Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1091 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R632 MLH-D
2	2	By: Paul H.B. No. 1091
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to practices and procedures for an early voting ballot
10	10	voted by mail.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 84.007(c), Election Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(c) Except as provided by Section 86.0015(b), an
15	15	application may be submitted at any time in the year of the election
16	16	for which a ballot is requested, but not later than the close of
17	17	regular business in the early voting clerk's office or 12 noon,
18	18	whichever is later, on the 15th [11th] day before election day
19	19	unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state or national
20	20	holiday, in which case the last day is the first preceding regular
21	21	business day.
22	22	SECTION 2. Section 86.0015(b-1), Election Code, is amended
23	23	to read as follows:
24	24	(b-1) An application submitted under this section must be
25	25	submitted before the close of regular business in the early voting
26	26	clerk's office or 12 noon, whichever is later, on the 15th [11th]
27	27	day before election day unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or
28	28	legal state or national holiday, in which case the last day is the
29	29	first preceding regular business day.
30	30	SECTION 3. Sections 86.007(a), (d), and (e), Election Code,
31	31	are amended to read as follows:
32	32	(a) Except as provided by Section 86.006(a-1) and
33	33	Subsection (d) of this section, a carrier envelope containing a
34	34	marked ballot voted by mail must:
35	35	(1) arrive at the address on the carrier envelope [:
36	36	[(1) before the time the polls are required to close on
37	37	election day; or
38	38	[(2)] not later than 5 p.m. on the day before [after]
39	39	election day;
40	40	(2) be [, if the carrier envelope was] placed for
41	41	delivery by mail or common or contract carrier or a courier on or
42	42	before the fourth day before election day; and
43	43	(3) bear [bears] a cancellation mark of a common or
44	44	contract carrier or a courier indicating placement for delivery on
45	45	or before the fourth day before [a time not later than 7 p.m. at the
46	46	location of the election on] election day.
47	47	(d) A marked ballot voted by mail that arrives after the
48	48	time prescribed by Subsection (a) shall be counted if:
49	49	(1) the ballot was cast from an address outside the
50	50	United States;
51	51	(2) the carrier envelope was placed for delivery
52	52	before the time the polls are required to close on election day
53	53	[time the ballot is required to arrive under Subsection (a)(1)];
54	54	and
55	55	(3) the ballot arrives at the address on the carrier
56	56	envelope not later than the fifth day after the date of the
57	57	election.
58	58	(e) A delivery under Subsection (a) [(a)(2)] or (d) is
59	59	timely, except as otherwise provided by this title, if the carrier
60	60	envelope or, if applicable, the envelope containing the carrier
61	61	envelope:
62	62	(1) is properly addressed with postage or handling
63	63	charges prepaid; and
64	64	(2) bears a cancellation mark of a recognized postal
65	65	service or a receipt mark of a common or contract carrier or a
66	66	courier indicating a time before the deadline.
67	67	SECTION 4. Section 87.0221, Election Code, is amended to
68	68	read as follows:
69	69	Sec. 87.0221. TIME OF DELIVERY: [PAPER] BALLOTS VOTED BY
70	70	PERSONAL APPEARANCE. (a) The balloting [In an election in which
71	71	regular paper ballots are used for early voting by personal
72	72	appearance or by mail, the] materials for ballots voted by personal
73	73	appearance may be delivered to the board between the end of the
74	74	period for early voting by personal appearance and the closing of
75	75	the polls on election day, or as soon after closing as practicable,
76	76	at the time or times specified by the presiding judge of the board.
77	77	(b) The early voting clerk shall post notice of each
78	78	delivery of balloting materials under this section that is to be
79	79	made before the time for opening the polls on election day. The
80	80	notice shall be posted at the main early voting polling place and on
81	81	the Internet website of the entity conducting the election
82	82	continuously for at least 24 hours immediately preceding the
83	83	delivery. The notice must include the dates and times that the
84	84	early voting ballot board will convene to review or count ballots,
85	85	if that information is known at the time the early voting clerk
86	86	posts the notice.
87	87	(c) At least 24 hours before each delivery, the early voting
88	88	clerk shall notify the county chair of each political party having a
89	89	nominee on the ballot of the time the delivery is to be made. The
90	90	clerk must provide notice under this subsection in writing, by
91	91	e-mail, or by telephone.
92	92	SECTION 5. Section 87.0222, Election Code, is amended by
93	93	amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
94	94	to read as follows:
95	95	(b) The jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by
96	96	mail that are hand delivered in accordance with Section 86.006(a-1)
97	97	and received by the early voting clerk at or before 3 p.m. on
98	98	election day shall be delivered to the presiding judge of the early
99	99	voting ballot board as soon as practicable on election day.
100	100	(c) The jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by
101	101	mail that are hand delivered in accordance with Section 86.006(a-1)
102	102	and received by the early voting clerk after 3 p.m. on election day
103	103	shall be delivered to the presiding judge of the early voting ballot
104	104	board at the time ballots received under Section 86.007(d) are
105	105	delivered to the presiding judge.
106	106	(d) The early voting clerk shall post notice of each
107	107	delivery of balloting materials under Subsection (a) or (a-1) [this
108	108	section] that is to be made before the time for opening the polls on
109	109	election day. The notice shall be posted at the main early voting
110	110	polling place and on the Internet website of the entity conducting
111	111	the election continuously for at least 24 hours immediately
112	112	preceding the delivery. The notice must include the dates and times
113	113	that the early voting ballot board will convene to review or count
114	114	ballots, if that information is known at the time the early voting
115	115	clerk posts the notice.
116	116	(e) [(c)] At least 24 hours before each delivery under
117	117	Subsection (a) or (a-1) made before the time for opening the polls
118	118	on election day, the early voting clerk shall notify the county
119	119	chair of each political party having a nominee on the ballot of the
120	120	time the delivery is to be made. The clerk must provide notice
121	121	under this subsection in writing, by e-mail, or by telephone.
122	122	SECTION 6. Section 87.125, Election Code, is amended by
123	123	adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:
124	124	(a-2) The early voting ballot board shall count ballots that
125	125	are hand delivered as provided by Section 87.0222(c) at the time
126	126	that the ballot board convenes to count ballots under Section
127	127	86.007(d).
128	128	SECTION 7. Subchapter G, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
129	129	amended by adding Section 87.129 to read as follows:
130	130	Sec. 87.129. VOTING RESULTS ACCUMULATION. (a) An early
131	131	voting ballot board or officer of a central counting station may not
132	132	accumulate the results of early voting ballots until:
133	133	(1) 12 p.m. on election day, if the entity conducting
134	134	the election will count the ballots by hand;
135	135	(2) 3 p.m. on election day, if the entity conducting
136	136	the election:
137	137	(A) will not count the ballots by hand; and
138	138	(B) has a population of 150,000 or more; or
139	139	(3) 6 p.m. on election day, if the entity conducting
140	140	the election:
141	141	(A) will not count the ballots by hand; and
142	142	(B) has a population of less than 150,000.
143	143	(b) An early voting ballot board or officer of a central
144	144	counting station may not produce a printout or other tangible
145	145	record of the early voting ballot count or accumulation of results
146	146	until the closing of polls on election day.
147	147	(c) This section does not prevent an early voting ballot
148	148	board or officer of a central counting station from performing
149	149	preliminary procedures other than accumulating the results of early
150	150	voting ballots or generating a report of the early voting ballot
151	151	count or accumulation before the applicable times provided in this
152	152	section.
153	153	SECTION 8. Subchapter A, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
154	154	amended by adding Section 127.012 to read as follows:
155	155	Sec. 127.012. OPERATION OF CENTRAL COUNTING STATION. (a)
156	156	The central counting station may operate at any time ballots may be
157	157	processed or counted.
158	158	(b) Not later than 72 hours before the date that the central
159	159	counting station manager plans to begin processing or counting
160	160	early voting ballots, the central counting station manager shall
161	161	notify the presiding judge of the early voting ballot board of the
162	162	time and place that the judge may deliver early voting ballots.
163	163	(c) Not later than 72 hours before the initial date and time
164	164	that the central counting station begins operations in an election,
165	165	the central counting station manager shall post notice of the dates
166	166	and times that the central counting station will operate in the
167	167	election in the place used for posting notice of meetings of the
168	168	governing body of and on the Internet website of the entity
169	169	conducting the election. For each date and time listed in the
170	170	notice, the notice must identify whether the central counting
171	171	station will be counting early voting ballots voted by mail or early
172	172	voting ballots voted by personal appearance.
173	173	(d) In a general election for state and county officers, the
174	174	notice under Subsection (c) must be provided to each county chair of
175	175	a political party that has a nominee on the ballot.
176	176	(e) The secretary of state shall prescribe rules as
177	177	necessary to implement this section.
178	178	SECTION 9. The following sections of the Election Code are
179	179	repealed:
180	180	(1) Section 87.022;
181	181	(2) Section 87.023; and
182	182	(3) Section 87.024.
183	183	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.