Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1862 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R7063 MLH-F
2	2	By: Jetton H.B. No. 1862
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the appointment of election clerks.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 32.001, Election Code, is amended by
10	10	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	(b) The alternate presiding judge shall serve as presiding
13	13	judge for an election if the regularly appointed presiding judge is
14	14	not present at a polling location or otherwise cannot serve.
15	15	(c) A person may not prevent an alternate presiding judge
16	16	from freely occupying or observing the area in which voters are
17	17	being accepted for voting.
18	18	SECTION 2. The heading to Section 32.031, Election Code, is
19	19	amended to read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 32.031. JUDGES [PRESIDING JUDGE] TO APPOINT CLERKS.
21	21	SECTION 3. Section 32.031(a), Election Code, is amended to
22	22	read as follows:
23	23	(a) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge for
24	24	each election precinct shall each appoint [the] election clerks to
25	25	assist the judges [judge] in the conduct of an election at the
26	26	polling place served by the judges [judge].
27	27	SECTION 4. Section 32.033, Election Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	Sec. 32.033. NUMBER OF CLERKS. (a) The authority that
30	30	appoints the election judges shall prescribe the maximum number of
31	31	clerks that each presiding judge and alternate presiding judge may
32	32	appoint for each election. The authority may prescribe different
33	33	maximums for different types of elections.
34	34	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the presiding
35	35	judge shall appoint at least one clerk and the alternate presiding
36	36	judge shall appoint at least one clerk [two clerks] for each
37	37	precinct in each election. The presiding judge and alternate
38	38	presiding judge may each appoint as many additional clerks, within
39	39	the prescribed limit, as are necessary for the proper conduct of the
40	40	election.
41	41	(c) In each election ordered by the governor or a county
42	42	authority in which the regular county election precincts are
43	43	required to be used, the presiding judge and alternate presiding
44	44	judge shall each appoint clerks for each precinct in the number,
45	45	within the prescribed limit, the judges consider [judge considers]
46	46	necessary for the proper conduct of the election.
47	47	SECTION 5. Section 32.034, Election Code, is amended by
48	48	amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsection
49	49	(c-1) to read as follows:
50	50	(b) The county chair of a political party whose candidate
51	51	for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes
52	52	in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election
53	53	may, not later than the 30th [25th] day before a general election or
54	54	the 10th day before a special election to which Subsection (a)
55	55	applies, submit to a presiding judge and alternate presiding judge
56	56	a list containing the names of at least two persons who are eligible
57	57	for appointment as a clerk. If a timely list is submitted, the
58	58	presiding judge shall appoint at least one clerk from the list and
59	59	the alternate presiding judge shall appoint at least one clerk from
60	60	the list[, except as provided by Subsection (c)].
61	61	(c) If only one additional clerk is to be appointed, the
62	62	presiding judge shall make the appointment from the list submitted
63	63	by the county chair of the party whose candidate for governor
64	64	received the highest number of votes in the county in the most
65	65	recent gubernatorial election [for an election in which the
66	66	alternate presiding judge will serve as a clerk, the clerk shall be
67	67	appointed from the list of a political party with which neither the
68	68	presiding judge nor the alternate judge is affiliated or aligned,
69	69	if such a list is submitted. If two such lists are submitted, the
70	70	presiding judge shall decide from which list the appointment will
71	71	be made]. If such a list is not submitted, the presiding judge is
72	72	not required to make an appointment from any list.
73	73	(c-1) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge
74	74	shall each appoint the same number of clerks to the extent possible
75	75	given the total number of clerks to be appointed.
76	76	(d) The presiding judge and the alternate presiding judge
77	77	shall make an appointment under this section not later than the
78	78	fifth day after the date the judges receive [judge receives] the
79	79	list and shall deliver written notification of the appointment to
80	80	the appropriate county chair.
81	81	(e) If a presiding judge and an alternate presiding judge
82	82	have [has] not been appointed at the time the county chair of a
83	83	political party is required to submit a list of names for the
84	84	appointment of a clerk under this section, a [the] list of names
85	85	shall be submitted by the county clerk to the county chair of the
86	86	political party that failed to timely submit a list of names [whose
87	87	candidate for governor received the most votes in the precinct in
88	88	the most recent gubernatorial election and to the commissioners
89	89	court]. The county chair, or the commissioners court in a county
90	90	without a county chair, shall appoint clerks from the list in the
91	91	same manner provided for a presiding judge and an alternate
92	92	presiding judge to appoint clerks by this section.
93	93	SECTION 6. Section 32.032, Election Code, is repealed.
94	94	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.