89R13834 LRM-F
By: Paul H.B. No. 3774
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a signature verification committee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 86.011(d), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, if
the clerk receives a timely carrier envelope that does not fully
comply with the applicable requirements prescribed by this title,
[the clerk may deliver the carrier envelope in person or by mail to
the voter and may receive, before the deadline, the corrected
carrier envelope from the voter, or] the clerk may notify the voter
of the defect by telephone or e-mail and advise the voter that the
voter may come to the clerk's office in person to correct the
defect, [or] cancel the voter's application to vote by mail and vote
on election day, or cure the defect as instructed on a corrective
action form and return the form by mail. If the procedures
authorized by this subsection are used, they must be applied
uniformly to all carrier envelopes covered by this subsection. A
poll watcher is entitled to observe the procedures under this
subsection. The secretary of state may prescribe any other
procedures necessary to implement this subsection including
requirements for posting notice of any deliveries.
SECTION 2. Section 87.0271(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) This section applies to an early voting ballot voted by
mail:
(1) for which the voter did not sign the carrier
envelope certificate;
(2) for which it cannot immediately be determined
whether the signature on the carrier envelope certificate or
signature sheet, as applicable, is that of the voter;
(3) [missing any required statement of residence;
[(4)] missing information or a required signature
sheet [containing incorrect information required under Section
84.002(a)(1-a) or Section 86.002]; or
(4) [(5)] containing incomplete information with
respect to a witness.
SECTION 3. Sections 87.0222(a) and (a-1), Election Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), not later than
the 11th [ninth] day before election day, the jacket envelopes
containing early voting ballots voted by mail shall be delivered to
the board.
(a-1) Any jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by
mail returned after delivery of the ballots under Subsection (a)
may be delivered to the presiding judge of the early voting ballot
board between the end of the 11th [ninth] day before election day
and the closing of the polls on election day, or as soon after
closing as practicable, at the time or times specified by the
presiding judge.
SECTION 4. Section 87.027, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a-1), (c), (d), (f), and (i) and adding
Subsections (e-1), (f-1), and (i-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) A signature verification committee shall be appointed
in the general election for state and county officers on submission
to the early voting clerk of a written request for the committee by
at least 15 registered voters of the county. The secretary of state
shall prescribe the form for a request submitted under this
subsection. The request must be submitted not later than the
preceding October 1, and a request submitted by mail is considered
to be submitted at the time of its receipt by the clerk.
(c) Not later than the fifth day after the date the early
voting clerk issues the order calling for the appointment of a
signature verification committee, or not later than October 15 for
a committee required under Subsection (a-1), the appropriate
authority shall appoint the members of the committee and designate
one of the appointees as chair, subject to Subsection (d). The
authority shall fill a vacancy on the committee by appointment as
soon as possible after the vacancy occurs, subject to Subsection
(d). The early voting clerk shall post notice of the name [and
residence address] of each appointee. The notice must remain
posted continuously for the period beginning the day after the date
of the appointment and ending on the last day of the committee's
operation in the election.
(d) The early voting clerk shall determine an odd [the]
number of members who are to compose the signature verification
committee and shall state that number in the order calling for the
committee's appointment. A committee must consist of not fewer
than five members. In an election in which party alignment is
indicated on the ballot, each county chair of a political party with
a nominee or aligned candidate on the ballot shall submit to the
appointing authority a list of names of persons eligible to serve on
the signature verification committee in order of the county chair's
preference. The authority shall appoint at least two persons from
each list in the order of preference indicated on each list to serve
as members of the committee. The same number of members must be
appointed from each list. The authority shall appoint as chair of
the committee the highest-ranked person on the list provided by the
political party whose nominee for governor received the most votes
in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election.
The authority shall appoint as vice chair of the committee the
highest-ranked person on the list provided by the political party
whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in the
county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. The vice
chair shall be counted as a member unless the chair is not present.
If the chair is not present, the vice chair acts as the chair until
the chair returns or a replacement is provided by the chair's
political party. A vacancy of any position on the committee shall
be filled by appointment from the original list or from a new list
submitted by the appropriate county chair.
(e-1) A person may not serve on a signature verification
committee and an early voting ballot board in the same election.
(f) The early voting clerk shall determine the place, day or
days, and hours of operation of the signature verification
committee and shall state that information in the order calling for
the committee's appointment. A committee may not begin operating
before the 20th day before election day and must convene not later
than the 12th day before election day.
(f-1) After the day the signature verification committee
begins operating, the early voting clerk may no longer send a voter
a notice of a defect and corrective action form under Section
86.011(d). The early voting clerk may, with instruction from the
committee chair, send a voter a notice of defect and corrective
action form under Section 87.0271 on behalf of the committee.
(i) The signature verification committee shall compare the
signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed
for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot
application to determine whether the signatures are those of the
voter. The committee may also compare the signatures with any known
signature of the voter on file with the county clerk or voter
registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of the
voter. Except as provided by Subsection (l), a determination under
this subsection that the signatures are not those of the voter must
be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership, with the
chair only voting to resolve a tie. Both political parties must be
equally represented during the majority vote. If an unequal number
of members are present, it must be decided at the beginning of the
meeting which member shall abstain from participating so that an
equal number of members from both parties are voting. The committee
shall place the jacket envelopes, unopened carrier envelopes, and
applications of voters whose signatures are not those of the voter
in separate containers from those of voters whose signatures are
those of the voter. The committee chair shall deliver the sorted
materials to the early voting ballot board at the time specified by
the board's presiding judge.
(i-1) The signature verification committee may only open a
carrier envelope if the carrier envelope is attached to a federal
postcard application for the purpose of reviewing a signature
sheet.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 87.0273 to read as follows:
Sec. 87.0273. SIGNATURE VERIFICATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS;
OATH AND IDENTIFICATION. (a) A member of the signature
verification committee shall repeat the following oath aloud:
"I swear (or affirm) that I will objectively work to be sure
to accept and count every eligible voter who provides the required
identification number and whose signature accompanying the ballot
appears to be that of the voter or the voter's witness. I
understand it is my duty to verify the voter's signature on the
ballot carrier envelope even when rebuttably presumed to be the
voter due to matching personal identification information. I will
not work alone when ballots are present and will work only in the
presence of a member of a political party different from my own. I
will faithfully perform my duties as an officer of the election and
guard the purity of the election."
(b) A member of the signature verification committee who
arrives after the oath is made shall repeat the oath aloud before
performing any duties as a member.
(c) Following administration of the oath, each member of the
signature verification committee shall be issued a form of
identification, prescribed by the secretary of state, to be
displayed by the member during the member's hours of service on the
board.
SECTION 6. Section 87.128(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Each member who takes notes under this section shall
sign and date the notes and deliver them to the presiding judge or
committee chair, as applicable, for delivery to the custodian of
election records. A member may request and receive a copy of their
notes at the time of delivery.
SECTION 7. Section 101.105, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 101.105. BALLOTING MATERIALS TO BE SENT BY
E-MAIL. Balloting materials to be sent by e-mail under this
subchapter include:
(1) the appropriate ballot;
(2) ballot instructions, including instructions that
inform a voter that the ballot must be returned by mail to be
counted;
(3) instructions prescribed by the secretary of state
on:
(A) how to print a return envelope from the
federal Voting Assistance Program website; and
(B) how to create a carrier envelope if not using
an official [or] signature sheet for the ballot; [and]
(4) a list of certified write-in candidates, if
applicable; and
(5) an official signature sheet.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.