk, the secretary shall assess
78	85		an additional penalty under Subsection (b) for each day the county
79	86		clerk does not remedy the violation until the violation is
80	87		remedied.
81	88		(d) The secretary of state shall maintain a record of county
82	89		clerks who have been assessed a civil penalty under Subsection (b).
83	90		The secretary of state shall publish the record on the secretary of
84	91		state's Internet website.
85	92		(e) The attorney general may bring an action under this
86	93		section to recover a civil penalty that has not been paid.
87	94		(f) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be
88	95		deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue
89	96		fund.
90	97		CHAPTER 281. REVIEW OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
91	98		Sec. 281.001. REVIEW OF RESULTS OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION
92	99		FOR STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS. (a) In this section, "committee"
93	100		means an election review advisory committee.
94	101		(b) A state or county chair of a political party that made
95	102		nominations by primary election for the last general election for
96	103		state and county officers may request a review of the results of the
97	104		2020 general election for state and county officers by submitting a
98	105		written request to a county clerk. A county chair may only request
99	106		a review from the county clerk of the county served by the party
100	107		chair.
101	108		(c) A county clerk that receives a request under this
102	109		section shall appoint an election review advisory committee to
103	110		conduct a review under this chapter. The county clerk shall
104	111		supervise the committee.
105	112		(d) The county clerk shall appoint members of the committee
106	113		from lists of names of persons eligible for appointment submitted
107	114		to the county clerk by the party chair of each political party that
108	115		made nominations by primary election for the last general election
109		-	for state and county officers. The county clerk shall determine the
110		-	number of members necessary to conduct the review and appoint an
	116	+	for state and county officers. The county clerk shall appoint an
111	117		equal number of members from each list.
112	118		(e) The committee members must be qualified voters of the
113	119		county.
114	120		(f) A review under this section shall include:
115		-	(1) all ballots voted in-person during early voting
116		-	and on election day from each precinct in the county where the
117		-	number of ballots cast exceeded the total number of voters who were
118		-	accepted for voting at an early voting location or polling place in
119		-	the precinct;
120		-	(2) all ballots voted by mail and on election day from
121		-	an additional number of randomly selected precincts in the county
122		-	that includes the greater of:
123		-	(A) three precincts; or
124		-	(B) 20 percent of the remaining number of
125		-	precincts in the county; and
126		-	(3) the greater of 1,000 voted ballots or 10 percent of
	121	+	(1) all ballots voted by mail and on election day from
	122	+	a number of randomly selected precincts in the county that
	123	+	includes:
	124	+	(A) not fewer than three precincts; and
	125	+	(B) not more than 20 percent of the total number
	126	+	of precincts in the county; and
	127	+	(2) the greater of 1,000 voted ballots or 10 percent of
127	128		all ballots voted at an early voting location from a number of
128	129		locations equal to:
129	130		(A) not fewer than three randomly selected early
130	131		voting locations; or
131	132		(B) if the county has fewer than three early
132	133		voting locations, all early voting locations in the county.
133		-	(g) A review under this section shall be limited to not
134		-	fewer than three and not more than five contested races or ballot
135		-	measures. If there are more than five contested races or ballot
136		-	measures identified in the request under Subsection (b), the county
137		-	clerk shall randomly select five races or measures for review. The
138		-	contested races must include at least one of each of the following
139		-	types of races, regardless of whether the type was identified in the
140		-	request under Subsection (b):
141		-	(1) a federal office;
142		-	(2) a statewide office; and
143		-	(3) a county office.
	134	+	(g) A review under this section shall be limited to not more
	135	+	than five contested races or ballot measures. If there are more
	136	+	than five contested races or ballot measures identified in the
	137	+	request under Subsection (b), the county clerk shall randomly
	138	+	select five races or measures for review. At least one of the
	139	+	contested races must be a race for:
	140	+	(1) electors for president and vice president of the
	141	+	United States;
	142	+	(2) a federal office;
	143	+	(3) a statewide office;
	144	+	(4) state senator; or
	145	+	(5) state representative.
144	146		(h) The committee shall begin the review not later than the
145	147		20th day after the date the county clerk receives the request under
146	148		Subsection (b). The committee shall have access to ballots in the
147	149		custody of the county clerk for the purpose of review under
148	150		Subsection (f).
149	151		(i) Before the committee begins the review, the secretary of
150	152		state shall determine an acceptable margin of error appropriate for
151	153		the county based on mathematical and statistical analyses
152	154		appropriate to the voting system used by the county.
153	155		(j) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
154	156		review, the results of the review differ from canvassed results
155	157		from the 2020 general election for state and county officers by an
156	158		amount outside the margin of error determined under Subsection (i)
157	159		for the county, the committee shall conduct another review. A
158	160		review under this subsection shall be conducted in the same manner
159	161		as the initial review, except that the committee shall randomly
160	162		select different precincts for review.
161	163		(k) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
162	164		review under Subsection (j), the results of the review differ from
163	165		canvassed results from the 2020 general election for state and
164	166		county officers by an amount outside the margin of error determined
165	167		under Subsection (i) for the county, the committee shall conduct a
166	168		final review. A review under this subsection shall be conducted in
167	169		the same manner as the initial review, except that:
168		-	(1) for a contested race ~~or ballot measure under~~
169		-	~~Subsection~~ (g), the review shall include the entire county; and
	170	+	(1) for a contested race under Subsections (g)(1)
	171	+	through (3), the review shall include the entire county; and
170	172		(2) for any other contested race, the review shall
171	173		include the entire district.
172	174		(l) The committee shall provide the full results of the
173	175		review to:
174	176		(1) the county clerk;
175	177		(2) the secretary of state; and
176	178		(3) the county chair of each political party in the
177	179		county.
178	180		(m) The secretary of state shall issue a notice of the
179	181		results of the review to:
180	182		(1) the governor;
181	183		(2) the lieutenant governor;
182	184		(3) the speaker of the house of representatives; and
183	185		(4) each member of the legislature.
184	186		(n) The notice under Subsection (m) must include an
185	187		indication whether the result of the review:
186	188		(1) confirmed the final canvass of the 2020 general
187	189		election for state and county officers;
188	190		(2) differed from the final canvass of the 2020
189	191		general election for state and county officers, but by an amount
190	192		within the margin of error identified under Subsection (i); or
191	193		(3) differed from the final canvass of the 2020
192	194		general election for state and county officers by an amount outside
193	195		the margin of error identified under Subsection (i).
194	196		(o) If the notice under Subsection (m) indicates a
195	197		difference greater than the margin of error under Subsection (i),
196	198		the secretary of state shall prepare a report to accompany the
197	199		notice. The report must include:
198	200		(1) an analysis of the difference from the results of
199	201		the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state and county
200	202		officers;
201	203		(2) the likely causes of the difference from the
202	204		results of the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state
203	205		and county officers; and
204	206		(3) recommended measures to avoid similar differences
205	207		in future elections.
206	208		(p) A notice under Subsection (m) and any accompanying
207	209		report shall be posted on:
208	210		(1) the secretary of state's Internet website; and
209	211		(2) the county's Internet website, if the county
210	212		maintains an Internet website.
211	213		(q) This chapter expires on September 1, 2024.
212	214		SECTION 2. A person may make a request under Section
213	215		280.001, Election Code, as added by this Act, only for an election
214	216		held on or after the effective date of this Act.
215	217		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
216	218		last day of the legislative session.
	219	+	* * * * *