Texas 2021 - 87th 3rd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB16 Compare Versions

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

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