89R15715 MLH-D
By: Morgan H.B. No. 4780
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to election judges and clerks.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 32.002, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (c) and (c-1) and adding Subsection (h) to
read as follows:
(c) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must
be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject
to this subsection. Before July of each year in a county to which
Subsection (a)(1) applies or before August of each year in a county
to which Subsection (a)(2) applies, the county chair of a political
party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second
highest number of votes in the county in the most recent
gubernatorial general election shall submit in writing to the
commissioners court a list of names of persons in order of
preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as an
election judge. The county chair may supplement the list of names
of persons until the fifth [20th] day before a general election or
[the 15th day before] a special election in case an appointed
election judge becomes unable to serve. The county chair of
[commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the
applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in
compliance with this subsection by] the party with the highest
number of votes in the precinct shall appoint the first person
meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list
submitted by that party chair under this subsection as the
presiding judge, and the county chair of [first person meeting the
applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in
compliance with this subsection by] the party with the second
highest number of votes in the precinct shall appoint the first
person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list submitted by that party chair under this subsection as the
alternate presiding judge. If either county chair is unable to make
an appointment for presiding judge or alternate presiding judge,
the commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the
applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted by the
applicable county chair to the applicable position. If the
candidates for governor of two political parties received the same
number of votes in the precinct, the first person meeting the
applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted by the
party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of
votes in the county shall be appointed as the presiding judge and
the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements
from the list submitted by the party whose candidate for governor
received the second highest number of votes in the county shall be
appointed as the alternate presiding judge. The commissioners
court may reject the list if the persons whose names are submitted
on the list are determined not to meet the applicable eligibility
requirements.
(c-1) For purposes of this subsection, the county chair
shall provide a list of names of persons eligible for appointment as
election judges. Judges of countywide polling places established
under Section 43.007 must be appointed from the list of names of
persons submitted by the county chair in compliance with Subsection
(c) except that in appointing a person from the list the county
chair or commissioners court, as applicable, shall apportion the
number of judges in direct proportion to the percentage of
precincts located in each county commissioners precinct won by each
party in the last gubernatorial election, the county chair or
commissioners court is not required to make the appointments based
on specific polling locations or precincts, a presiding judge or
alternate presiding judge is not required to serve in a polling
place located in the precinct in which the judge resides, and more
than one presiding judge or alternate presiding judge may be
selected from the same precinct to serve in polling places not
located in the precinct in which the judges reside. The county
chairs may submit, and the commissioners court may preapprove, the
appointment of more presiding judges or alternate presiding judges
than necessary to fill available positions. The county clerk shall
[may] select an individual whose appointment was preapproved by the
commissioners court to fill a vacancy in a position that was held by
an individual from the same political party. Other than a judge's
party affiliation, nothing in this subsection precludes a county
chair or county clerk from placing an election officer at a
countywide polling place based on the need for services at that
location.
(h) To the extent possible a judge may not be required to
serve at a polling place that would require the judge to travel more
than an estimated 20 minutes from the judge's residence.
SECTION 2. Section 32.006(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The county chair of a political party holding a primary
election shall appoint for each primary the judges for each
precinct polling place or countywide polling place at [in] which
the election will be held in the county and fill any vacancy that
occurs in the position of presiding judge or alternate presiding
judge.
SECTION 3. Sections 32.007(a), (c), and (f), Election Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) If neither the presiding judge nor the alternate
presiding judge can serve in an election and their inability to
serve is discovered after the fifth [20th] day before a general
election or [the 15th day before a] special election, the presiding
officer of the appointing authority or the authority if a single
officer shall appoint a replacement judge to preside at the
election, subject to Subsection (f). If the appointing authority
is unavailable, the authority responsible for distributing the
supplies for the election shall appoint the replacement judge.
(c) The appointing authority shall promptly give notice of
the emergency appointment to the county chair of each political
party that submitted a list under Section 32.002(c) and to the
authority responsible for distributing the supplies for the
election. As soon as practicable but not later than the time for
closing the polls for the election, the appointing authority shall
prepare a written memorandum of the appointment and deliver a
signed copy to the presiding officer of the local canvassing
authority and to the general custodian of election records. The
copies shall be preserved for the period for preserving the
precinct election records.
(f) A person who is appointed as a replacement for a judge
originally appointed under Section 32.002 must be affiliated or
aligned with the same political party as was the original judge, if
possible, and the appointing authority shall [make a reasonable
effort to] consult with and receive approval in writing from the
party chair of the appropriate political party before making an
appointment under this section.
SECTION 4. Sections 32.009(a) and (b), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Each presiding election judge, [and] alternate
presiding judge, and county chair of each political party shall be
given written notice of the appointment as provided by this
section.
(b) The authority responsible for distributing the supplies
for the election for which the judge is appointed shall prepare and
deliver the notice not later than the seventh [20th] day after the
date the appointment is made.
SECTION 5. Section 32.012, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(c) A county clerk shall provide a copy of any communication
sent to a presiding judge, alternate presiding judge, or election
clerk notifying the official of the official's appointment to the
county chair of each political party.
(d) The county clerk shall use an online, secure
communications platform that restricts access to selected
individuals to allow the county chair of each political party or
officers of the political party designated by the chair to access
and view in real time:
(1) the name and contact information of each judge or
clerk;
(2) the name and address of each polling place;
(3) the identity of each judge or clerk that has been
assigned to each polling place;
(4) the date each assignment was made; and
(5) any other information determined by the county
clerk to be relevant to the timely and appropriate assignment of
judges and clerks to polling places.
(e) The county clerk shall ensure that the county chair of
each political party or officers of the political party designated
by the chair have access to the platform described by Subsection (d)
not later than the 60th day before the date of the election.
SECTION 6. Section 32.031, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 32.031. PRESIDING JUDGE TO APPOINT CLERKS. (a) The
presiding judge for each election precinct shall appoint [the]
election clerks from the presiding judge's political party to
assist the judge in the conduct of an election at the polling place
served by the judge. The presiding judge shall select the clerks
from the list provided by the county chair of the presiding judge's
political party under Section 32.034.
(b) The alternate presiding judge for each election
precinct shall appoint election clerks from the alternate presiding
judge's political party to assist the judge in the conduct of an
election at the polling place served by the judge. The alternate
presiding judge shall select the clerks from the list provided by
the county chair of the alternate presiding judge's political party
under Section 32.034.
(c) The appointment of an election clerk is for a single
election only.
SECTION 7. Sections 32.033(b) and (c), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the presiding
judge and alternate presiding judge shall each appoint at least one
clerk [two clerks] for each precinct in each election and may
appoint as many additional clerks, within the prescribed limit, as
are necessary for the proper conduct of the election, provided that
to the extent possible, the number of clerks from each political
party be kept equal.
(c) In each election ordered by the governor or a county
authority in which the regular county election precincts are
required to be used, the presiding judge and alternate presiding
judge shall each appoint at least one clerk [clerks] for each
precinct in the number, within the prescribed limit, the judge
considers necessary for the proper conduct of the election,
provided that to the extent possible, the number of clerks from each
political party be kept equal.
SECTION 8. Sections 32.034(a), (b), (c), and (e), Election
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The clerks for the general election for state and county
officers or for a special election to fill a vacancy in an office
regularly filled at the general election shall be selected from
different political parties [if possible].
(b) The county chair of each [a] political party whose
candidate for governor received the highest or second highest
number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial
general election may, not later than the 25th day before a general
election or the 10th day before a special election to which
Subsection (a) applies, submit to the commissioners court [a
presiding judge] a list containing the names of at least two persons
who are eligible for appointment as a clerk at each polling place.
If a timely list is submitted, the presiding judge and alternate
presiding judge shall appoint at least one clerk from the list
provided by the county chair of the presiding judge's or alternate
presiding judge's party, except as provided by Subsection (c).
(c) If only one additional clerk is to be appointed for an
election in which the alternate presiding judge will serve as a
clerk, the clerk shall be appointed from the list of a political
party with which neither the presiding judge nor the alternate
judge is affiliated or aligned, if such a list is submitted. [If
two such lists are submitted, the presiding judge shall decide from
which list the appointment will be made. If such a list is not
submitted, the presiding judge is not required to make an
appointment from any list.]
(e) If a presiding judge has not been appointed at the time
the county chair of a political party is required to submit a list
of names for the appointment of a clerk under this section, the list
of names shall be submitted to the county chair of the political
party whose candidate for governor received the most votes in the
precinct in the most recent gubernatorial election and to the
commissioners court. The county chair, or the commissioners court
if [in a county without] a county chair is unable, shall appoint
clerks from the list in the same manner provided for a presiding
judge or alternate presiding judge to appoint clerks by this
section.
SECTION 9. Section 32.051, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) To the extent possible a clerk may not be required to
serve at a polling place that would require the clerk to travel more
than an estimated 20 minutes from the clerk's residence.
SECTION 10. Section 32.114(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The county clerk shall:
(1) post a notice of the time and place of each session
on the county's Internet website, if the county maintains an
Internet website, and may post the notice on the bulletin board used
for posting notice of meetings of the commissioners court and shall
include on the notice a statement that the program is open to the
public;
(1-a) post notice of the time and place of each session
on the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the
commissioners court, if the county does not maintain an Internet
website, and shall include on the notice a statement that the
program is open to the public;
(2) notify each presiding judge and alternate
presiding judge [appointed by the commissioners court] of the time
and place of each session and of the duty of each election judge to
complete the training program;
(3) notify the county chair of each political party in
the county of the time and place of each session; and
(4) notify the voter registrar of the date, hour, and
place of each session.
SECTION 11. Sections 32.011 and 32.032, Election Code, are
repealed.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.