Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2499 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R3581 MLH-D
2	2	By: Middleton S.B. No. 2499
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to practices and procedures for an early voting ballot
8	8	voted by mail.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 84.007(c), Election Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(c) Except as provided by Section 86.0015(b), an
13	13	application may be submitted at any time in the year of the election
14	14	for which a ballot is requested, but not later than the close of
15	15	regular business in the early voting clerk's office or 12 noon,
16	16	whichever is later, on the 15th [11th] day before election day
17	17	unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state or national
18	18	holiday, in which case the last day is the first preceding regular
19	19	business day.
20	20	SECTION 2. Section 86.0015(b-1), Election Code, is amended
21	21	to read as follows:
22	22	(b-1) An application submitted under this section must be
23	23	submitted before the close of regular business in the early voting
24	24	clerk's office or 12 noon, whichever is later, on the 15th [11th]
25	25	day before election day unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or
26	26	legal state or national holiday, in which case the last day is the
27	27	first preceding regular business day.
28	28	SECTION 3. Sections 86.007(a), (d), and (e), Election Code,
29	29	are amended to read as follows:
30	30	(a) Except as provided by Section 86.006(a-1) and
31	31	Subsection (d), a carrier envelope containing a marked ballot voted
32	32	by mail must:
33	33	(1) arrive at the address on the carrier envelope [:
34	34	[(1) before the time the polls are required to close on
35	35	election day; or
36	36	[(2)] not later than 5 p.m. on the day before [after]
37	37	election day;
38	38	(2) be [, if the carrier envelope was] placed for
39	39	delivery by mail or common or contract carrier or a courier on or
40	40	before the fourth day before election day; and
41	41	(3) bear [bears] a cancellation mark of a common or
42	42	contract carrier or a courier indicating placement for delivery on
43	43	or before the fourth day before [a time not later than 7 p.m. at the
44	44	location of the election on] election day.
45	45	(d) A marked ballot voted by mail that arrives after the
46	46	time prescribed by Subsection (a) shall be counted if:
47	47	(1) the ballot was cast from an address outside the
48	48	United States;
49	49	(2) the carrier envelope was placed for delivery
50	50	before the time the polls are required to close on election day
51	51	[time the ballot is required to arrive under Subsection (a)(1)];
52	52	and
53	53	(3) the ballot arrives at the address on the carrier
54	54	envelope not later than the fifth day after the date of the
55	55	election.
56	56	(e) A delivery under Subsection (a) [(a)(2)] or (d) is
57	57	timely, except as otherwise provided by this title, if the carrier
58	58	envelope or, if applicable, the envelope containing the carrier
59	59	envelope:
60	60	(1) is properly addressed with postage or handling
61	61	charges prepaid; and
62	62	(2) bears a cancellation mark of a recognized postal
63	63	service or a receipt mark of a common or contract carrier or a
64	64	courier indicating a time before the deadline.
65	65	SECTION 4. Sections 87.0221 and 87.0222, Election Code, are
66	66	amended to read as follows:
67	67	Sec. 87.0221. TIME OF DELIVERY: [PAPER] BALLOTS VOTED BY
68	68	PERSONAL APPEARANCE. (a) The balloting [In an election in which
69	69	regular paper ballots are used for early voting by personal
70	70	appearance or by mail, the] materials for ballots voted by personal
71	71	appearance may be delivered to the board between the end of the
72	72	period for early voting by personal appearance and the closing of
73	73	the polls on election day, or as soon after closing as practicable,
74	74	at the time or times specified by the presiding judge of the board.
75	75	(b) The early voting clerk shall post notice of each
76	76	delivery of balloting materials under this section that is to be
77	77	made before the time for opening the polls on election day. The
78	78	notice shall be posted at the main early voting polling place and on
79	79	the Internet website of the entity conducting the election
80	80	continuously for at least 24 hours immediately preceding the
81	81	delivery. The notice must include the dates and times that the
82	82	early voting ballot board will convene to review or count ballots,
83	83	if that information is known at the time the early voting clerk
84	84	posts the notice.
85	85	(c) At least 24 hours before each delivery, the early voting
86	86	clerk shall notify the county chair of each political party having a
87	87	nominee on the ballot of the time the delivery is to be made. The
88	88	clerk must provide notice under this subsection in writing, by
89	89	e-mail, or by telephone.
90	90	Sec. 87.0222. TIME OF DELIVERY: BALLOTS VOTED BY MAIL. (a)
91	91	Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), [Notwithstanding
92	92	Section 87.024, in an election conducted by an authority of a county
93	93	with a population of 100,000 or more, or conducted jointly with such
94	94	a county or conducted with such a county through a contract for
95	95	election services,] the jacket envelopes containing [the] early
96	96	voting ballots voted by mail may be delivered to the board between
97	97	the end of the 20th [ninth] day before the last day of the period for
98	98	early voting by personal appearance and the closing of the polls on
99	99	election day, or as soon after closing as practicable, at the time
100	100	or times specified by the presiding judge of the board.
101	101	(b) The jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by
102	102	mail that are hand delivered in accordance with Section 86.006(a-1)
103	103	and received by the early voting clerk at or before 3 p.m. on
104	104	election day shall be delivered to the presiding judge of the early
105	105	voting ballot board as soon as practicable on election day.
106	106	(c) The jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by
107	107	mail that are hand delivered in accordance with Section 86.006(a-1)
108	108	and received by the early voting clerk after 3 p.m. on election day
109	109	shall be delivered to the presiding judge of the early voting ballot
110	110	board at the time ballots received under Section 86.007(d) are
111	111	delivered to the presiding judge.
112	112	(d) The early voting clerk shall post notice of each
113	113	delivery of balloting materials under Subsection (a) [this section]
114	114	that is to be made before the time for opening the polls on election
115	115	day. The notice shall be posted at the main early voting polling
116	116	place and on the Internet website of the entity conducting the
117	117	election continuously for at least 24 hours immediately preceding
118	118	the delivery. The notice must include the dates and times that the
119	119	early voting ballot board will convene to review or count ballots,
120	120	if that information is known at the time the early voting clerk
121	121	posts the notice.
122	122	(e) [(c)] At least 24 hours before each delivery under
123	123	Subsection (a), the early voting clerk shall notify the county
124	124	chair of each political party having a nominee on the ballot of the
125	125	time the delivery is to be made. The clerk must provide notice
126	126	under this subsection in writing, by e-mail, or by telephone.
127	127	SECTION 5. Section 87.125, Election Code, is amended by
128	128	adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:
129	129	(a-2) The early voting ballot board shall count ballots that
130	130	are hand delivered as provided by Section 87.0222(c) at the time
131	131	that the ballot board convenes to count ballots under Section
132	132	86.007(d).
133	133	SECTION 6. Subchapter G, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
134	134	amended by adding Section 87.129 to read as follows:
135	135	Sec. 87.129. VOTING RESULTS ACCUMULATION. (a) An early
136	136	voting ballot board or officer of a central counting station may not
137	137	accumulate the results of early voting ballots until:
138	138	(1) 12 p.m. on election day, if the entity conducting
139	139	the election will count the ballots by hand;
140	140	(2) 3 p.m. on election day, if the entity conducting
141	141	the election:
142	142	(A) will not count the ballots by hand; and
143	143	(B) has a population of 150,000 or more; or
144	144	(3) 6 p.m. on election day, if the entity conducting
145	145	the election:
146	146	(A) will not count the ballots by hand; and
147	147	(B) has a population of less than 150,000.
148	148	(b) An early voting ballot board or officer of a central
149	149	counting station may not produce a printout or other tangible
150	150	record of the early voting ballot count or accumulation of results
151	151	until the closing of polls on election day.
152	152	(c) This section does not prevent an early voting ballot
153	153	board or officer of a central counting station from performing
154	154	preliminary procedures other than accumulating the results of early
155	155	voting ballots or generating a report of the early voting ballot
156	156	count or accumulation before the applicable times provided in this
157	157	section.
158	158	SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
159	159	amended by adding Section 127.010 to read as follows:
160	160	Sec. 127.010. OPERATION OF CENTRAL COUNTING STATION. (a)
161	161	The central counting station may operate at any time ballots may be
162	162	processed or counted.
163	163	(b) Not later than 72 hours before the date that the central
164	164	counting station manager plans to begin processing or counting
165	165	early voting ballots, the central counting station manager shall
166	166	notify the presiding judge of the early voting ballot board of the
167	167	time and place that the judge may deliver early voting ballots.
168	168	(c) Not later than 72 hours before the initial date and time
169	169	that the central counting station begins operations in an
170	170	election, the central counting station manager shall post notice
171	171	of the dates and times that the central counting station will
172	172	operate in the election in the place used for posting notice of
173	173	meetings of the governing body of and on the Internet website of the
174	174	entity conducting the election. For each date and time listed in
175	175	the notice, the notice must identify whether the central counting
176	176	station will be counting early voting ballots voted by mail or early
177	177	voting ballots voted by personal appearance.
178	178	(d) In a general election for state and county officers, the
179	179	notice under Subsection (c) must be provided to each county chair of
180	180	a political party that has a nominee on the ballot.
181	181	(e) The secretary of state shall prescribe rules as
182	182	necessary to implement this section.
183	183	SECTION 8. The following sections of the Election Code are
184	184	repealed:
185	185	(1) Section 87.022;
186	186	(2) Section 87.023; and
187	187	(3) Section 87.024.
188	188	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.