Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1933 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	S.B. No. 1933
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to certain oversight procedures of the state over county
6	6	elections.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Alan Vera Election
9	9	Accountability Act of 2023.
10	10	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Election Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Sections 31.017, 31.018, 31.019, 31.020, 31.021,
12	12	and 31.022 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 31.017. IMPLEMENTATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT OF
14	14	COUNTY ELECTION. (a) In a county with a population of more than 4
15	15	million, the secretary of state's office may order administrative
16	16	oversight of a county office administering elections or voter
17	17	registration in the county if:
18	18	(1) an administrative election complaint is filed with
19	19	the secretary of state by a person who participated in the relevant
20	20	election as:
21	21	(A) a candidate;
22	22	(B) a county chair or state chair of a political
23	23	party;
24	24	(C) a presiding judge;
25	25	(D) an alternate presiding judge; or
26	26	(E) the head of a specific-purpose political
27	27	committee that supports or opposes a measure;
28	28	(2) the secretary of state has provided notice to the
29	29	county election official with authority over election
30	30	administration or voter registration under Section 31.018; and
31	31	(3) the secretary of state, after conducting an
32	32	investigation under Section 31.019, has good cause to believe that
33	33	a recurring pattern of problems with election administration or
34	34	voter registration exists in the county, including any recurring:
35	35	(A) malfunction of voting system equipment that
36	36	prevents a voter from casting a vote;
37	37	(B) carelessness or official misconduct in the
38	38	distribution of election supplies;
39	39	(C) errors in the tabulation of results that
40	40	would have affected the outcome of an election;
41	41	(D) violations of Section 66.053;
42	42	(E) discovery of properly executed voted ballots
43	43	after the canvass of an election that were not counted; or
44	44	(F) failure to conduct maintenance activities on
45	45	the lists of registered voters as required under this code.
46	46	(b) The secretary of state shall make a determination on
47	47	whether to implement administrative oversight under Subsection (a)
48	48	not later than the 30th day after the earliest of:
49	49	(1) the day a response by the county election official
50	50	with authority over election administration or voter registration
51	51	is received by the secretary of state under Section 31.018;
52	52	(2) the last day the county election official with
53	53	authority over election administration or voter registration could
54	54	provide a response to the secretary of state under Section 31.018;
55	55	or
56	56	(3) the day the report on the findings of an
57	57	investigation is provided to the county election official with
58	58	authority over election administration or voter registration under
59	59	Section 31.019.
60	60	Sec. 31.018. NOTICE OF COMPLAINT. (a) In a county with a
61	61	population of more than 4 million and not later than the 30th day
62	62	after receiving an administrative election complaint under Section
63	63	31.017(a)(1), the secretary of state shall provide notice of the
64	64	complaint to the applicable county election official with authority
65	65	over election administration or voter registration, including the
66	66	specific allegations against the election official in the
67	67	complaint.
68	68	(b) Subject to Subsection (c), not later than the 30th day
69	69	after receiving notice of the administrative election complaint
70	70	under Subsection (a), the county election official with authority
71	71	over election administration or voter registration may provide a
72	72	response with any supporting documentation relating to the
73	73	complaint or the allegations in the complaint to the secretary of
74	74	state.
75	75	(c) If the administrative election complaint filed under
76	76	Section 31.017(a)(1) concerns an election for which voting by
77	77	personal appearance has begun and the final canvass has not been
78	78	completed, the county election official with authority over
79	79	election administration or voter registration must provide a
80	80	response under Subsection (b) not later than 72 hours after
81	81	receiving notice of the complaint under Subsection (a).
82	82	Sec. 31.019. INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINT. (a) In a county
83	83	with a population of more than 4 million, the secretary of state may
84	84	direct personnel in the secretary of state's office to conduct an
85	85	investigation on an administrative election complaint received
86	86	under Section 31.017(a)(1) and must consider any response or
87	87	supporting documentation provided by the county election official
88	88	with authority over election administration or voter registration
89	89	under Section 31.018, if applicable.
90	90	(b) If the secretary of state decides to conduct an
91	91	investigation under Subsection (a), the secretary must provide the
92	92	county election official with authority over election
93	93	administration or voter registration notice of the determination to
94	94	conduct the investigation.
95	95	(c) After completing an investigation under this section,
96	96	the secretary of state must provide a report on the findings of the
97	97	investigation to:
98	98	(1) the county election official with authority over
99	99	election administration or voter registration; and
100	100	(2) the individual who filed the administrative
101	101	election complaint under Section 31.017(a)(1).
102	102	Sec. 31.020. COUNTY ELECTION OFFICE OVERSIGHT BY SECRETARY.
103	103	(a) If the secretary of state implements administrative oversight
104	104	under Section 31.017, the secretary shall provide written notice to
105	105	the county election official with authority over election
106	106	administration or voter registration and the county judge of the
107	107	determination by the secretary to implement administrative
108	108	oversight in the county. The notice must include the specific
109	109	recurring pattern of problems with election administration or voter
110	110	registration identified by the secretary under Section
111	111	31.017(a)(3).
112	112	(b) The authority of administrative oversight over a county
113	113	granted to the secretary of state under this subchapter must
114	114	include:
115	115	(1) requiring the approval and review by the secretary
116	116	of state of any policies or procedures regarding the administration
117	117	of elections issued by the county; and
118	118	(2) authorizing all appropriate personnel in the
119	119	secretary of state's office to conduct in-person observations of
120	120	the county election office's activities, including any activities
121	121	related to election preparation, early voting, election day, and
122	122	post-election day procedures.
123	123	(c) The county election office being overseen by the
124	124	secretary of state shall provide sufficient access to the
125	125	appropriate personnel in the secretary of state's office to perform
126	126	their duties under Subsection (b).
127	127	(d) Once each quarter during the period when the secretary
128	128	of state is overseeing elections in a county under Subsection (a),
129	129	the secretary shall submit a report regarding the activities of the
130	130	oversight personnel to the members of the county election
131	131	commission and the county attorney.
132	132	(e) The secretary of state shall deliver the report required
133	133	by Subsection (d) in person to the county commissioners court if
134	134	requested by the commissioners court.
135	135	(f) The secretary of state shall conduct the administrative
136	136	oversight of a county until the earlier of:
137	137	(1) December 31 of the even-numbered year following
138	138	the first anniversary of the date the complaint was received under
139	139	Section 31.017(a)(1); or
140	140	(2) the date on which the secretary of state
141	141	determines that the recurring pattern of problems with election
142	142	administration or voter registration is rectified.
143	143	Sec. 31.021. REMOVAL OR TERMINATION OF COUNTY ELECTION
144	144	OFFICIAL AFTER ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT. (a) At the conclusion of
145	145	administrative oversight under this subchapter, if the recurring
146	146	pattern of problems with election administration or voter
147	147	registration is not rectified or continues to impede the free
148	148	exercise of a citizen's voting rights in the county, the secretary
149	149	of state may file a petition for the removal under Section 87.015,
150	150	Local Government Code, of the applicable county officer with
151	151	authority over election administration or voter registration.
152	152	(b) At the conclusion of administrative oversight under
153	153	this subchapter, the secretary of state may enter a written order to
154	154	terminate the employment of a county elections administrator, in a
155	155	county that has the position, under Section 31.037(b).
156	156	Sec. 31.022. RULES. The secretary of state may adopt rules
157	157	necessary to implement the administrative oversight of a county as
158	158	provided under this subchapter.
159	159	SECTION 3. Section 31.037, Election Code, is amended to
160	160	read as follows:
161	161	Sec. 31.037. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. (a)
162	162	The employment of the county elections administrator may be
163	163	suspended, with or without pay, or terminated at any time for good
164	164	and sufficient cause on the four-fifths vote of the county election
165	165	commission and approval of that action by a majority vote of the
166	166	commissioners court.
167	167	(b) In a county with a population of more than 4 million, the
168	168	secretary of state may enter a written order to terminate the
169	169	employment of a county elections administrator at the conclusion of
170	170	administrative oversight of the county elections administrator's
171	171	office under Subchapter A if the recurring pattern of problems with
172	172	election administration or voter registration is not rectified or
173	173	continues to impede the free exercise of a citizen's voting rights
174	174	in the county.
175	175	SECTION 4. Section 127.351, Election Code, is amended by
176	176	amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsections (e) and (f)
177	177	to read as follows:
178	178	(a) Immediately after the uniform election date in November
179	179	of an even-numbered year, the secretary of state shall conduct an
180	180	audit of the elections held on the uniform election date in four
181	181	counties during the previous two years.
182	182	(d) If the secretary of state completes the audit of a
183	183	county under Subsection (b)(1) before the end of a two-year period,
184	184	the secretary may randomly select another county with a total
185	185	population of less than 300,000 to be audited.
186	186	(e) If not later than July 31 of the first odd-numbered year
187	187	following the commencement of an audit under this section, the
188	188	audit findings demonstrate to the secretary of state that a
189	189	recurring pattern of problems with election administration or voter
190	190	registration, as described under Section 31.017(a)(3), exists in an
191	191	audited county and the problems impede the free exercise of a
192	192	citizen's voting rights, the secretary:
193	193	(1) shall:
194	194	(A) publicly release the preliminary findings of
195	195	the audit; and
196	196	(B) recommend the county for administrative
197	197	oversight under Subchapter A, Chapter 31; and
198	198	(2) may conduct an audit of other elections held in the
199	199	county in the previous two years, as determined necessary by the
200	200	secretary.
201	201	(f) The secretary of state shall adopt rules as necessary to
202	202	implement this section.
203	203	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
204	204	______________________________ ______________________________
205	205	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
206	206	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1933 passed the Senate on
207	207	April 13, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 19, Nays 11;
208	208	May 25, 2023, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and
209	209	requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 26, 2023, House
210	210	granted request of the Senate; May 28, 2023, Senate adopted
211	211	Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 19,
212	212	Nays 12.
213	213	______________________________
214	214	Secretary of the Senate
215	215	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1933 passed the House, with
216	216	amendments, on May 23, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 81,
217	217	Nays 59, one present not voting; May 26, 2023, House granted
218	218	request of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee;
219	219	May 28, 2023, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the
220	220	following vote: Yeas 84, Nays 58, two present not voting.
221	221	______________________________
222	222	Chief Clerk of the House
223	223	Approved:
224	224	______________________________
225	225	Date
226	226	______________________________
227	227	Governor