Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4780 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R15715 MLH-D
2	2	By: Morgan H.B. No. 4780
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to election judges and clerks.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 32.002, Election Code, is amended by
12	12	amending Subsections (c) and (c-1) and adding Subsection (h) to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(c) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must
15	15	be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject
16	16	to this subsection. Before July of each year in a county to which
17	17	Subsection (a)(1) applies or before August of each year in a county
18	18	to which Subsection (a)(2) applies, the county chair of a political
19	19	party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second
20	20	highest number of votes in the county in the most recent
21	21	gubernatorial general election shall submit in writing to the
22	22	commissioners court a list of names of persons in order of
23	23	preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as an
24	24	election judge. The county chair may supplement the list of names
25	25	of persons until the fifth [20th] day before a general election or
26	26	[the 15th day before] a special election in case an appointed
27	27	election judge becomes unable to serve. The county chair of
28	28	[commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the
29	29	applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in
30	30	compliance with this subsection by] the party with the highest
31	31	number of votes in the precinct shall appoint the first person
32	32	meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list
33	33	submitted by that party chair under this subsection as the
34	34	presiding judge, and the county chair of [first person meeting the
35	35	applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in
36	36	compliance with this subsection by] the party with the second
37	37	highest number of votes in the precinct shall appoint the first
38	38	person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the
39	39	list submitted by that party chair under this subsection as the
40	40	alternate presiding judge. If either county chair is unable to make
41	41	an appointment for presiding judge or alternate presiding judge,
42	42	the commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the
43	43	applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted by the
44	44	applicable county chair to the applicable position. If the
45	45	candidates for governor of two political parties received the same
46	46	number of votes in the precinct, the first person meeting the
47	47	applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted by the
48	48	party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of
49	49	votes in the county shall be appointed as the presiding judge and
50	50	the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements
51	51	from the list submitted by the party whose candidate for governor
52	52	received the second highest number of votes in the county shall be
53	53	appointed as the alternate presiding judge. The commissioners
54	54	court may reject the list if the persons whose names are submitted
55	55	on the list are determined not to meet the applicable eligibility
56	56	requirements.
57	57	(c-1) For purposes of this subsection, the county chair
58	58	shall provide a list of names of persons eligible for appointment as
59	59	election judges. Judges of countywide polling places established
60	60	under Section 43.007 must be appointed from the list of names of
61	61	persons submitted by the county chair in compliance with Subsection
62	62	(c) except that in appointing a person from the list the county
63	63	chair or commissioners court, as applicable, shall apportion the
64	64	number of judges in direct proportion to the percentage of
65	65	precincts located in each county commissioners precinct won by each
66	66	party in the last gubernatorial election, the county chair or
67	67	commissioners court is not required to make the appointments based
68	68	on specific polling locations or precincts, a presiding judge or
69	69	alternate presiding judge is not required to serve in a polling
70	70	place located in the precinct in which the judge resides, and more
71	71	than one presiding judge or alternate presiding judge may be
72	72	selected from the same precinct to serve in polling places not
73	73	located in the precinct in which the judges reside. The county
74	74	chairs may submit, and the commissioners court may preapprove, the
75	75	appointment of more presiding judges or alternate presiding judges
76	76	than necessary to fill available positions. The county clerk shall
77	77	[may] select an individual whose appointment was preapproved by the
78	78	commissioners court to fill a vacancy in a position that was held by
79	79	an individual from the same political party. Other than a judge's
80	80	party affiliation, nothing in this subsection precludes a county
81	81	chair or county clerk from placing an election officer at a
82	82	countywide polling place based on the need for services at that
83	83	location.
84	84	(h) To the extent possible a judge may not be required to
85	85	serve at a polling place that would require the judge to travel more
86	86	than an estimated 20 minutes from the judge's residence.
87	87	SECTION 2. Section 32.006(a), Election Code, is amended to
88	88	read as follows:
89	89	(a) The county chair of a political party holding a primary
90	90	election shall appoint for each primary the judges for each
91	91	precinct polling place or countywide polling place at [in] which
92	92	the election will be held in the county and fill any vacancy that
93	93	occurs in the position of presiding judge or alternate presiding
94	94	judge.
95	95	SECTION 3. Sections 32.007(a), (c), and (f), Election Code,
96	96	are amended to read as follows:
97	97	(a) If neither the presiding judge nor the alternate
98	98	presiding judge can serve in an election and their inability to
99	99	serve is discovered after the fifth [20th] day before a general
100	100	election or [the 15th day before a] special election, the presiding
101	101	officer of the appointing authority or the authority if a single
102	102	officer shall appoint a replacement judge to preside at the
103	103	election, subject to Subsection (f). If the appointing authority
104	104	is unavailable, the authority responsible for distributing the
105	105	supplies for the election shall appoint the replacement judge.
106	106	(c) The appointing authority shall promptly give notice of
107	107	the emergency appointment to the county chair of each political
108	108	party that submitted a list under Section 32.002(c) and to the
109	109	authority responsible for distributing the supplies for the
110	110	election. As soon as practicable but not later than the time for
111	111	closing the polls for the election, the appointing authority shall
112	112	prepare a written memorandum of the appointment and deliver a
113	113	signed copy to the presiding officer of the local canvassing
114	114	authority and to the general custodian of election records. The
115	115	copies shall be preserved for the period for preserving the
116	116	precinct election records.
117	117	(f) A person who is appointed as a replacement for a judge
118	118	originally appointed under Section 32.002 must be affiliated or
119	119	aligned with the same political party as was the original judge, if
120	120	possible, and the appointing authority shall [make a reasonable
121	121	effort to] consult with and receive approval in writing from the
122	122	party chair of the appropriate political party before making an
123	123	appointment under this section.
124	124	SECTION 4. Sections 32.009(a) and (b), Election Code, are
125	125	amended to read as follows:
126	126	(a) Each presiding election judge, [and] alternate
127	127	presiding judge, and county chair of each political party shall be
128	128	given written notice of the appointment as provided by this
129	129	section.
130	130	(b) The authority responsible for distributing the supplies
131	131	for the election for which the judge is appointed shall prepare and
132	132	deliver the notice not later than the seventh [20th] day after the
133	133	date the appointment is made.
134	134	SECTION 5. Section 32.012, Election Code, is amended by
135	135	adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
136	136	(c) A county clerk shall provide a copy of any communication
137	137	sent to a presiding judge, alternate presiding judge, or election
138	138	clerk notifying the official of the official's appointment to the
139	139	county chair of each political party.
140	140	(d) The county clerk shall use an online, secure
141	141	communications platform that restricts access to selected
142	142	individuals to allow the county chair of each political party or
143	143	officers of the political party designated by the chair to access
144	144	and view in real time:
145	145	(1) the name and contact information of each judge or
146	146	clerk;
147	147	(2) the name and address of each polling place;
148	148	(3) the identity of each judge or clerk that has been
149	149	assigned to each polling place;
150	150	(4) the date each assignment was made; and
151	151	(5) any other information determined by the county
152	152	clerk to be relevant to the timely and appropriate assignment of
153	153	judges and clerks to polling places.
154	154	(e) The county clerk shall ensure that the county chair of
155	155	each political party or officers of the political party designated
156	156	by the chair have access to the platform described by Subsection (d)
157	157	not later than the 60th day before the date of the election.
158	158	SECTION 6. Section 32.031, Election Code, is amended to
159	159	read as follows:
160	160	Sec. 32.031. PRESIDING JUDGE TO APPOINT CLERKS. (a) The
161	161	presiding judge for each election precinct shall appoint [the]
162	162	election clerks from the presiding judge's political party to
163	163	assist the judge in the conduct of an election at the polling place
164	164	served by the judge. The presiding judge shall select the clerks
165	165	from the list provided by the county chair of the presiding judge's
166	166	political party under Section 32.034.
167	167	(b) The alternate presiding judge for each election
168	168	precinct shall appoint election clerks from the alternate presiding
169	169	judge's political party to assist the judge in the conduct of an
170	170	election at the polling place served by the judge. The alternate
171	171	presiding judge shall select the clerks from the list provided by
172	172	the county chair of the alternate presiding judge's political party
173	173	under Section 32.034.
174	174	(c) The appointment of an election clerk is for a single
175	175	election only.
176	176	SECTION 7. Sections 32.033(b) and (c), Election Code, are
177	177	amended to read as follows:
178	178	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the presiding
179	179	judge and alternate presiding judge shall each appoint at least one
180	180	clerk [two clerks] for each precinct in each election and may
181	181	appoint as many additional clerks, within the prescribed limit, as
182	182	are necessary for the proper conduct of the election, provided that
183	183	to the extent possible, the number of clerks from each political
184	184	party be kept equal.
185	185	(c) In each election ordered by the governor or a county
186	186	authority in which the regular county election precincts are
187	187	required to be used, the presiding judge and alternate presiding
188	188	judge shall each appoint at least one clerk [clerks] for each
189	189	precinct in the number, within the prescribed limit, the judge
190	190	considers necessary for the proper conduct of the election,
191	191	provided that to the extent possible, the number of clerks from each
192	192	political party be kept equal.
193	193	SECTION 8. Sections 32.034(a), (b), (c), and (e), Election
194	194	Code, are amended to read as follows:
195	195	(a) The clerks for the general election for state and county
196	196	officers or for a special election to fill a vacancy in an office
197	197	regularly filled at the general election shall be selected from
198	198	different political parties [if possible].
199	199	(b) The county chair of each [a] political party whose
200	200	candidate for governor received the highest or second highest
201	201	number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial
202	202	general election may, not later than the 25th day before a general
203	203	election or the 10th day before a special election to which
204	204	Subsection (a) applies, submit to the commissioners court [a
205	205	presiding judge] a list containing the names of at least two persons
206	206	who are eligible for appointment as a clerk at each polling place.
207	207	If a timely list is submitted, the presiding judge and alternate
208	208	presiding judge shall appoint at least one clerk from the list
209	209	provided by the county chair of the presiding judge's or alternate
210	210	presiding judge's party, except as provided by Subsection (c).
211	211	(c) If only one additional clerk is to be appointed for an
212	212	election in which the alternate presiding judge will serve as a
213	213	clerk, the clerk shall be appointed from the list of a political
214	214	party with which neither the presiding judge nor the alternate
215	215	judge is affiliated or aligned, if such a list is submitted. [If
216	216	two such lists are submitted, the presiding judge shall decide from
217	217	which list the appointment will be made. If such a list is not
218	218	submitted, the presiding judge is not required to make an
219	219	appointment from any list.]
220	220	(e) If a presiding judge has not been appointed at the time
221	221	the county chair of a political party is required to submit a list
222	222	of names for the appointment of a clerk under this section, the list
223	223	of names shall be submitted to the county chair of the political
224	224	party whose candidate for governor received the most votes in the
225	225	precinct in the most recent gubernatorial election and to the
226	226	commissioners court. The county chair, or the commissioners court
227	227	if [in a county without] a county chair is unable, shall appoint
228	228	clerks from the list in the same manner provided for a presiding
229	229	judge or alternate presiding judge to appoint clerks by this
230	230	section.
231	231	SECTION 9. Section 32.051, Election Code, is amended by
232	232	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
233	233	(d) To the extent possible a clerk may not be required to
234	234	serve at a polling place that would require the clerk to travel more
235	235	than an estimated 20 minutes from the clerk's residence.
236	236	SECTION 10. Section 32.114(c), Election Code, is amended to
237	237	read as follows:
238	238	(c) The county clerk shall:
239	239	(1) post a notice of the time and place of each session
240	240	on the county's Internet website, if the county maintains an
241	241	Internet website, and may post the notice on the bulletin board used
242	242	for posting notice of meetings of the commissioners court and shall
243	243	include on the notice a statement that the program is open to the
244	244	public;
245	245	(1-a) post notice of the time and place of each session
246	246	on the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the
247	247	commissioners court, if the county does not maintain an Internet
248	248	website, and shall include on the notice a statement that the
249	249	program is open to the public;
250	250	(2) notify each presiding judge and alternate
251	251	presiding judge [appointed by the commissioners court] of the time
252	252	and place of each session and of the duty of each election judge to
253	253	complete the training program;
254	254	(3) notify the county chair of each political party in
255	255	the county of the time and place of each session; and
256	256	(4) notify the voter registrar of the date, hour, and
257	257	place of each session.
258	258	SECTION 11. Sections 32.011 and 32.032, Election Code, are
259	259	repealed.
260	260	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.