| 1 | 1 | | By: Smith H.B. No. 4782 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to electioneering conducted near a polling place. |
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| 7 | 7 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 8 | 8 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 61, Election Code, is |
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| 9 | 9 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 10 | 10 | | Sec. 61.003. ELECTIONEERING AND LOITERING NEAR POLLING |
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| 11 | 11 | | PLACE. (a) A person commits an offense if, during the voting |
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| 12 | 12 | | period and within 100 feet of an outside door through which a voter |
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| 13 | 13 | | may enter the building in which a polling place is located, the |
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| 14 | 14 | | person: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) loiters; or |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2) electioneers for or against any candidate, |
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| 17 | 17 | | measure, or political party. ; or |
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| 18 | 18 | | (3) conducts exit polling. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (a-1) The entity that owns or controls a public building |
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| 20 | 20 | | being used as a polling place may not, at any time during the voting |
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| 21 | 21 | | period, prohibit electioneering on the building's premises outside |
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| 22 | 22 | | of the area described in Subsection (a), but may enact reasonable |
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| 23 | 23 | | regulations concerning the time, place, and manner of |
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| 24 | 24 | | electioneering. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (b) In this section: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) "Electioneering" includes the posting, use, or |
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| 27 | 27 | | distribution of political signs or literature. The term does not |
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| 28 | 28 | | include the distribution of a notice of a party convention |
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| 29 | 29 | | authorized under Section 172.1114. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) "Conducts exit polling" means any person or |
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| 31 | 31 | | persons seeking to communicate with voters exiting the voting |
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| 32 | 32 | | site. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) (3) "Voting period" means the period beginning |
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| 34 | 34 | | when the polls open for voting and ending when the polls close or |
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| 35 | 35 | | the last voter has voted, whichever is later. |
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| 36 | 36 | | (c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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