| 1 | 1 | | By: Toth H.B. No. 17 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to a forensic audit of 2020 election results in certain |
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| 7 | 7 | | counties. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding |
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| 10 | 10 | | Chapter 280 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | CHAPTER 280. FORENSIC AUDIT OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 280.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (1) "Majority precinct" means a precinct in which the |
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| 14 | 14 | | candidate who received the greatest number of votes in the most |
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| 15 | 15 | | recent presidential election is the same candidate who received the |
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| 16 | 16 | | greatest number of votes in the majority of precincts in the county |
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| 17 | 17 | | in the same election. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) "Minority precinct" means a precinct in which the |
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| 19 | 19 | | candidate who received the greatest number of votes in the most |
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| 20 | 20 | | recent presidential election is not the candidate who received the |
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| 21 | 21 | | greatest number of votes in the majority of precincts in the county |
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| 22 | 22 | | in the same election. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Sec. 280.002. FORENSIC AUDIT OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION. (a) |
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| 24 | 24 | | The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of |
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| 25 | 25 | | representatives shall appoint an independent third party to conduct |
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| 26 | 26 | | a forensic audit of the general election that took place on November |
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| 27 | 27 | | 3, 2020. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (b) The independent third party appointed under this |
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| 29 | 29 | | section shall audit certain precincts in each county with a |
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| 30 | 30 | | population of 415,000 or more, as described by Subsection (c). |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) The independent third party appointed under this |
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| 32 | 32 | | section shall audit the following precincts: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) each minority precinct from a county described by |
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| 34 | 34 | | Subsection (b); and |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) a number of randomly selected majority precincts |
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| 36 | 36 | | from a county described by Subsection (b) equal to the number of |
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| 37 | 37 | | minority precincts audited in that same county under Subdivision |
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| 38 | 38 | | (1). |
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| 39 | 39 | | (d) The audit under this section shall include an audit of |
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| 40 | 40 | | precinct election records, as defined by Section 66.002. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (e) For each county audited under this section, a |
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| 42 | 42 | | representative of the secretary of state and the county clerk shall |
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| 43 | 43 | | oversee the independent third party appointed under this section to |
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| 44 | 44 | | ensure a proper chain of custody is maintained and documented for |
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| 45 | 45 | | each voting system involved in the audit. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (f) The secretary of state shall implement a video |
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| 47 | 47 | | surveillance system that retains a record of all areas in which |
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| 48 | 48 | | audit activity takes place for the duration of the audit. The |
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| 49 | 49 | | secretary of state shall provide a live video stream of any audit |
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| 50 | 50 | | activity recorded under this subsection on the Internet website of |
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| 51 | 51 | | the secretary of state. |
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| 52 | 52 | | (g) The independent third party appointed under this |
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| 53 | 53 | | section may accept and use donations from any public or private |
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| 54 | 54 | | source to fund the audit. |
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| 55 | 55 | | (h) The audit under this section must begin not later than |
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| 56 | 56 | | November 1, 2021, and be completed not later than February 1, 2022. |
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| 57 | 57 | | (i) Not later than March 1, 2022, the independent third |
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| 58 | 58 | | party conducting the audit under this section shall submit a report |
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| 59 | 59 | | to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house |
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| 60 | 60 | | of representatives, the secretary of state, and each member of the |
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| 61 | 61 | | legislature detailing any anomalies or discrepancies in voter data, |
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| 62 | 62 | | ballot data, or tabulation. |
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| 63 | 63 | | (j) The secretary of state shall publish the report under |
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| 64 | 64 | | Subsection (i) on the Internet website of the secretary of state. |
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| 65 | 65 | | (k) This chapter expires April 1, 2022. |
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| 66 | 66 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 67 | 67 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 68 | 68 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 69 | 69 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 70 | 70 | | Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the |
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| 71 | 71 | | legislative session. |
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