Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4291 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R13836 MPF-F
2	2	By: Paul H.B. No. 4291
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the operation of an early voting ballot board and
10	10	signature verification committee.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 87.002, Election Code, is amended by
13	13	amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (e), (f),
14	14	and (g) to read as follows:
15	15	(a) The early voting ballot board is composed of an odd
16	16	number of members, consisting [consists] of a presiding judge, an
17	17	alternate presiding judge, and at least one other member.
18	18	(c) In the general election for state and county officers,
19	19	each county chair of a political party with nominees on the general
20	20	election ballot shall submit to the county election board a list of
21	21	names of persons eligible to serve on the early voting ballot board
22	22	in order of the county chair's preference. The county election
23	23	board shall appoint at least one person from each list to serve as a
24	24	member of the early voting ballot board. [The same number of
25	25	members must be appointed from each list.] The county election
26	26	board shall appoint persons as members of the early voting ballot
27	27	board in the order of preference indicated on each list.
28	28	(e) In appointing the presiding judge, alternate presiding
29	29	judge, and other members to the early voting ballot board under this
30	30	section and except as provided by Subsection (f), the appointing
31	31	authority shall ensure that the board is composed of the same number
32	32	of members from the political party whose nominee for governor
33	33	received the most votes in the county in the most recent
34	34	gubernatorial general election and the political party whose
35	35	nominee for governor received the second most votes in the county in
36	36	the most recent gubernatorial general election.
37	37	(f) In appointing the other members to the early voting
38	38	ballot board under this section, the appointing authority shall
39	39	appoint one additional member from the political party to which the
40	40	presiding judge is affiliated.
41	41	(g) A vacancy on the early voting ballot board, including a
42	42	vacancy of the presiding judge or alternate presiding judge, shall
43	43	be filled by appointment from the original list or from a new list
44	44	submitted by the appropriate county chair.
45	45	SECTION 2. Section 87.006, Election Code, is amended by
46	46	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
47	47	follows:
48	48	(a) A member of the early voting ballot board shall repeat
49	49	the following oath aloud:
50	50	"I swear (or affirm) that I will objectively work to be sure
51	51	every eligible voter's vote is accepted and counted, and that only
52	52	the ballots of those voters who violated the Texas Election Code
53	53	will be rejected. I will make every effort to correctly reflect the
54	54	voter's intent when it can be clearly determined. I will identify
55	55	the legal grounds for which the voter voted by mail. I will not work
56	56	alone when ballots are present and [will work only in the presence
57	57	of a member of a political party different from my own.] I will
58	58	faithfully perform my duty as an officer of the election and guard
59	59	the purity of the election."
60	60	(a-1) In addition to the required oath under Subsection (a),
61	61	a member of the early voting ballot board in an election in which
62	62	party alignment is indicated on the ballot must repeat the
63	63	following statement aloud:
64	64	"I will work only in the presence of a member of a political
65	65	party different from my own."
66	66	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
67	67	amended by adding Section 87.007 to read as follows:
68	68	Sec. 87.007. BOARD VOTING PROCEDURES. (a) The presiding
69	69	judge, or the alternate presiding judge when acting under
70	70	Subsection (b), serves as a nonvoting member of the early voting
71	71	ballot board, except that the presiding judge and alternate
72	72	presiding judge, as applicable, shall vote to break any tie vote of
73	73	the board.
74	74	(b) The alternate presiding judge of the early voting ballot
75	75	board shall act as the presiding judge if the presiding judge is
76	76	absent or unable to act.
77	77	(c) In the event that an absence or vacancy in the early
78	78	voting ballot board causes a meeting of the board to be attended by
79	79	an unequal number of voting members from each political party, the
80	80	party with a larger number of members present shall determine,
81	81	before the meeting begins, which member will abstain from any board
82	82	vote to ensure that an equal number of votes are cast from a member
83	83	of each political party.
84	84	(d) A vote of the board under this chapter must be made by a
85	85	majority vote of the board members present and voting at the meeting
86	86	of the board.
87	87	SECTION 4. Sections 87.0222(a) and (a-1), Election Code,
88	88	are amended to read as follows:
89	89	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), not earlier than
90	90	the 20th day before election day but not later than the 11th [ninth]
91	91	day before election day, the jacket envelopes containing early
92	92	voting ballots voted by mail shall be delivered to the board.
93	93	(a-1) Any jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by
94	94	mail returned after delivery of the ballots under Subsection (a)
95	95	may be delivered to the presiding judge of the early voting ballot
96	96	board between the end of the 11th [ninth] day before election day
97	97	and the closing of the polls on election day, or as soon after
98	98	closing as practicable, at the time or times specified by the
99	99	presiding judge.
100	100	SECTION 5. Section 87.0241(a), Election Code, is amended to
101	101	read as follows:
102	102	(a) The early voting ballot board may [shall] make its
103	103	determination whether to accept early voting ballots voted by mail
104	104	in accordance with Section 87.041 on any date after the ballots are
105	105	delivered to the board, except that the board may not meet for the
106	106	first time on a date later than the 11th day before election day.
107	107	SECTION 6. Section 87.027, Election Code, is amended by
108	108	amending Subsections (d) and (i) and adding Subsections (e-1) and
109	109	(h-1) to read as follows:
110	110	(d) The early voting clerk shall determine an odd [the]
111	111	number of members who are to compose the signature verification
112	112	committee and shall state that number in the order calling for the
113	113	committee's appointment. A committee must consist of not fewer
114	114	than five members. In an election in which party alignment is
115	115	indicated on the ballot, each county chair of a political party with
116	116	a nominee or aligned candidate on the ballot shall submit to the
117	117	appointing authority a list of names of persons eligible to serve on
118	118	the signature verification committee in order of the county chair's
119	119	preference. The authority shall appoint at least two persons from
120	120	each list in the order of preference indicated on each list to serve
121	121	as members of the committee. The committee shall consist of one
122	122	more member from the chair's political party than the vice chair's
123	123	political party. [The same number of members must be appointed from
124	124	each list.] The authority shall appoint as chair of the committee
125	125	the highest-ranked person on the list provided by the political
126	126	party whose nominee for governor received the most votes in the
127	127	county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. The
128	128	authority shall appoint as vice chair of the committee the
129	129	highest-ranked person on the list provided by the political party
130	130	whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in the
131	131	county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. A
132	132	vacancy on the committee, including a vacancy in the chair or vice
133	133	chair, shall be filled by appointment from the original list or from
134	134	a new list submitted by the appropriate county chair.
135	135	(e-1) A person may not serve on a signature verification
136	136	committee and an early voting ballot board in the same election.
137	137	(h-1) If a signature verification committee is appointed
138	138	for the election, the committee shall meet for the first time to
139	139	compare the signatures under Subsection (i) on the date the first
140	140	jacket envelopes are delivered.
141	141	(i) The signature verification committee shall compare the
142	142	signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed
143	143	for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot
144	144	application to determine whether the signatures are those of the
145	145	voter. The committee may also compare the signatures with any known
146	146	signature of the voter on file with the county clerk or voter
147	147	registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of the
148	148	voter. Except as provided by Subsection (l), a determination under
149	149	this subsection that the signatures are not those of the voter must
150	150	be made by a majority vote of the committee members present and
151	151	voting, with the chair only voting to resolve a tie [committee's
152	152	membership]. Both political parties must be equally represented
153	153	during the majority vote. If an unequal number of members are
154	154	present, it must be decided at the beginning of the meeting which
155	155	member shall abstain from participating so that an equal number of
156	156	members from both parties are voting. The committee shall place the
157	157	jacket envelopes, carrier envelopes, and applications of voters
158	158	whose signatures are not those of the voter in separate containers
159	159	from those of voters whose signatures are those of the voter. The
160	160	committee chair shall deliver the sorted materials to the early
161	161	voting ballot board at the time specified by the board's presiding
162	162	judge.
163	163	SECTION 7. Section 87.062, Election Code, is amended by
164	164	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
165	165	(d) The board shall meet on election day to count the
166	166	ballots and prepare the returns for any ballots to be counted by the
167	167	board and are received by the board before the time the polls are
168	168	required to be closed on election day.
169	169	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
170	170	an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.
171	171	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.