2025S0154-T 02/28/25
By: Smithee H.B. No. 4508
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration of and procedures relating to early
voting by personal appearance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 19.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), state funds
disbursed under this chapter may be used only to:
(1) defray expenses of the registrar's office in
connection with voter registration, including additional expenses
related to:
(A) implementation of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Section 20501 et seq.);
(B) complying with weekly updating requirements;
and
(C) the employment of temporary voter
registration personnel for not more than 39 weeks in a state fiscal
year; and
(2) if the registrar's county has a population of less
than 10,000 [55,000], defray the cost to the registrar's county of
keeping the polling places in the county open during the early
voting period as required under Section [Sections 85.005(c),]
85.006(e)[, and 85.064(d)].
SECTION 2. Section 85.005(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) In a county with a population of 10,000 or more, the
voting [Voting] in a primary election or the general election for
state and county officers shall be conducted at the main early
voting polling place for at least 12 consecutive hours on each
weekday of the last week of the early voting period, and the voting
in a special election ordered by the governor shall be conducted at
the main early voting polling place for at least 12 consecutive
hours on each of the last two days of the early voting period.
Voting under this subsection may not be conducted earlier than 6
a.m. or later than 10 p.m.
SECTION 3. Section 85.006(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) In a primary election or the general election for state
and county officers in a county with a population of 10,000 or more,
the early voting clerk shall order voting by personal appearance at
the main early voting polling place to be conducted on the last
Saturday of the early voting period for at least 12 consecutive
hours, except that voting may not be conducted earlier than 6 a.m.
or later than 10 p.m., and on the last Sunday of the early voting
period for at least six consecutive hours, except that voting may
not be conducted earlier than 9 a.m. or later than 10 p.m. The early
voting clerk shall order voting to be conducted at those times in
those elections for those hours on a single weekend day in a county
with a population under 10,000. The day of extended voting hours
must be agreed to by party chairs and posted publicly in compliance
with Section 85.007. This subsection supersedes any provision of
this subchapter to the extent of any conflict.
SECTION 4. Section 85.064, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) Subsection (d) applies only to an election in which the
territory served by the early voting clerk is situated in a county
with a population of 10,000 or more. In an election in which the
territory served by the clerk is situated in more than one county,
this section applies if the sum of the populations of the counties
is 10,000 or more.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an election for which early voting begins on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.