89R14798 MPF-F
By: Hughes S.B. No. 2217
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain election practices and procedures.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 31.014(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The secretary of state shall prescribe specific
requirements and standards, consistent with this code, for the
certification of an electronic device used to accept voters under
Chapter 63 that require the device to:
(1) produce an electronic copy of the list of voters
who were accepted to vote for delivery to the election judge after
the polls close;
(2) display the voter's original signature in
accordance with Section 63.002;
(3) accept a voter for voting even when the device is
off-line;
(4) provide the full list of voters registered in the
county with an indication of the jurisdictional or distinguishing
number for each territorial unit in which each voter resides;
(5) time-stamp when each voter is accepted at a
polling place, including the voter's unique identifier;
(6) if the county participates in the countywide
polling place program under Section 43.007 or has more than one
early voting polling place, transmit a time stamp when each voter is
accepted, including the voter's unique identifier, to all polling
place locations;
(7) time-stamp the receipt of a transmission under
Subdivision (6); [and]
(8) produce in an electronic format compatible with
the statewide voter registration list under Section 18.061 data for
retention and transfer that includes:
(A) the polling location in which the device was
used;
(B) the dated time stamp under Subdivision (5);
and
(C) the dated time stamp under Subdivision (7);
(9) produce a report with all information required to
be included on a combination form under Chapter 63 and Section
64.032; and
(10) produce a copy of the list of all voters who were
accepted to vote, including a reference to the voter's county
election precinct and polling location where the voter was accepted
to vote.
SECTION 2. Section 65.057, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) When reporting the results of a count under this
section, provisional ballots cast during the early voting period
shall be included with the results for early voting by personal
appearance, and provisional ballots cast on election day shall be
included with the results for election day.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 66, Election Code, is
amended by adding Sections 66.005 and 66.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 66.005. POST ELECTION RECONCILIATION. (a) Not later
than the 30th day after election day, the general custodian of
election records shall prepare a reconciliation of the total number
of votes cast and the total number of voters accepted to vote by
personal appearance at each polling place in the custodian's county
during the early voting period and on election day respectively.
(b) The general custodian of election records shall post the
results of a reconciliation conducted under Subsection (a) on the
county's Internet website in the same location that the county
provides information on election results.
Sec. 66.006. PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN REPORTS
FROM ELECTRONIC DEVICES TO ACCEPT VOTERS. (a) The general
custodian of election records for an authority holding an election
that uses an electronic device certified under Section 31.014 to
accept voters shall prepare a report including information
described by Sections 31.014(a)(9) and (10) not later than the 30th
day after election day.
(b) A report produced under Subsection (a) is an election
record under Section 1.012 and shall be retained by the general
custodian of election records for the period for preserving the
precinct election records.
SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 87.129 to read as follows:
Sec. 87.129. PROCESSING RESULTS WITHOUT CENTRALIZED
COUNTING. (a) This section applies only to the processing of
election results for early voting in electronic voting systems that
require voters to deposit voted ballots directly into a unit of
automatic tabulating equipment and does not entail the counting of
ballots at a central counting station.
(b) The presiding judge of an early voting polling place
shall prepare a reconciliation of votes and voters at the close of
each day of early voting.
(c) The presiding judge shall investigate any discrepancy
between the number of votes and voters revealed by a reconciliation
conducted under Subsection (b) and document the cause of the
discrepancy.
(d) The official tabulation of ballots shall be conducted at
a central counting station if a reconciliation and investigation
conducted under this section reveals:
(1) a discrepancy of one percent or more between the
total number of votes and voters; or
(2) the discrepancy was the result of an incorrect
tabulation or other malfunction of voting system equipment at the
early voting polling place.
SECTION 5. Section 121.003, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (14) to read as follows:
(14) "Central accumulator" means a part of a voting
system that tabulates or consolidates the vote totals for multiple
precincts.
SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 125, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 125.0635 to read as follows:
Sec. 125.0635. POLLING PLACE REPORT FOR VOTING FOR CERTAIN
ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS. (a) This section only applies to a
polling place that requires a voter's ballot to be scanned at the
polling place with an optical scanner.
(b) Immediately after closing the polling place at the end
of the period for early voting by personal appearance and on
election day, the presiding election judge shall generate a report
from each optical scanner used at the polling place regarding the
total number of ballots scanned by that scanner during the period
for early voting by personal appearance or election day, as
applicable.
(c) A report produced under Subsection (b) at an early
voting polling place may not include information on the number of
votes received by a candidate or for or against any proposition.
SECTION 7. Subchapter E, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
amended by adding Sections 127.1302 and 127.133 to read as follows:
Sec. 127.1302. REQUIRED REPORT FOR OPTICAL SCANNERS. (a)
In an election using centrally counted optical scan ballots, the
presiding judge of the central counting station shall prepare a
report regarding the total number of ballots scanned by each
optical scanner from each data storage device.
(b) The presiding judge of the central counting station
shall prepare one report for the total number of ballots from each
specific data storage device.
(c) The presiding judge of the central counting station must
prepare the report for a data storage device under Subsection (a)
before the information from the storage device is read into a
central accumulator.
(d) A report prepared under Subsection (a) before the
opening of polling locations on election day may not contain
information on the number of votes cast for any candidate or for or
against any proposition.
Sec. 127.133. REQUIRED REPORT FROM CENTRAL ACCUMULATOR.
(a) This section only applies to an election held on or after
September 1, 2026.
(b) An election system that uses a central accumulator must
be capable of producing a report from the central accumulator with
the total number of votes received by each candidate and for or
against each proposition for each polling place.
SECTION 8. This Act applies only to an election ordered on
or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.