Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB87 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 87
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the presidential electors of this state.
6	6	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
7	7	SECTION 1. Section 192.004, Election Code, is amended to
8	8	read as follows:
9	9	Sec. 192.004. ELECTOR CANDIDATE WITHDRAWAL [VACANCY].
10	10	[(a)] An elector candidate may withdraw from the presidential
11	11	election before presidential election day, by delivering written
12	12	notice of the withdrawal to:
13	13	(1) the secretary of state; and
14	14	(2) the state chair of the party that nominated the
15	15	elector candidate or to the independent or write-in candidate for
16	16	president who named the elector candidate.
17	17	[(b) If an elector candidate withdraws, dies, or is declared
18	18	ineligible before presidential election day, a replacement elector
19	19	candidate may be named by the party that nominated the elector
20	20	candidate or by the independent or write-in candidate for president
21	21	who named the elector candidate.
22	22	[(c) An independent or write-in candidate for president
23	23	naming a replacement elector candidate must file with the secretary
24	24	of state, before presidential election day, the name and residence
25	25	address of the replacement candidate and a written statement,
26	26	signed by the replacement candidate, that the person consents to be
27	27	a candidate.
28	28	[(d) If a political party's rules do not provide the manner
29	29	of choosing a replacement elector candidate, the party's state
30	30	executive committee may choose the replacement candidate. The
31	31	state chair of a political party naming a replacement elector
32	32	candidate must file with the secretary of state, before
33	33	presidential election day, the name and residence address of the
34	34	replacement candidate.]
35	35	SECTION 2. Section 192.006(b), Election Code, is amended to
36	36	read as follows:
37	37	(b) The secretary of state shall arrange for the meeting
38	38	place, notify the electors, and call the meeting to order. [The
39	39	secretary shall act as temporary chair of the meeting until the
40	40	electors elect a chair from among themselves.]
41	41	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
42	42	amended by adding Section 192.009 to read as follows:
43	43	Sec. 192.009. REPLACEMENT NOMINEE. An elector shall
44	44	consider a replacement candidate certified under Subchapter C to be
45	45	the presidential or vice-presidential candidate for whom the
46	46	elector is the corresponding presidential elector candidate.
47	47	SECTION 4. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 192,
48	48	Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
49	49	SUBCHAPTER C. WITHDRAWAL, DEATH, AND INELIGIBILITY OF PRESIDENTIAL
50	50	AND VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES; CERTIFICATION OF INABILITY TO
51	51	SERVE
52	52	SECTION 5. Section 192.062(a), Election Code, is amended to
53	53	read as follows:
54	54	(a) The secretary of state shall certify in writing [for
55	55	placement on the ballot] the name of a political party's
56	56	replacement nominee for president or vice-president of the United
57	57	States as follows [if]:
58	58	(1) for placement on the ballot for an [the] original
59	59	nominee who withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible on or before
60	60	the 74th day before presidential election day if [; and
61	61	[(2)] the party's state chair delivers certification of
62	62	the replacement nominee's name, signed by the state chair, to the
63	63	secretary of state not later than 5 p.m. of the 71st day before
64	64	presidential election day; or
65	65	(2) to the nominating party's presidential elector
66	66	candidates for an original nominee who withdraws, dies, or is
67	67	declared ineligible after the 74th day before presidential election
68	68	day if the party's state chair delivers certification of the
69	69	replacement nominee's name, signed by the state chair, to the
70	70	secretary of state not later than 2 p.m. on the Monday after the
71	71	second Wednesday in December of a presidential election year.
72	72	SECTION 6. Section 192.064(a), Election Code, is amended to
73	73	read as follows:
74	74	(a) The secretary of state shall certify in writing [for
75	75	placement on the ballot] the name of a replacement
76	76	vice-presidential running mate for an independent candidate for
77	77	president of the United States as follows [if]:
78	78	(1) for placement on the ballot for an [the] original
79	79	running mate who withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible on or
80	80	before the 74th day before presidential election day if [; and
81	81	[(2)] the independent presidential candidate delivers
82	82	certification of the replacement running mate's name, signed by the
83	83	presidential candidate, to the secretary of state not later than 5
84	84	p.m. of the 71st day before presidential election day; or
85	85	(2) to the presidential candidate's corresponding
86	86	presidential elector candidates for an original running mate who
87	87	withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible after the 74th day
88	88	before presidential election day if the independent presidential
89	89	candidate delivers certification of the replacement running mate's
90	90	name, signed by the presidential candidate, to the secretary of
91	91	state not later than 2 p.m. on the Monday after the second Wednesday
92	92	in December of a presidential election year.
93	93	SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
94	94	amended by adding Section 192.065 to read as follows:
95	95	Sec. 192.065. CERTIFICATION OF WINNING CANDIDATE'S
96	96	INABILITY TO SERVE; AFFIRMATION OR DENIAL BY ELECTORS. (a) The
97	97	secretary of state shall certify on the seventh day before the
98	98	meeting of electors that a candidate for president or vice
99	99	president who received the most votes in this state in the general
100	100	presidential election is willing and able to serve in the position
101	101	for which the candidate was elected, unless the secretary of state
102	102	has received a written certification from one of the following
103	103	individuals, in order of precedence, that the candidate is unable
104	104	or unwilling to serve:
105	105	(1) the candidate;
106	106	(2) the executive director of the candidate's
107	107	campaign; or
108	108	(3) the candidate's spouse or, if the candidate does
109	109	not have a surviving spouse, the person to whom the candidate's
110	110	estate would descend under Section 201.001, Estates Code.
111	111	(b) Upon receipt of a certification under Subsection (a),
112	112	the secretary of state shall notify the party of the candidate who
113	113	submitted the certification and post the certification on the
114	114	secretary of state's Internet website.
115	115	(c) The secretary of state may promulgate a form for a
116	116	certification under this section of inability or unwillingness to
117	117	serve.
118	118	(d) If before the meeting of electors the secretary of state
119	119	receives a certification under Subsection (a) that a candidate is
120	120	unwilling or unable to serve, the electors shall first vote on the
121	121	issue of whether that candidate is willing and able to serve in the
122	122	position for which the candidate was elected. If a majority of
123	123	electors vote that the candidate is not willing or able to serve in
124	124	the position for which the candidate was elected, Sections 192.102,
125	125	192.103(b), 192.103(d), and 192.104(d) and (e) do not apply to that
126	126	meeting of electors with respect to that candidate.
127	127	SECTION 8. Chapter 192, Election Code, is amended by adding
128	128	Subchapter D to read as follows:
129	129	SUBCHAPTER D. REQUIRED ACTION BY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS;
130	130	REPLACEMENT OF ELECTOR
131	131	Sec. 192.101. DESIGNATION OF STATE'S ELECTORS. Each
132	132	elector position in this state must be nominated in accordance with
133	133	political party rules or by an independent or write-in presidential
134	134	candidate, as applicable. Except as otherwise provided in Sections
135	135	192.006, 192.103, and 192.104, this state's electors are the
136	136	winning elector nominees under the laws of this state.
137	137	Sec. 192.102. OATH. (a) Not later than the seventh day
138	138	before the meeting of electors, each elector nominee and alternate
139	139	elector nominee of a political party shall execute the following
140	140	oath: "If selected for the position of elector, I swear to serve and
141	141	to mark my ballots for president and vice president for the nominees
142	142	for those offices of the party that nominated me."
143	143	(b) Not later than the sixth day before the meeting of
144	144	electors, each elector nominee and alternate elector nominee of an
145	145	independent presidential candidate shall execute the following
146	146	oath: "If selected for the position of elector as a nominee of an
147	147	independent presidential candidate, I swear to serve and to mark my
148	148	ballots for that candidate and for that candidate's
149	149	vice-presidential running mate."
150	150	(c) The executed oaths must accompany the submission of the
151	151	corresponding names to the secretary of state.
152	152	Sec. 192.103. PRESIDING OFFICER; ELECTOR VACANCY. (a) The
153	153	secretary of state shall preside at the meeting of electors
154	154	described in Section 192.104.
155	155	(b) The position of an elector is vacant if the elector has
156	156	failed to execute the oath under Section 192.102.
157	157	(c) The secretary of state shall fill a vacancy with a
158	158	substitute elector nominated in accordance with political party
159	159	rules or named by an independent or write-in candidate for
160	160	president, as applicable. A substitute elector who is filling the
161	161	position of an elector is considered an elector for purposes of this
162	162	chapter. If a person's position as elector is determined to be
163	163	vacant, the person may not serve as a substitute elector with
164	164	respect to that meeting of electors.
165	165	(d) To qualify as a substitute elector under Subsection (c),
166	166	an individual who has not executed the oath required under Section
167	167	192.102 shall execute the following oath: "I swear to serve and to
168	168	mark my ballots for president and vice president consistent with
169	169	the oath of the individual to whose elector position I have
170	170	succeeded."
171	171	Sec. 192.104. ELECTOR VOTING. (a) At the time designated
172	172	for elector voting and after all vacant positions have been filled,
173	173	the secretary of state shall provide each elector with a
174	174	presidential and a vice-presidential ballot. The elector shall mark
175	175	the elector's presidential and vice-presidential ballots with the
176	176	elector's votes for the offices of president and vice president,
177	177	respectively, along with the elector's signature and the elector's
178	178	legibly printed name.
179	179	(b) Except as otherwise provided by law of this state other
180	180	than this subchapter, each elector shall present both completed
181	181	ballots to the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall
182	182	examine the ballots and read each vote publicly.
183	183	(c) The secretary of state shall accept as cast all ballots
184	184	of electors whose votes are consistent with their oaths executed
185	185	under Section 192.102 or 192.103(d). Except as otherwise provided
186	186	by law, the secretary of state may not accept and may not count
187	187	either an elector's presidential or vice-presidential ballot if the
188	188	elector has not marked both ballots or has marked a ballot in
189	189	violation of the elector's oath.
190	190	(d) An elector who refuses to present a ballot, presents an
191	191	unmarked ballot, or presents a ballot marked in violation of the
192	192	elector's oath executed under Section 192.102 or 192.103(d) vacates
193	193	the office of elector, creating a vacant position to be filled under
194	194	Section 192.103.
195	195	(e) The secretary of state shall distribute ballots to and
196	196	collect ballots from each elector and repeat the process under this
197	197	section of examining ballots, publicly reading the votes, declaring
198	198	and filling vacant positions as required, and recording
199	199	appropriately completed ballots from the substituted electors,
200	200	until all of this state's electoral votes have been cast and
201	201	recorded.
202	202	SECTION 9. Section 192.007, Election Code, is repealed.
203	203	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
204	204	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
205	205	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
206	206	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
207	207	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
208	208	______________________________ ______________________________
209	209	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
210	210	I certify that H.B. No. 87 was passed by the House on April
211	211	26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 5, 1 present, not
212	212	voting.
213	213	______________________________
214	214	Chief Clerk of the House
215	215	I certify that H.B. No. 87 was passed by the Senate on May 17,
216	216	2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
217	217	______________________________
218	218	Secretary of the Senate
219	219	APPROVED: _____________________
220	220	Date
221	221	_____________________
222	222	Governor