H.B. No. 1217
AN ACT
relating to the administration of and procedures relating to early
voting by personal appearance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 19.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), state funds
disbursed under this chapter may be used only to:
(1) defray expenses of the registrar's office in
connection with voter registration, including additional expenses
related to:
(A) [(1)] implementation of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Section 20501 et seq.) [(42
U.S.C. Section 1973gg et seq.)];
(B) [(2)] complying with [the] weekly updating
requirements [prescribed by Section 18.063]; and
(C) [(3)] the employment of temporary voter
registration personnel for not more than 39 weeks in a state fiscal
year; and
(2) if the registrar's county has a population of less
than 55,000, defray the cost to the registrar's county of keeping
the polling places in the county open during the early voting period
as required under Sections 85.005(c), 85.006(e), and 85.064(d).
SECTION 2. Section 85.005(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Voting [In a county with a population of 55,000 or more,
the voting] in a primary election or the general election for state
and county officers shall be conducted at the main early voting
polling place for at least 12 consecutive hours on each weekday of
the last week of the early voting period, and the voting in a
special election ordered by the governor shall be conducted at the
main early voting polling place for at least 12 consecutive hours on
each of the last two days of the early voting period. Voting under
this subsection may not be conducted earlier than 6 a.m. or later
than 10 p.m. [Voting shall be conducted in accordance with this
subsection in those elections in a county with a population under
55,000 on receipt by the early voting clerk of a written request for
the extended hours submitted by at least 15 registered voters of the
county. The request must be submitted in time to enable compliance
with Section 85.067.]
SECTION 3. Section 85.006(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) In a primary election or the general election for state
and county officers [in a county with a population of 55,000 or
more], the early voting clerk shall order voting by personal
appearance at the main early voting polling place to be conducted on
the last Saturday of the early voting period for at least 12
consecutive hours, except that voting may not be conducted earlier
than 6 a.m. or later than 10 p.m., and on the last Sunday of the
early voting period for at least six consecutive hours, except that
voting may not be conducted earlier than 9 a.m. or later than 10
p.m. [The early voting clerk shall order voting to be conducted at
those times in those elections in a county with a population under
55,000 on receipt of a written request for those hours submitted by
at least 15 registered voters of the county. The request must be
submitted in time to enable compliance with Section 85.007.] This
subsection supersedes any provision of this subchapter to the
extent of any conflict.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 85.064, Election Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 85.064. DAYS AND HOURS FOR VOTING: TEMPORARY BRANCH
[IN POPULOUS COUNTY].
SECTION 5. Section 85.064(d), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The authority authorized under Section 85.006 to order
early voting on a Saturday or Sunday may also order, in the manner
prescribed by that section, early voting to be conducted on a
Saturday or Sunday at any one or more of the temporary branch
polling places. In addition, the early voting clerk [of a county
covered by Section 85.006(e)] shall order such voting in accordance
with Section 85.006(e) [that subsection] at each temporary branch
polling place established under Section 85.062(d).
SECTION 6. Section 85.068(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The early voting clerk shall post notice for each
election stating any dates and the hours that voting on Saturday or
Sunday will be conducted under Section 85.064(d) [or 85.065(b)], if
the early voting clerk is a county clerk or city secretary under
Section 83.002 or 83.005.
SECTION 7. The following provisions of the Election Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 85.064(a); and
(2) Section 85.065.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an election for which early voting begins on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1217 was passed by the House on May 6,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 131, Nays 3, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 1217 on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 16,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1217 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 19, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor