Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2217 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R14798 MPF-F
2	2	By: Hughes S.B. No. 2217
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to certain election practices and procedures.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 31.014(a), Election Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a) The secretary of state shall prescribe specific
14	14	requirements and standards, consistent with this code, for the
15	15	certification of an electronic device used to accept voters under
16	16	Chapter 63 that require the device to:
17	17	(1) produce an electronic copy of the list of voters
18	18	who were accepted to vote for delivery to the election judge after
19	19	the polls close;
20	20	(2) display the voter's original signature in
21	21	accordance with Section 63.002;
22	22	(3) accept a voter for voting even when the device is
23	23	off-line;
24	24	(4) provide the full list of voters registered in the
25	25	county with an indication of the jurisdictional or distinguishing
26	26	number for each territorial unit in which each voter resides;
27	27	(5) time-stamp when each voter is accepted at a
28	28	polling place, including the voter's unique identifier;
29	29	(6) if the county participates in the countywide
30	30	polling place program under Section 43.007 or has more than one
31	31	early voting polling place, transmit a time stamp when each voter is
32	32	accepted, including the voter's unique identifier, to all polling
33	33	place locations;
34	34	(7) time-stamp the receipt of a transmission under
35	35	Subdivision (6); [and]
36	36	(8) produce in an electronic format compatible with
37	37	the statewide voter registration list under Section 18.061 data for
38	38	retention and transfer that includes:
39	39	(A) the polling location in which the device was
40	40	used;
41	41	(B) the dated time stamp under Subdivision (5);
42	42	and
43	43	(C) the dated time stamp under Subdivision (7);
44	44	(9) produce a report with all information required to
45	45	be included on a combination form under Chapter 63 and Section
46	46	64.032; and
47	47	(10) produce a copy of the list of all voters who were
48	48	accepted to vote, including a reference to the voter's county
49	49	election precinct and polling location where the voter was accepted
50	50	to vote.
51	51	SECTION 2. Section 65.057, Election Code, is amended by
52	52	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
53	53	(c) When reporting the results of a count under this
54	54	section, provisional ballots cast during the early voting period
55	55	shall be included with the results for early voting by personal
56	56	appearance, and provisional ballots cast on election day shall be
57	57	included with the results for election day.
58	58	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 66, Election Code, is
59	59	amended by adding Sections 66.005 and 66.006 to read as follows:
60	60	Sec. 66.005. POST ELECTION RECONCILIATION. (a) Not later
61	61	than the 30th day after election day, the general custodian of
62	62	election records shall prepare a reconciliation of the total number
63	63	of votes cast and the total number of voters accepted to vote by
64	64	personal appearance at each polling place in the custodian's county
65	65	during the early voting period and on election day respectively.
66	66	(b) The general custodian of election records shall post the
67	67	results of a reconciliation conducted under Subsection (a) on the
68	68	county's Internet website in the same location that the county
69	69	provides information on election results.
70	70	Sec. 66.006. PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN REPORTS
71	71	FROM ELECTRONIC DEVICES TO ACCEPT VOTERS. (a) The general
72	72	custodian of election records for an authority holding an election
73	73	that uses an electronic device certified under Section 31.014 to
74	74	accept voters shall prepare a report including information
75	75	described by Sections 31.014(a)(9) and (10) not later than the 30th
76	76	day after election day.
77	77	(b) A report produced under Subsection (a) is an election
78	78	record under Section 1.012 and shall be retained by the general
79	79	custodian of election records for the period for preserving the
80	80	precinct election records.
81	81	SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
82	82	amended by adding Section 87.129 to read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 87.129. PROCESSING RESULTS WITHOUT CENTRALIZED
84	84	COUNTING. (a) This section applies only to the processing of
85	85	election results for early voting in electronic voting systems that
86	86	require voters to deposit voted ballots directly into a unit of
87	87	automatic tabulating equipment and does not entail the counting of
88	88	ballots at a central counting station.
89	89	(b) The presiding judge of an early voting polling place
90	90	shall prepare a reconciliation of votes and voters at the close of
91	91	each day of early voting.
92	92	(c) The presiding judge shall investigate any discrepancy
93	93	between the number of votes and voters revealed by a reconciliation
94	94	conducted under Subsection (b) and document the cause of the
95	95	discrepancy.
96	96	(d) The official tabulation of ballots shall be conducted at
97	97	a central counting station if a reconciliation and investigation
98	98	conducted under this section reveals:
99	99	(1) a discrepancy of one percent or more between the
100	100	total number of votes and voters; or
101	101	(2) the discrepancy was the result of an incorrect
102	102	tabulation or other malfunction of voting system equipment at the
103	103	early voting polling place.
104	104	SECTION 5. Section 121.003, Election Code, is amended by
105	105	adding Subdivision (14) to read as follows:
106	106	(14) "Central accumulator" means a part of a voting
107	107	system that tabulates or consolidates the vote totals for multiple
108	108	precincts.
109	109	SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 125, Election Code, is
110	110	amended by adding Section 125.0635 to read as follows:
111	111	Sec. 125.0635. POLLING PLACE REPORT FOR VOTING FOR CERTAIN
112	112	ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS. (a) This section only applies to a
113	113	polling place that requires a voter's ballot to be scanned at the
114	114	polling place with an optical scanner.
115	115	(b) Immediately after closing the polling place at the end
116	116	of the period for early voting by personal appearance and on
117	117	election day, the presiding election judge shall generate a report
118	118	from each optical scanner used at the polling place regarding the
119	119	total number of ballots scanned by that scanner during the period
120	120	for early voting by personal appearance or election day, as
121	121	applicable.
122	122	(c) A report produced under Subsection (b) at an early
123	123	voting polling place may not include information on the number of
124	124	votes received by a candidate or for or against any proposition.
125	125	SECTION 7. Subchapter E, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
126	126	amended by adding Sections 127.1302 and 127.133 to read as follows:
127	127	Sec. 127.1302. REQUIRED REPORT FOR OPTICAL SCANNERS. (a)
128	128	In an election using centrally counted optical scan ballots, the
129	129	presiding judge of the central counting station shall prepare a
130	130	report regarding the total number of ballots scanned by each
131	131	optical scanner from each data storage device.
132	132	(b) The presiding judge of the central counting station
133	133	shall prepare one report for the total number of ballots from each
134	134	specific data storage device.
135	135	(c) The presiding judge of the central counting station must
136	136	prepare the report for a data storage device under Subsection (a)
137	137	before the information from the storage device is read into a
138	138	central accumulator.
139	139	(d) A report prepared under Subsection (a) before the
140	140	opening of polling locations on election day may not contain
141	141	information on the number of votes cast for any candidate or for or
142	142	against any proposition.
143	143	Sec. 127.133. REQUIRED REPORT FROM CENTRAL ACCUMULATOR.
144	144	(a) This section only applies to an election held on or after
145	145	September 1, 2026.
146	146	(b) An election system that uses a central accumulator must
147	147	be capable of producing a report from the central accumulator with
148	148	the total number of votes received by each candidate and for or
149	149	against each proposition for each polling place.
150	150	SECTION 8. This Act applies only to an election ordered on
151	151	or after the effective date of this Act.
152	152	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.