By: Toth H.B. No. 16
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to processes to address election irregularities;
providing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding
Chapters 280 and 281 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 280. REQUEST TO ADDRESS ELECTION IRREGULARITY
Sec. 280.001. REQUEST FOR EXPLANATION. (a) A person
described by Subsection (f) may issue a written request to the
county clerk for an explanation and supporting documentation for:
(1) an action taken by an election officer that
appears to violate this code;
(2) irregularities in precinct results; or
(3) inadequacy or irregularity of documentation
required to be maintained under this code.
(b) Not later than the 20th day after the date a request is
received under Subsection (a), a county clerk shall provide the
requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
(c) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (b) may
issue a request for further explanation and supporting
documentation to the county clerk.
(d) Not later than the 10th day after the date a request is
received under Subsection (c), the county clerk shall provide the
requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
(e) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (d) may
issue a request to the secretary of state for an audit of the issue
described by Subsection (a), as provided by Section 280.002.
(f) A person may make a request under this section if the
person participated in the relevant election as:
(1) a candidate;
(2) a county chair of a political party;
(3) a presiding judge;
(4) an alternate presiding judge; or
(5) the head of a specific-purpose political committee
that supports or opposes a ballot measure.
Sec. 280.002. AUDIT BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) A person to
whom Section 280.001(e) applies may submit a request for an audit to
the secretary of state for investigation. A request for an audit
must include copies of:
(1) the requests made by the person to the person's
county clerk under Sections 280.001(a) and (c);
(2) the explanations provided by the county clerk to
the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d); and
(3) any supporting documentation provided by the
county clerk to the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d).
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the secretary
of state receives a request for an audit under this section, the
secretary must determine whether the information submitted under
Subsection (a) sufficiently explains the irregularity identified
under Section 280.001(a). If the information is insufficient, the
secretary shall immediately begin an audit of the identified
irregularity at the expense of the county.
(c) The county clerk shall cooperate with the office of the
secretary of state and may not interfere with or obstruct the audit.
(d) On conclusion of the audit, the secretary of state shall
provide notice of the findings of the audit to the person who
submitted the request for the audit and the county clerk.
Sec. 280.003. FINDING OF VIOLATION. (a) In addition to the
notice required under Section 280.002(d), the secretary of state
shall provide special notice to a county clerk detailing any
violation of this code found during the conduct of an audit under
Section 280.002.
(b) If the county clerk does not remedy a violation detailed
in a notice under Subsection (a) by the 30th day after the date the
clerk receives the notice, the secretary of state shall assess a
civil penalty of $500 for each violation not remedied and, if
possible, remedy the violation on behalf of the county clerk. The
remedy provided under this subsection is in addition to any other
remedy available under law for a violation of this code.
(c) If the secretary of state is not able to remedy the
violation on behalf of the county clerk, the secretary shall assess
an additional penalty under Subsection (b) for each day the county
clerk does not remedy the violation until the violation is
remedied.
(d) The secretary of state shall maintain a record of county
clerks who have been assessed a civil penalty under Subsection (b).
The secretary of state shall publish the record on the secretary of
state's Internet website.
(e) The attorney general may bring an action under this
section to recover a civil penalty that has not been paid.
(f) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be
deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue
fund.
CHAPTER 281. REVIEW OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
Sec. 281.001. REVIEW OF RESULTS OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION
FOR STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS. (a) In this section, "committee"
means an election review advisory committee.
(b) A state or county chair of a political party that made
nominations by primary election for the last general election for
state and county officers may request a review of the results of the
2020 general election for state and county officers by submitting a
written request to a county clerk. A county chair may only request a
review from the county clerk of the county served by the party
chair.
(c) A county clerk that receives a request under this
section shall appoint an election review advisory committee to
conduct a review under this chapter. The county clerk shall
supervise the committee.
(d) The county clerk shall appoint members of the committee
from lists of names of persons eligible for appointment submitted
to the county clerk by the party chair of each political party that
made nominations by primary election for the last general election
for state and county officers. The county clerk shall appoint an
equal number of members from each list.
(e) The committee members must be:
(1) qualified voters of the county; and
(2) selected with the intent that the committee
contain expertise in:
(A) advanced mathematics;
(B) voting systems;
(C) statistics;
(D) computer software operations; and
(E) methods of random selection.
(f) A review under this section shall include:
(1) all ballots voted by mail and on election day from
a number of randomly selected precincts in the county that
includes:
(A) not fewer than three precincts; and
(B) not more than two percent of the total number
of precincts in the county; and
(2) the greater of 1,000 voted ballots or one percent
of all ballots voted at an early voting location from a number of
locations equal to:
(A) three randomly selected early voting
locations; or
(B) if the county has fewer than three early
voting locations, all early voting locations in the county.
(g) A review under this section shall be limited to not more
than five contested races or ballot measures. If there are more than
five contested races or ballot measures identified in the request
under Subsection (b), the county clerk shall randomly select five
races or measures for review. At least one of the contested races
must be a race for:
(1) electors for president and vice president of the
United States;
(2) a federal office;
(3) a statewide office;
(4) state senator; or
(5) state representative.
(h) The committee shall begin the review not later than the
20th day after the date the county clerk receives the request under
Subsection (b). The committee shall have access to ballots in the
custody of the county clerk for the purpose of review under
Subsection (f).
(i) Before beginning the review, the committee shall
determine an acceptable margin of error appropriate for the county.
(j) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
review, the results of the review differ from canvassed results
from the 2020 general election for state and county officers by an
amount outside the margin of error determined under Subsection (i)
for the county, the committee shall conduct another review. A
review under this subsection shall be conducted in the same manner
as the initial review, except that the committee shall randomly
select different precincts for review.
(k) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
review under Subsection (j), the results of the review differ from
canvassed results from the 2020 general election for state and
county officers by an amount outside the margin of error determined
under Subsection (i) for the county, the committee shall conduct a
final review. A review under this subsection shall be conducted in
the same manner as the initial review, except that:
(1) for a contested race under Subsections (g)(1)
through (3), the review shall include the entire county; and
(2) for any other contested race, the review shall
include the entire district.
(l) The committee shall maintain a list of each ballot style
voted in a precinct or early voting location. The committee shall
note any ballot style voted in a precinct or early voting location
that contains a race or ballot measure not applicable to the
precinct or early voting location at which the ballot was voted.
(m) The committee shall provide the full results of the
review to:
(1) the county clerk;
(2) the secretary of state; and
(3) the county chair of each political party in the
county.
(n) The secretary of state shall issue a notice of the
results of the review to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives; and
(4) each member of the legislature.
(o) The notice under Subsection (n) must include an
indication whether the result of the review:
(1) confirmed the final canvass of the 2020 general
election for state and county officers;
(2) differed from the final canvass of the 2020
general election for state and county officers, but by an amount
within the margin of error identified under Subsection (i); or
(3) differed from the final canvass of the 2020
general election for state and county officers by an amount outside
the margin of error identified under Subsection (i).
(p) If the notice under Subsection (n) indicates a
difference greater than the margin of error under Subsection (i),
the secretary of state shall prepare a report to accompany the
notice. The report must include:
(1) an analysis of the difference from the results of
the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state and county
officers;
(2) the likely causes of the difference from the
results of the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state
and county officers; and
(3) recommended measures to avoid similar differences
in future elections.
(q) A notice under Subsection (n) and any accompanying
report shall be posted on:
(1) the secretary of state's Internet website; and
(2) the county's Internet website, if the county
maintains an Internet website.
(r) This chapter expires on September 1, 2024.
SECTION 2. A person may make a request under Section
280.001, Election Code, as added by this Act, only for an election
held on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.