Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2975 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R7646 MPF-D
2	2	By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 2975
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to certain election practices and procedures; increasing a
10	10	criminal penalty; providing an administrative penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 13.002(c), Election Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(c) A registration application must include:
15	15	(1) the applicant's first name, middle name, if any,
16	16	last name, and former name, if any;
17	17	(2) the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth;
18	18	(3) a statement that the applicant is a United States
19	19	citizen;
20	20	(4) a statement that the applicant is a resident of the
21	21	county;
22	22	(5) a statement that the applicant has not been
23	23	determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
24	24	jurisdiction to be:
25	25	(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
26	26	(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
27	27	right to vote;
28	28	(6) a statement that the applicant has not been
29	29	finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon
30	30	eligible for registration under Section 13.001;
31	31	(7) the applicant's residence address or, if the
32	32	residence has no address:[,]
33	33	(A) the address at which the applicant receives
34	34	mail;
35	35	(B) [and] a concise description of the location
36	36	of the applicant's residence; and
37	37	(C) a statement that the applicant's residence
38	38	has no address;
39	39	(8) the following information:
40	40	(A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number
41	41	or the number of a personal identification card issued by the
42	42	Department of Public Safety;
43	43	(B) if the applicant has not been issued a number
44	44	described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's
45	45	social security number; or
46	46	(C) a statement by the applicant that the
47	47	applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A) or
48	48	(B);
49	49	(9) if the application is made by an agent, a statement
50	50	of the agent's relationship to the applicant; and
51	51	(10) the city and county in which the applicant
52	52	formerly resided.
53	53	SECTION 2. Section 31.037(a), Election Code, is amended to
54	54	read as follows:
55	55	(a) The employment of the county elections administrator
56	56	may be suspended, with or without pay, or terminated at any time for
57	57	good and sufficient cause on the three-fifths [four-fifths] vote of
58	58	the county election commission and approval of that action by a
59	59	majority vote of the commissioners court.
60	60	SECTION 3. Section 31.043, Election Code, is amended to
61	61	read as follows:
62	62	Sec. 31.043. DUTIES OF ADMINISTRATOR GENERALLY. (a) The
63	63	county elections administrator shall perform:
64	64	(1) the duties and functions of the voter registrar;
65	65	(2) the duties and functions placed on the county
66	66	clerk by this code;
67	67	(3) the duties and functions relating to elections
68	68	that are placed on the county clerk by statutes outside this code,
69	69	subject to Section 31.044; and
70	70	(4) the duties and functions placed on the
71	71	administrator under Sections 31.044 and 31.045.
72	72	(b) The county elections administrator is a nonvoting
73	73	member of the county election commission and the county election
74	74	board.
75	75	SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 31, Election Code, is
76	76	amended by adding Sections 31.0431, 31.0432, 31.0433, 31.0434, and
77	77	31.0435 to read as follows:
78	78	Sec. 31.0431. REPORT TO COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION: VOTE BY
79	79	MAIL. Not later than the 30th day after the final canvass of an
80	80	election is completed, the county elections administrator shall
81	81	provide a report to the county election commission that includes
82	82	the following information pertaining to voting by mail:
83	83	(1) the number of applications for a ballot to be voted
84	84	by mail submitted and the number of applications rejected;
85	85	(2) the number of official ballots to be voted by mail:
86	86	(A) provided to an applicant;
87	87	(B) returned by an applicant;
88	88	(C) returned undelivered by the United States
89	89	Postal Service;
90	90	(D) delivered to the early voting ballot board or
91	91	signature verification committee;
92	92	(E) for which the voters were accepted by the
93	93	early voting ballot board, including accepted voters whose jacket
94	94	envelopes were empty, contained the wrong ballot, or contained
95	95	multiple ballots; and
96	96	(F) for which the voters were rejected by the
97	97	early voting ballot board;
98	98	(3) the number of limited ballots to be voted by mail
99	99	submitted by an applicant; and
100	100	(4) the number of ballots voted by mail:
101	101	(A) delivered to the central counting station;
102	102	(B) duplicated at the central counting station;
103	103	and
104	104	(C) tabulated by the central counting station.
105	105	Sec. 31.0432. REPORT TO COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION: EARLY
106	106	VOTING BY PERSONAL APPEARANCE. Not later than the 30th day after the
107	107	final canvass of an election is completed, the county elections
108	108	administrator shall provide a report to the county election
109	109	commission that includes the following information pertaining to
110	110	each day of early voting by personal appearance:
111	111	(1) the number of persons accepted to vote using a
112	112	limited ballot and the number of limited ballots cast;
113	113	(2) the number of:
114	114	(A) voters accepted to vote at each polling
115	115	place, including accepted voters who did not cast a vote;
116	116	(B) votes cast at each polling place and in each
117	117	election precinct;
118	118	(C) voters accepted to vote a provisional ballot;
119	119	(D) provisional ballot affidavits accepted at
120	120	each polling place;
121	121	(E) requests for cancellation of an application
122	122	for a ballot to be voted by mail received by each polling place;
123	123	(F) spoiled ballots at each polling place;
124	124	(G) marked ballots deposited in a location other
125	125	than a ballot box;
126	126	(H) polling places where 25 percent or more of
127	127	the election officers were not available to work at the polling
128	128	place for more than one hour at a time;
129	129	(I) polling places where a seal on a ballot box or
130	130	voting equipment did not match the documentation or was broken; and
131	131	(J) polling places that were not able to
132	132	reconcile every voter against the record of votes cast, including
133	133	the number of polling places where the discrepancy exceeded two
134	134	votes cast;
135	135	(3) the allocation of voting equipment and election
136	136	officials for each polling place; and
137	137	(4) the number of ballots cast during early voting by
138	138	personal appearance that were duplicated by the central counting
139	139	station.
140	140	Sec. 31.0433. REPORT TO COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION:
141	141	ELECTION DAY. Not later than the 30th day after the final canvass of
142	142	an election is completed, the county elections administrator shall
143	143	provide a report to the county election commission that includes
144	144	the following information pertaining to election day:
145	145	(1) the number of:
146	146	(A) voters accepted to vote at each polling
147	147	place, including accepted voters who did not cast a vote;
148	148	(B) votes cast at each polling place and in each
149	149	election precinct;
150	150	(C) voters accepted to vote a provisional ballot;
151	151	(D) provisional ballot affidavits accepted at
152	152	each polling place;
153	153	(E) requests for cancellation of an application
154	154	for a ballot to be voted by mail received by each polling place;
155	155	(F) spoiled ballots at each polling place; and
156	156	(G) marked ballots deposited in a location other
157	157	than a ballot box;
158	158	(2) the allocation of voting equipment and election
159	159	officials for each polling place;
160	160	(3) the number of polling places on election day that:
161	161	(A) opened at least 10 minutes late due to the
162	162	malfunction of voting system equipment or a lack of election
163	163	supplies;
164	164	(B) closed for more than 30 minutes during voting
165	165	hours;
166	166	(C) had 25 percent or more of the voting machines
167	167	not functioning for at least 30 minutes during voting hours;
168	168	(D) had 50 percent or more of the scanning
169	169	equipment not functioning for at least 30 minutes during voting
170	170	hours;
171	171	(E) did not have a sufficient supply of ballots,
172	172	including from a shortage, having the wrong size paper for the
173	173	voting system, or any other malfunction limiting a person's ability
174	174	to vote as authorized under this code;
175	175	(F) did not print the tape showing each voting
176	176	machine counter was set to zero prior to opening the polls for
177	177	voting;
178	178	(G) failed to properly prepare the precinct
179	179	returns under Section 65.014;
180	180	(H) had 25 percent or more of the election
181	181	officers not available to work at the polling place for more than
182	182	one hour at a time;
183	183	(I) had a seal on a ballot box or voting equipment
184	184	that did not match the documentation or was broken; and
185	185	(J) were not able to reconcile every voter
186	186	against the record of votes cast, including the number of polling
187	187	places where the discrepancy exceeded two votes cast;
188	188	(4) the number of ballots cast on election day that
189	189	were duplicated by the central counting station; and
190	190	(5) the number of times a presiding judge delivered
191	191	the election returns but did not receive a chain of custody
192	192	document.
193	193	Sec. 31.0434. REPORT TO COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION:
194	194	ADDITIONAL ELECTION INFORMATION. Not later than the 30th day after
195	195	the final canvass of an election is completed, the county elections
196	196	administrator shall provide a report to the county election
197	197	commission that includes the following information pertaining to an
198	198	election conducted in the county:
199	199	(1) the number of suspense voters in the county;
200	200	(2) the number of statements of residence completed at
201	201	each polling place;
202	202	(3) a reconciliation of:
203	203	(A) every election precinct in the county on the
204	204	number of registered voters and the number of votes cast;
205	205	(B) every data storage device assigned to a
206	206	polling place or to ballots to be voted by mail and its inclusion on
207	207	audit documentation; and
208	208	(C) the number of votes on each results tape and
209	209	the total number of votes cast; and
210	210	(4) an inventory of election records with container
211	211	labels, including a list of the contents in each container.
212	212	Sec. 31.0435. COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION REVIEW OF REPORTS.
213	213	(a) The county election commission shall review reports provided by
214	214	the county elections administrator under Sections 31.0431,
215	215	31.0432, 31.0433, and 31.0434.
216	216	(b) Not later than the 30th day after receiving the reports,
217	217	the county election commission shall provide recommendations to the
218	218	county elections administrator based on the provided reports.
219	219	(c) During the next countywide election, the county
220	220	election commission shall monitor the county elections
221	221	administrator to determine whether the administrator is following
222	222	the recommendations provided by the commission under Subsection
223	223	(b).
224	224	SECTION 5. Section 43.031, Election Code, is amended by
225	225	adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
226	226	(f) If the entity that owns or controls a public building
227	227	selected for a polling place under this section is a school district
228	228	and fails to make the building available in accordance with
229	229	Subsection (c), the district may not designate the building as a
230	230	polling place for an election for the board of trustees or for a
231	231	school district bond election until after the fifth anniversary of
232	232	the date of the election in which the district failed to comply with
233	233	this section.
234	234	SECTION 6. Section 65.014(e), Election Code, is amended to
235	235	read as follows:
236	236	(e) An offense under Subsection (d) is a Class A [B]
237	237	misdemeanor.
238	238	SECTION 7. Section 65.053, Election Code, is amended to
239	239	read as follows:
240	240	Sec. 65.053. DELIVERY OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS. (a) The
241	241	presiding judge of an election precinct shall deliver in person to
242	242	the general custodian of election records the box containing each
243	243	envelope containing a provisional ballot that was cast in the
244	244	precinct. The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures by
245	245	which the early voting ballot board may have access to the
246	246	provisional ballots as necessary to implement this subchapter.
247	247	(b) The presiding judge of an election precinct shall daily
248	248	prepare a notice of the number of provisional ballots delivered to
249	249	the general custodian of election records under Subsection (a) and
250	250	deliver the notice to, as applicable:
251	251	(1) the central counting station;
252	252	(2) the counting station designated under Section
253	253	127.001(b); or
254	254	(3) the early voting ballot board.
255	255	SECTION 8. Section 66.052, Election Code, is amended to
256	256	read as follows:
257	257	Sec. 66.052. DELIVERY BY ELECTION CLERK. (a) Subject to
258	258	Subsection (b), a [A] delivery of election records or supplies that
259	259	is to be performed by the presiding judge may be performed by an
260	260	election clerk designated by the presiding judge.
261	261	(b) A presiding judge may only designate an election clerk
262	262	under Subsection (a) who has served with the presiding judge at the
263	263	same polling place for at least four hours before the designation.
264	264	SECTION 9. Section 66.055, Election Code, is amended to
265	265	read as follows:
266	266	Sec. 66.055. FAILURE TO DELIVER [JUDICIAL IMPOUNDMENT OF]
267	267	ELECTION RECORDS. (a) If the precinct election records are not
268	268	delivered by the deadline prescribed by Section 66.053(c):
269	269	(1) the secretary of state may supervise the
270	270	activities necessary to complete the count, prepare the precinct
271	271	returns, and distribute the records; or
272	272	(2)[,] on application by a member of the canvassing
273	273	authority, a district judge shall order the precinct election
274	274	records to be impounded.
275	275	(b) If the precinct election records are impounded under
276	276	Subsection (a)(2), the [The] district judge shall supervise the
277	277	activities necessary to complete the count, prepare the precinct
278	278	returns, and distribute the records.
279	279	SECTION 10. Section 67.007, Election Code, is amended by
280	280	adding Subsections (d-1) and (d-2) to read as follows:
281	281	(d-1) The secretary of state shall post the county returns
282	282	on the secretary of state's Internet website, organized by
283	283	precinct. Not later than 24 hours after the secretary of state posts
284	284	the county returns, the county clerk shall verify that the county
285	285	returns on the secretary of state's Internet website accurately
286	286	reflect the precinct returns delivered to the county clerk.
287	287	(d-2) The secretary of state shall compare the county
288	288	returns with the corresponding local election register. If a
289	289	discrepancy is discovered between the vote totals shown on the
290	290	returns and those shown on the register, the secretary of state
291	291	shall examine the returns and register and make the necessary
292	292	corrections on the returns.
293	293	SECTION 11. Section 86.011(b), Election Code, is amended to
294	294	read as follows:
295	295	(b) If the return is timely, the clerk shall enter the time
296	296	and date of receipt on the carrier envelope and enclose the carrier
297	297	envelope and the voter's early voting ballot application in a
298	298	jacket envelope. The clerk shall also include in the jacket
299	299	envelope:
300	300	(1) a copy of the voter's federal postcard application
301	301	if the ballot is voted under Chapter 101; and
302	302	(2) the signature cover sheet, if the ballot is voted
303	303	under Chapter 105.
304	304	SECTION 12. Section 127.126, Election Code, is amended by
305	305	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (g) to
306	306	read as follows:
307	307	(a) The manager of a central counting station may have
308	308	ballots duplicated for automatic counting as provided by this
309	309	section. The manager shall designate teams of two election
310	310	officers to prepare the duplicate ballots. Each officer on the team
311	311	must be aligned or affiliated with a different political party
312	312	unless there are not two or more election officers serving the
313	313	central counting station who are aligned with different parties.
314	314	(a-1) The election officers designated under Subsection (a)
315	315	shall prepare a duplicate ballot by having one officer announce the
316	316	name of the candidate and the other officer mark the ballot with the
317	317	name of that candidate. Each duplicate ballot must be
318	318	independently reviewed by a second team of two election officers,
319	319	each of whom is aligned or affiliated with a different political
320	320	party as described by Subsection (a).
321	321	(g) The manager of a central counting station shall post the
322	322	time that ballots will be duplicated to ensure that poll watchers
323	323	are able to observe the activity under this section.
324	324	SECTION 13. Section 127.351(c), Election Code, is amended
325	325	to read as follows:
326	326	(c) Except as provided by Section 127.352, a [A] county
327	327	selected to be audited may not be required to pay the cost of
328	328	performing an audit under this section.
329	329	SECTION 14. Subchapter J, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
330	330	amended by adding Section 127.352 to read as follows:
331	331	Sec. 127.352. COOPERATION BY COUNTY. (a) The secretary of
332	332	state may request that a county selected under Section 127.351
333	333	provide to the secretary of state as necessary to complete an audit
334	334	under this subchapter:
335	335	(1) records or other documents in the possession of
336	336	the county; and
337	337	(2) the assistance of county employees.
338	338	(b) A county selected under Section 127.351 shall comply
339	339	with a request made under Subsection (a) not later than the 14th day
340	340	after the request is made.
341	341	(c) The secretary of state may assess an administrative
342	342	penalty of not more than $500 per day for each day the county fails
343	343	or refuses to comply with a request under Subsection (a), beginning
344	344	the 14th day after the request is made and ending the day the county
345	345	complies with the request.
346	346	SECTION 15. (a) The change in law made by this Act in
347	347	amending Section 65.014(e), Election Code, applies only to an
348	348	offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
349	349	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
350	350	by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
351	351	former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
352	352	this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
353	353	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
354	354	(b) Section 127.351(c), Election Code, as amended by this
355	355	Act, and Section 127.352, Election Code, as added by this Act, apply
356	356	only to an audit initiated under Subchapter J, Chapter 127,
357	357	Election Code, as amended by this Act, on or after the effective
358	358	date of this Act. An audit initiated before the effective date of
359	359	this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
360	360	effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
361	361	that purpose.
362	362	SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.