By: Bettencourt, et al. S.B. No. 47
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, 281, and 282 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 or other authority conducting an election for an
explanation and supporting documentation for:
(1) an action taken by an election officer that
appears to violate this code;
(2) irregularities in results in a precinct or at a
polling place or early voting polling place; 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), the county clerk or other authority
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 or other authority.
(d) Not later than the 10th day after the date a request is
received under Subsection (c), the county clerk or other authority
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 or state 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 county clerk
or other authority conducting the election under Sections
280.001(a) and (c); and
(2) the explanations and any supporting documentation
provided by the county clerk or other authority 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 or other authority
conducting the election.
(c) The county clerk or other authority conducting the
election 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 or other
authority conducting the election.
(e) The secretary of state may, in the secretary's
discretion, make a determination that a violation of this code has
occurred solely on the basis of evidence submitted under Subsection
(a) without conducting an audit. The secretary shall send notice of
the determination to the person who submitted the request for the
audit and to the county clerk or other authority conducting the
election.
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 the county clerk or other authority
conducting an election detailing any violation of this code found
by the secretary under Section 280.002.
(b) If the county clerk or other authority conducting an
election does not remedy a violation detailed in a notice under
Subsection (a) by the 30th day after the date the clerk or other
authority 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 or
other authority. 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 or other authority, the
secretary of state shall assess an additional penalty under
Subsection (b) for each day the county clerk or other authority does
not remedy the violation until the violation is remedied.
(d) The secretary of state shall maintain a record of county
clerks or other authorities that conduct elections 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. AUDIT OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
Sec. 281.001. AUDIT 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 an audit 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
an audit from the county clerk of the county served by the county
chair.
(c) A county clerk who receives a request under this section
shall appoint an election review advisory committee to conduct an
audit 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 determine the
number of members necessary to conduct the audit and appoint an
equal number of members from each list.
(e) The committee members must be qualified voters of the
county.
(f) An audit under this section shall include a manual
review of the following:
(1) all ballots voted by any method in a precinct or
polling place in which the number of ballots cast exceeded the total
number of voters accepted for voting in the precinct or at the
polling place; and
(2) in addition to any ballots required to be included
under Subdivision (1):
(A) a random selection of ballots voted by mail,
totaling 20 percent of all ballots voted by mail in the election and
including both the original ballot and any duplicate made of the
ballot, and an equivalent number of carrier envelopes and the
associated application for a ballot to be voted by mail;
(B) a random selection of ballots voted by mail
that were rejected, totaling 20 percent of all ballots voted by mail
in the election that were rejected;
(C) ballots voted on election day from randomly
selected polling places in the county, including the greater of:
(i) three polling places; or
(ii) 20 percent of election day polling
places in the county; and
(D) the greater of 1,000 voted ballots or 10
percent of all ballots voted at early voting polling places from a
number of polling places equal to:
(i) the greater of three randomly selected
early voting polling places or 20 percent of early voting polling
places; or
(ii) if the county has fewer than three
early voting polling places, all early voting polling places in the
county.
(g) An audit under this section shall be limited to not
fewer than three and 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 audit. The
contested races must include at least one of each of the following
types of races, regardless of whether the type was identified in the
request under Subsection (b):
(1) a federal office;
(2) a statewide office; and
(3) a county office.
(h) The committee shall begin the audit not later than the
20th day after the date the county clerk receives the request under
Subsection (b). The committee shall have access to precinct
election records in the custody of the county clerk for the purpose
of an audit under Subsection (f).
(i) Before the committee begins the audit, the secretary of
state shall determine an acceptable margin of error appropriate for
the county based on mathematical and statistical analyses
appropriate to the voting system used by the county.
(j) The committee shall observe any random selection made by
the county clerk under this section.
(k) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
audit, the results of the audit 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 audit. An audit under
this subsection shall be conducted in the same manner as the initial
audit.
(l) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
audit under Subsection (k), the results of the audit 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 audit. An audit under this subsection shall be conducted in
the same manner as the initial audit, except that:
(1) for a contested race or ballot measure under
Subsection (g), the audit shall include the entire county; and
(2) for any other contested race, the audit shall
include the entire district.
(m) The committee shall provide the full results of the
audit 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 audit 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 audit:
(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 determined under Subsection (i) for the
county; 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 determined under Subsection (i) for the county.
(p) If the notice under Subsection (n) indicates a
difference greater than the margin of error determined under
Subsection (i) for the county, 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.
CHAPTER 282. JOINT COMMITTEE FOR OVERSIGHT
Sec. 282.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "joint
committee" means the joint committee established under this
chapter.
Sec. 282.002. JOINT COMMITTEE FOR OVERSIGHT ESTABLISHED.
(a) A joint committee is established to monitor compliance with
Chapter 280 and, until its expiration, Chapter 281.
(b) The joint committee is composed of 10 members, appointed
as follows:
(1) five senators appointed by the lieutenant
governor; and
(2) five representatives appointed by the speaker of
the house of representatives.
(c) The lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of
representatives shall designate one member appointed under
Subsection (b)(1) and one member appointed under Subsection (b)(2)
to serve as co-chairs of the joint committee.
(d) A quorum of the joint committee is established if at
least five members are present.
Sec. 282.003. JOINT COMMITTEE DUTIES. (a) The secretary of
state shall, on a quarterly basis and on request of the joint
committee, report to the joint committee any actions taken by the
secretary under Chapter 280.
(b) The election review advisory committee established
under Chapter 281 shall, on a quarterly basis and on request of the
joint committee, report to the joint committee any actions taken by
the election review advisory committee. This subsection expires on
September 1, 2024.
(c) The joint committee shall, as necessary, produce a
report that details:
(1) all actions reported to the committee;
(2) any findings made by the committee; and
(3) recommendations for legislative action.
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.