Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2860 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R25919 MPF-F
2	2	By: Swanson, DeAyala, Smith, et al. H.B. No. 2860
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2860:
4	4	By: Smith C.S.H.B. No. 2860
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to maintaining certain voter registration information and
10	10	reviewing ballots voted by mail; creating criminal offenses.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 18, Election Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Section 18.0045 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 18.0045. RECORD OF VOTERS REMOVED FROM LIST. (a) The
15	15	registrar shall retain the voter registration application of any
16	16	person whose name is removed from a list of registered voters
17	17	prepared under this subchapter.
18	18	(b) If voter registration information was recorded on an
19	19	optional storage method under Section 13.104, the information may
20	20	be substituted for the retained registration application under
21	21	Subsection (a).
22	22	(c) All information and records held by the registrar under
23	23	this section, other than information described as confidential
24	24	under Section 13.004, are open records for the purposes of Chapter
25	25	552, Government Code.
26	26	(d) A registrar commits an offense if the registrar
27	27	knowingly fails to comply with a requirement under this section. An
28	28	offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
29	29	(e) The registrar may use funds dedicated under Chapter 19
30	30	for the purpose of defraying costs associated with complying with
31	31	this section.
32	32	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 18, Election Code, is
33	33	amended by adding Section 18.0085 to read as follows:
34	34	Sec. 18.0085. DATABASE OF LISTS AVAILABLE ON COUNTY
35	35	WEBSITE. (a) The registrar shall make a copy of any list prepared
36	36	under this subchapter available on the county's publicly accessible
37	37	Internet website in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable
38	38	database format.
39	39	(b) The registrar may use funds dedicated under Chapter 19
40	40	for the purpose of defraying costs associated with developing and
41	41	maintaining the database prescribed by this section.
42	42	(c) A registrar commits an offense if the registrar
43	43	knowingly fails to comply with the requirements under Subsection
44	44	(a). An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
45	45	SECTION 3. Sections 87.027(i) and (j), Election Code, are
46	46	amended to read as follows:
47	47	(i) The signature verification committee shall compare the
48	48	signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed
49	49	for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot
50	50	application to determine whether the signatures are those of the
51	51	voter. The committee shall [may] also compare the signatures with
52	52	any known signature of the voter on file with the county clerk or
53	53	voter registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of
54	54	the voter. The committee shall also compare the information
55	55	provided by the voter under Section 84.002(a)(1-a) on the voter's
56	56	ballot application with the information provided by the voter under
57	57	Section 86.002(g) and any known copies of the information on file
58	58	with the county clerk or voter registrar. Except as provided by
59	59	Subsection (l), a determination under this subsection that the
60	60	signatures or provided information are not those of the voter must
61	61	be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership. The
62	62	committee shall place the jacket envelopes, carrier envelopes, and
63	63	applications of voters whose signatures or provided information are
64	64	not those of the voter in separate containers from those of voters
65	65	whose signatures or provided information are those of the voter.
66	66	The committee chair shall deliver the sorted materials to the early
67	67	voting ballot board at the time specified by the board's presiding
68	68	judge.
69	69	(j) If a signature verification committee is appointed, the
70	70	early voting ballot board shall follow the same procedure for
71	71	accepting the early voting ballots voted by mail as in an election
72	72	without a signature verification committee, except that the board
73	73	may not determine whether a voter's signatures on the carrier
74	74	envelope certificate and ballot application are those of the same
75	75	person if the committee has determined that the signatures are
76	76	those of the same person. If the committee has determined that the
77	77	signatures or provided information are not those of the same
78	78	person, the board may make a determination that the signatures or
79	79	provided information are those of the same person by a majority vote
80	80	of the board's membership.
81	81	SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
82	82	amended by adding Section 87.0272 to read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 87.0272. INAPPROPRIATE ACTION BY SIGNATURE
84	84	VERIFICATION COMMITTEE. (a) A chair of a signature verification
85	85	committee or a chair's designee commits an offense if the chair or
86	86	chair's designee knowingly fails to perform a requirement under
87	87	Section 87.027(i).
88	88	(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
89	89	(c) The secretary of state may withhold all or part of any
90	90	funds distributed by the secretary of state under Chapter 19 from a
91	91	county that violates the requirements established under Section
92	92	87.027(i).
93	93	SECTION 5. Section 87.041(b), Election Code, is amended to
94	94	read as follows:
95	95	(b) A ballot may be accepted only if:
96	96	(1) the carrier envelope certificate is properly
97	97	executed;
98	98	(2) neither the voter's signature on the ballot
99	99	application nor the signature on the carrier envelope certificate
100	100	is determined to have been executed by a person other than the
101	101	voter, unless signed by a witness;
102	102	(3) the voter's ballot application states a legal
103	103	ground for early voting by mail;
104	104	(4) the voter is registered to vote, if registration
105	105	is required by law;
106	106	(5) the address to which the ballot was mailed to the
107	107	voter, as indicated by the application, was outside the voter's
108	108	county of residence, if the ground for early voting is absence from
109	109	the county of residence;
110	110	(6) for a voter to whom a statement of residence form
111	111	was required to be sent under Section 86.002(a), the statement of
112	112	residence is returned in the carrier envelope and indicates that
113	113	the voter satisfies the residence requirements prescribed by
114	114	Section 63.0011;
115	115	(7) the address to which the ballot was mailed to the
116	116	voter is an address that is otherwise required by Sections 84.002
117	117	and 86.003; [and]
118	118	(8) the information required under Section 86.002(g)
119	119	provided by the voter identifies the same voter identified on the
120	120	voter's application for voter registration under Section
121	121	13.002(c)(8); and
122	122	(9) the information provided by the voter under
123	123	Section 84.002(a)(1-a) on the voter's ballot application is
124	124	determined to be the same as the voter's information provided by the
125	125	voter under Section 86.002(g) and any known copies of the
126	126	information on file with the county clerk or voter registrar.
127	127	SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
128	128	amended by adding Section 87.0412 to read as follows:
129	129	Sec. 87.0412. INAPPROPRIATE ACTION BY BOARD. (a) The
130	130	presiding judge of the early voting ballot board or a judge's
131	131	designee commits an offense if the presiding judge or designee
132	132	knowingly fails to perform a requirement under Section 87.041(b).
133	133	(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
134	134	(c) The secretary of state may withhold all or part of any
135	135	funds distributed by the secretary of state under Chapter 19 from a
136	136	county that violates the requirements established under Section
137	137	87.041(b).
138	138	SECTION 7. Section 87.126, Election Code, is amended by
139	139	adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:
140	140	(a-2) An early voting clerk who maintains only electronic
141	141	records of applications for a ballot to be voted by mail, jacket
142	142	envelopes, carrier envelopes, or ballots commits an offense if the
143	143	clerk knowingly fails to record the front and back of each
144	144	application, envelope, or ballot recorded, and provide the records
145	145	to the early voting ballot board, the signature verification
146	146	committee, or both. An offense under this subsection is a Class A
147	147	misdemeanor.
148	148	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
149	149	an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act. An
150	150	election ordered before the effective date of this Act is governed
151	151	by the law in effect when the election was ordered, and the former
152	152	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
153	153	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.