88R1421 MLH-D
By: DeAyala H.B. No. 1849
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment of election clerks.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 32.031, Election Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.031. JUDGES [PRESIDING JUDGE] TO APPOINT CLERKS.
SECTION 2. Section 32.031, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) Except for the election clerk appointed by the alternate
presiding judge under Subsection (a-1), the [The] presiding judge
for each election precinct shall appoint the election clerks to
assist the judge in the conduct of an election at the polling place
served by the judge.
(a-1) The alternate presiding judge for each election
precinct shall appoint one election clerk to assist the alternate
presiding judge in the conduct of an election at the polling place
served by the alternate presiding judge.
SECTION 3. Section 32.033, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 32.033. NUMBER OF CLERKS. (a) The authority that
appoints the election judges shall prescribe the maximum number of
clerks that each presiding judge and alternate presiding judge may
appoint for each election. The authority may prescribe different
maximums for different types of elections.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (c) and
(d), the presiding judge shall appoint at least one clerk and the
alternate presiding judge shall appoint one clerk [two clerks] for
each precinct in each election. The presiding judge [and] may
appoint as many additional clerks, within the prescribed limit, as
are necessary for the proper conduct of the election.
(c) In each election ordered by the governor or a county
authority in which the regular county election precincts are
required to be used, in addition to the clerk appointed by the
alternate presiding judge the presiding judge shall appoint clerks
for each precinct in the number, within the prescribed limit, the
judge considers necessary for the proper conduct of the election.
(d) In a county with a population of more than one million,
the alternate presiding judge shall appoint at least one clerk. The
presiding judge and alternate presiding judge shall each appoint
the same number of clerks to the extent possible given the total
number of clerks to be appointed.
SECTION 4. Section 32.034, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection (b-1)
to read as follows:
(b) The county chair of a political party whose candidate
for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes
in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election
may, not later than the 25th day before a general election or the
10th day before a special election to which Subsection (a) applies,
submit to a presiding judge and alternate presiding judge a list
containing the names of at least two persons who are eligible for
appointment as a clerk. If a timely list is submitted, the presiding
judge shall appoint at least one clerk from the list and the
alternate presiding judge shall appoint one clerk from the list[,
except as provided by Subsection (c)].
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), in a county with a
population of more than one million, the alternate presiding judge
shall appoint at least one clerk. The presiding judge and alternate
presiding judge shall each appoint the same number of clerks to the
extent possible given the total number of clerks to be appointed.
(d) The presiding judge and the alternate presiding judge
shall make an appointment under this section not later than the
fifth day after the date the judge receives the list and shall
deliver written notification of the appointment to the appropriate
county chair.
(e) If a presiding judge and an alternate presiding judge
have [has] not been appointed at the time the county chair of a
political party is required to submit a list of names for the
appointment of a clerk under this section, the list of names shall
be submitted to the county chair of the political party whose
candidate for governor received the most votes in the precinct in
the most recent gubernatorial election and to the commissioners
court. The county chair, or the commissioners court in a county
without a county chair, shall appoint clerks from the list in the
same manner provided for a presiding judge and an alternate
presiding judge to appoint clerks by this section.
SECTION 5. Section 32.034(c), Election Code, is repealed.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.