88R10663 TSS-D
By: Schofield H.B. No. 4030
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment of election judges.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.002, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), (c-1), and (e) and adding Subsection
(c-2) to read as follows:
(b) Election judges [Judges] appointed under Subsection (c)
[(a)] serve for a term of one year, except that a [the]
commissioners court by order recorded in its minutes may provide
for judges appointed in the county to serve a term of two years. A
judge's term begins:
(1) August 1 following appointment in a county with a
population of over 500,000 [to which Subsection (a)(1) applies]; or
(2) September 1 following appointment in a county with
a population of 500,000 or less [to which Subsection (a)(2)
applies].
(c) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must
be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject
to this subsection. Before July of each year in a county to which
Subsection (b)(1) [(a)(1)] applies or before August of each year in
a county to which Subsection (b)(2) [(a)(2)] applies, the county
chair of a political party shall appoint a person who meets the
applicable eligibility requirements to serve as presiding judge in
each precinct of the county in which the political party's [whose]
candidate for governor received the highest [or second highest]
number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial
general election and as an alternate presiding judge in each
precinct of the county in which the political party's candidate for
governor received the second highest number of votes in the county
in the most recent gubernatorial general election. On July 1 of each
year in a county to which Subsection (b)(1) applies, or on August 1
of each year in a county to which Subsection (b)(2) applies, the
county chair shall submit in writing to the commissioners court a
list of names of persons appointed under this subsection [in order
of preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as
an election judge]. The county chair may amend or supplement the
chair's appointments under this subsection and the list of names of
persons submitted to the commissioners court [until the 20th day
before a general election or the 15th day before a special election]
in case an appointed election judge becomes unable to serve. [The
commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the
applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in
compliance with this subsection by the party with the highest
number of votes in the precinct as the presiding judge and the first
person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with
the second highest number of votes in the precinct as the alternate
presiding judge.]
(c-1) If the candidates for governor of two political
parties received the same number of votes in the precinct, [the
first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from
the list submitted by] the county chair of the party whose candidate
for governor received the highest number of votes in the county
shall appoint [be appointed as] the presiding judge and [the first
person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list submitted by] the county chair of the party whose candidate for
governor received the second highest number of votes in the county
shall appoint [be appointed as] the alternate presiding judge.
[The commissioners court may reject the list if the persons whose
names are submitted on the list are determined not to meet the
applicable eligibility requirements.]
(c-2) Presiding judges [(c-1) For purposes of this
subsection, the county chair shall provide a list of names of
persons eligible for appointment as election judges. Judges] of
countywide polling places established under Section 43.007 must be
appointed [from the list of names of persons submitted by the county
chair in compliance with Subsection (c) except that in appointing a
person from the list the commissioners court shall apportion the
number of judges] in direct proportion to the percentage of
precincts located in the county [each county commissioners
precinct] won by each party in the last gubernatorial election.
Alternate presiding judges of countywide polling places
established under Section 43.007 must be appointed in direct
proportion to the percentage of precincts located in the county for
which each party had the second highest number of votes in the last
gubernatorial election. The county chair of the political party
that won the most votes in the county in the last gubernatorial
election shall select the polling places within the county at which
the chair will appoint the presiding judge or alternate presiding
judge in accordance with this subsection, and shall notify the
chair of the political party that won the second highest number of
votes in the county in the last gubernatorial election of the
polling locations chosen before April of each year in a county to
which Subsection (b)(1) applies or before May of each year in a
county to which Subsection (b)(2) applies. The list of names of
persons submitted to the commissioners court under Subsection (c)
shall include the polling places at which each person will serve [,
the commissioners court is not required to make the appointments
based on specific polling locations or precincts, a presiding judge
or alternate presiding judge is not required to serve in a polling
place located in the precinct in which the judge resides, and more
than one presiding judge or alternate presiding judge may be
selected from the same precinct to serve in polling places not
located in the precinct in which the judges reside. The county
chairs may submit, and the commissioners court may preapprove, the
appointment of more presiding judges or alternate presiding judges
than necessary to fill available positions. The county clerk may
select an individual whose appointment was preapproved by the
commissioners court to fill a vacancy in a position that was held by
an individual from the same political party. Other than a judge's
party affiliation, nothing in this subsection precludes a county
clerk from placing an election officer at a countywide polling
place based on the need for services at that location].
(e) The county chair of a political party [The commissioners
court] shall fill a vacancy in the position of presiding judge or
alternate presiding judge for the remainder of the unexpired term.
[An appointment to fill a vacancy may be made at any regular or
special term of court.] Not later than 48 hours after the county
clerk becomes aware of a vacancy, the county clerk shall notify the
county chair of the same political party with which the original
judge was affiliated or aligned of the vacancy. Not later than the
fifth day after the date of notification of the vacancy, the county
chair of the same political party with which the original judge was
affiliated or aligned shall appoint a qualified person to fill the
vacancy and submit to the commissioners court in writing the name of
the [a] person appointed [who is eligible for the appointment]. [If
a name is submitted in compliance with this subsection, the
commissioners court shall appoint that person to the unexpired
term.] If a name is not submitted in compliance with this
subsection, the county clerk shall submit to the commissioners
court a list of names of persons eligible as an appointee for the
unexpired term. The commissioners court shall appoint an eligible
person from the list who is affiliated or aligned with the same
party, if available.
SECTION 2. Section 32.007(f), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(f) A person who is appointed as a replacement for a judge
originally appointed under Section 32.002 must be appointed by the
county chair of [affiliated or aligned with] the same political
party as was the original judge[, if possible, and the appointing
authority shall make a reasonable effort to consult with the party
chair of the appropriate political party before making an
appointment under this section].
SECTION 3. Sections 32.002(a) and 32.012, Election Code,
are repealed.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an election judge appointed on or after the effective date of this
Act. The term of an election judge serving on the effective date of
this Act expires on the date specified by Section 32.002(b),
Election Code, as that section existed immediately before the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.