Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB317 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R1215 TSS-F
2	2	By: Bucy H.B. No. 317
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the days and hours during which the polls are open for
8	8	early voting by personal appearance.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 12.004(d), Election Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(d) The [If early voting by personal appearance is required
13	13	to be conducted for extended hours under Section 85.005(c) or for
14	14	weekend hours under Section 85.006(e), the] registrar's office
15	15	shall remain open for providing voter registration information
16	16	during the [extended hours or weekend] hours that the main early
17	17	voting polling place is open for voting.
18	18	SECTION 2. Sections 85.001(a) and (e), Election Code, are
19	19	amended to read as follows:
20	20	(a) The period for early voting by personal appearance
21	21	begins on the 17th day before election day and continues through the
22	22	fourth day before election day, except as otherwise provided by
23	23	this subchapter [section].
24	24	(e) For an election held on the uniform election date in May
25	25	and any resulting runoff election, the period for early voting by
26	26	personal appearance begins on the 12th day before election day and
27	27	continues through the fourth day before election day, except as
28	28	otherwise provided by this subchapter.
29	29	SECTION 3. Section 85.006, Election Code, is amended to
30	30	read as follows:
31	31	Sec. 85.006. EXTENDED VOTING [ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY]. (a)
32	32	Except as provided by Subsection (b), the authority ordering an
33	33	election may order early voting by personal appearance at the main
34	34	early voting polling place to be conducted:
35	35	(1) on one or more Saturdays or Sundays during the
36	36	early voting period; or
37	37	(2) during an early voting period extended from the
38	38	fourth day before election day for any number of consecutive days up
39	39	to and including the day before election day.
40	40	(b) In an election in which a county clerk is the early
41	41	voting clerk under Section 83.002, only the early voting clerk may
42	42	order extended voting [on a Saturday or Sunday]. The clerk must do
43	43	so by written order.
44	44	(c) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the [The]
45	45	authority ordering extended voting [on a Saturday or Sunday] shall
46	46	determine the hours during which voting is to be conducted.
47	47	(d) The authority authorized to order extended early voting
48	48	[on a Saturday or Sunday] under Subsection (a) or (b) shall order
49	49	[the] voting on a Saturday or Sunday under the applicable
50	50	subsection on receipt of a written request submitted by at least 15
51	51	registered voters of the territory covered by the election. The
52	52	request must be submitted in time to enable compliance with Section
53	53	85.007. The authority is not required to order the voting on a
54	54	particular date specified by the request but shall order the voting
55	55	on at least one Saturday if a Saturday is requested and on at least
56	56	one Sunday if a Sunday is requested.
57	57	(e) In a primary election or the general election for state
58	58	and county officers in a county with a population of 55,000 or more,
59	59	the early voting clerk shall order voting by personal appearance at
60	60	the main early voting polling place to be conducted on the last
61	61	Saturday of the early voting period for at least 12 hours, except
62	62	that voting may not be conducted earlier than 6 a.m. or later than
63	63	10 p.m., and on the last Sunday of the early voting period for at
64	64	least six hours, except that voting may not be conducted earlier
65	65	than 9 a.m. or later than 10 p.m. The early voting clerk shall order
66	66	voting to be conducted at those times in those elections in a county
67	67	with a population under 55,000 on receipt of a written request for
68	68	those hours submitted by at least 15 registered voters of the
69	69	county. The request must be submitted in time to enable compliance
70	70	with Section 85.007. This subsection supersedes any provision of
71	71	this subchapter to the extent of any conflict.
72	72	(f) An authority authorized to order extended early voting
73	73	under Subsection (a) or (b) that orders the voting during an
74	74	extended early voting period shall order personal appearance voting
75	75	at the main early voting polling place to be conducted for at least
76	76	12 hours on any weekday or Saturday and for at least five hours on
77	77	any Sunday of the extended early voting period.
78	78	SECTION 4. Sections 85.007(a) and (b), Election Code, are
79	79	amended to read as follows:
80	80	(a) The election order and the election notice must state:
81	81	(1) the date that early voting will begin if under
82	82	Section 85.001(d) the early voting period is to begin later than the
83	83	prescribed date;
84	84	(2) the regular dates and hours that voting will be
85	85	conducted under Section 85.005(b); and
86	86	(3) the dates and hours that extended voting [on
87	87	Saturday or Sunday] is ordered to be conducted under Section
88	88	85.006(a).
89	89	(b) The early voting clerk shall post notice for each
90	90	election stating the dates and hours that extended voting [on a
91	91	Saturday or Sunday] is ordered to be conducted under Section
92	92	85.006(b).
93	93	SECTION 5. Section 85.064(d), Election Code, is amended to
94	94	read as follows:
95	95	(d) The authority authorized under Section 85.006 to order
96	96	extended early voting [on a Saturday or Sunday] may also order, in
97	97	the manner prescribed by that section, extended early voting to be
98	98	conducted [on a Saturday or Sunday] at any one or more of the
99	99	temporary branch polling places. In addition, the early voting
100	100	clerk of a county covered by Section 85.006(e) shall order such
101	101	voting in accordance with that subsection at each temporary branch
102	102	polling place established under Section 85.062(d).
103	103	SECTION 6. Section 85.065(b), Election Code, is amended to
104	104	read as follows:
105	105	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), voting at a
106	106	temporary branch polling place may be conducted on any days and
107	107	during any hours of the period for early voting by personal
108	108	appearance, as determined by the authority establishing the branch.
109	109	The authority authorized under Section 85.006 to order extended
110	110	early voting [on a Saturday or Sunday] may also order, in the manner
111	111	prescribed by that section, extended early voting to be conducted
112	112	[on a Saturday or Sunday] at any one or more of the temporary branch
113	113	polling places.
114	114	SECTION 7. Section 85.068(a), Election Code, is amended to
115	115	read as follows:
116	116	(a) The early voting clerk shall post notice for each
117	117	election stating any dates and the hours that extended voting [on
118	118	Saturday or Sunday] will be conducted under Section 85.064(d) or
119	119	85.065(b), if the early voting clerk is a county clerk or city
120	120	secretary under Section 83.002 or 83.005.
121	121	SECTION 8. Section 87.0241, Election Code, is amended by
122	122	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
123	123	follows:
124	124	(b) The board may not count early voting ballots until:
125	125	(1) the polls open on election day; or
126	126	(2) in an election conducted by an authority of a
127	127	county with a population of 100,000 or more, or conducted jointly
128	128	with such a county or conducted with such a county through a
129	129	contract for election services, the time the polls close on the
130	130	fourth day before election day [end of the period for early voting
131	131	by personal appearance].
132	132	(b-1) The board may not count early voting ballots voted by
133	133	personal appearance after the fourth day before election day until
134	134	the end of the extended early voting period.
135	135	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.