By: Toth H.B. No. 17
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a forensic audit of 2020 election results in certain
counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 280 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 280. FORENSIC AUDIT OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION
Sec. 280.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Majority precinct" means a precinct in which the
candidate who received the greatest number of votes in the most
recent presidential election is the same candidate who received the
greatest number of votes in the majority of precincts in the county
in the same election.
(2) "Minority precinct" means a precinct in which the
candidate who received the greatest number of votes in the most
recent presidential election is not the candidate who received the
greatest number of votes in the majority of precincts in the county
in the same election.
Sec. 280.002. FORENSIC AUDIT OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION. (a)
The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of
representatives shall appoint an independent third party to conduct
a forensic audit of the general election that took place on November
3, 2020.
(b) The independent third party appointed under this
section shall audit certain precincts in each county with a
population of 415,000 or more, as described by Subsection (c).
(c) The independent third party appointed under this
section shall audit the following precincts:
(1) each minority precinct from a county described by
Subsection (b); and
(2) a number of randomly selected majority precincts
from a county described by Subsection (b) equal to the number of
minority precincts audited in that same county under Subdivision
(1).
(d) The audit under this section shall include an audit of
precinct election records, as defined by Section 66.002.
(e) For each county audited under this section, a
representative of the secretary of state and the county clerk shall
oversee the independent third party appointed under this section to
ensure a proper chain of custody is maintained and documented for
each voting system involved in the audit.
(f) The secretary of state shall implement a video
surveillance system that retains a record of all areas in which
audit activity takes place for the duration of the audit. The
secretary of state shall provide a live video stream of any audit
activity recorded under this subsection on the Internet website of
the secretary of state.
(g) The independent third party appointed under this
section may accept and use donations from any public or private
source to fund the audit.
(h) The audit under this section must begin not later than
November 1, 2021, and be completed not later than February 1, 2022.
(i) Not later than March 1, 2022, the independent third
party conducting the audit under this section shall submit a report
to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house
of representatives, the secretary of state, and each member of the
legislature detailing any anomalies or discrepancies in voter data,
ballot data, or tabulation.
(j) The secretary of state shall publish the report under
Subsection (i) on the Internet website of the secretary of state.
(k) This chapter expires April 1, 2022.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.