| 1 | 1 | | 88R13395 MLH-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Gerdes H.B. No. 4259 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the members on an early voting ballot board. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 87.002, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) The early voting ballot board must have an odd number of |
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| 13 | 13 | | members and consists of a presiding judge, an alternate presiding |
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| 14 | 14 | | judge, and at least three [one] other members [member]. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (c) In the general election for state and county officers, |
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| 16 | 16 | | or in a special election in which party alignment is indicated on |
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| 17 | 17 | | the ballot, each county chair of a political party with nominees on |
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| 18 | 18 | | the general election ballot shall submit to the county election |
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| 19 | 19 | | board a list of names of persons eligible to serve on the early |
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| 20 | 20 | | voting ballot board in order of the county chair's preference. The |
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| 21 | 21 | | county election board shall appoint at least two people [one |
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| 22 | 22 | | person] from each list to serve as a member of the early voting |
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| 23 | 23 | | ballot board. The same number of members must be appointed from |
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| 24 | 24 | | each list. The county election board shall appoint persons as |
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| 25 | 25 | | members of the early voting ballot board in the order of preference |
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| 26 | 26 | | indicated on each list. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (d) In addition to the members appointed under Subsection |
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| 28 | 28 | | (c), the county election board shall appoint as the presiding judge |
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| 29 | 29 | | the highest-ranked person on the list provided under that |
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| 30 | 30 | | subsection by the political party whose nominee for governor |
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| 31 | 31 | | received the most votes in the county in the most recent |
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| 32 | 32 | | gubernatorial general election. The county election board shall |
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| 33 | 33 | | appoint [and] as the alternate presiding judge the highest-ranked |
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| 34 | 34 | | person appointed to the board from [on] the list provided under |
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| 35 | 35 | | Subsection (c) [that subsection] by the political party whose |
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| 36 | 36 | | nominee for governor received the second most votes in the county in |
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| 37 | 37 | | the most recent gubernatorial general election. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (e) The alternate presiding judge is considered a member of |
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| 39 | 39 | | the board and serves as presiding judge only in the absence of the |
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| 40 | 40 | | presiding judge. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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