Monitoring the Session

HB 3709

bill rewriting the hand count for electronic voting

Died in committee

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Mano DeAyalaRHouse 133

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the partial count of electronic voting system ballots.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

1 percent of countywide polling places or three, whichever is greater.

The bill rewrites the rule for the hand count that checks electronic voting machine results, so counties using countywide polling places must hand count all races at 1 percent of those polling places or three of them, whichever is greater, covering both election day and early in-person voting. It touches county election officials and the Secretary of State, who still picks the polling places and up to three offices and three propositions for big statewide and primary elections. On the ground, sites must be picked at random, the count must start within 72 hours after polls close and finish within 21 days, and the notice of the count moves from the custodian's office to the county website home page.

Labels

Labels: GOT HALFWAY. Passed the House on May 10, 2025. Died in the Senate: left pending in the State Affairs committee.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB3709 · 2025-03-04

SOLD BY

Rep. Mano DeAyalaRHouse 133

ITEM

relating to the partial count of electronic voting system ballots.

WHAT IT DOES

1 percent of countywide polling places or three, whichever is greater.

The bill rewrites the rule for the hand count that checks electronic voting machine results, so counties using countywide polling places must hand count all races at 1 percent of those polling places or three of them, whichever is greater, covering both election day and early in-person voting. It touches county election officials and the Secretary of State, who still picks the polling places and up to three offices and three propositions for big statewide and primary elections. On the ground, sites must be picked at random, the count must start within 72 hours after polls close and finish within 21 days, and the notice of the count moves from the custodian's office to the county website home page.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 21, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to Elections
  4. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  5. Considered in public hearing
  6. Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
  7. Left pending in committee
  8. Considered in formal meeting
  9. Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
  10. Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
  11. Committee report distributed
  12. Committee report sent to Calendars
  13. Considered in Calendars
  14. Placed on General State Calendar
  15. Read 2nd time
  16. Passed to engrossment
  17. Record vote RV#1961
  18. Read 3rd time
  19. Passed
  20. Record vote RV#2042
  21. Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
  22. Reported engrossed
  23. Received from the House
  24. Read first time
  25. Referred to State Affairs
  26. Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
  27. Considered in public hearing
  28. Testimony taken in committee
  29. Left pending in committee
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

SIGNED FOR BY

House · 125 yea · 6 nay

Sources

House: Final passage · May 10, 2025. Journal. Published stock for this vote. Snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

All floor motions and other positions below.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Mano DeAyala

Donors

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$866KTexas Conservative Majority PAC$306KAssociated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund$271K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Jul 17, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC$865,510.35

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$865,510.35

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$815,510.35
Total
$865,510.35
advertising $805,200.00polling $10,310.35

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 23, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101009776, 101017937, 101062872, 101069959, 101072290.

Texas Conservative Majority PAC$305,800.00

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$305,800.00

Cash
$75,000.00
Paid by others
$230,800.00
Total
$305,800.00
canvassing $175,000.00advertising $50,000.00polling $5,800.00

Also funds 42 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jan 23, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 8, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101069959, 101072290.

Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund$271,400.04

Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund

$271,400.04

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$271,400.04
Total
$271,400.04
advertising $136,000.00mailers $70,417.04television $30,000.00polling $16,400.00Other filed descriptions $10,583.00digital $8,000.00

Also funds 20 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 4, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 25, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101009776, 101069959, 101072290.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC

$865,510.35

Cash
$50,000.00
Paid by others
$815,510.35
Total
$865,510.35
advertising $805,200.00polling $10,310.35

Also funds 124 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 10, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 23, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101009776, 101017937, 101062872, 101069959, 101072290.

×

Texas Conservative Majority PAC

$305,800.00

Cash
$75,000.00
Paid by others
$230,800.00
Total
$305,800.00
canvassing $175,000.00advertising $50,000.00polling $5,800.00

Also funds 42 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jan 23, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 8, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101069959, 101072290.

×

Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund

$271,400.04

Cash
$0.00
Paid by others
$271,400.04
Total
$271,400.04
advertising $136,000.00mailers $70,417.04television $30,000.00polling $16,400.00Other filed descriptions $10,583.00digital $8,000.00

Also funds 20 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 4, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jun 25, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101009776, 101069959, 101072290.

Votes2

House May 10, 2025

Yea
125
Nay
6
Present, not voting
2
Absent
2
Excused
15
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 2042

HB 3709 was passed by (Record 2042): 125 Yeas, 6 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 125 (published)
  • Nay: 6 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 2 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 15 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

House May 9, 2025

Yea
137
Nay
0
Present, not voting
2
Absent
5
Excused
6
Names

Named positions matched to lawmakers. See the journal for unmatched names.

House journal

Sources

Record 1961

HB 3709 was passed to engrossment by (Record 1961): 137 Yeas, 0 Nays, 2 Present, not voting.

Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.

  • Yea: 137 (published)
  • Nay: 0 (published)
  • Present, not voting: 2 (published)
  • Absent: 5 (derived from named list)
  • Excused: 6 (derived from named list)

House journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

Witnesses17
For
10
Against
5
On
2
Names

For

  • Hart InterCivic1 registration
  • Self5 registrations
  • Self; County & District Clerks Assoc1 registration
  • Self; Election Integrity Committee and Secure Texas Elections Subcommitte of the State Republican Executive Committee, Self1 registration
  • Self; Harris county ballot security1 registration
  • Self; SREC Committeeman SD31 registration

Against

  • Self2 registrations
  • Self; Citizens Defending Freedom1 registration
  • Texas Civil Rights Project1 registration
  • True Texas Elections1 registration

On

  • Self1 registration
  • Texas Secretary of State1 registration
Sources

17 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.

Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.

House witness list. Source snapshot 2026-10-20, Central time.

Fiscal

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

LBB estimate · fiscal note version E · source

Sources

Fiscal note · version E · May 21, 2025

No first-year general revenue figure available here.

LBB published estimates · flow over the stated periods.

Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Mar 4, 2025

05/22/2025 S Left pending in committee

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced · House Committee Report · Engrossed

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Sponsors
Paul BettencourtRSenate 7

House committee · Elections · Committee vote 7 aye, 1 nay, 1 absent · Out of committee

Senate committee · State Affairs · Final status: Died in committee

Companion

SB 2816 by Bettencourt (identical)

Subjects

Elections--Election Officers

Elections--General

Elections--Voting Systems

Electronic Information Systems

SECRETARY OF STATE

Text

The text as introduced · 393 words

89R10871 JDK-F

By: DeAyala
H.B. No. 3709

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the partial count of electronic voting system ballots.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 127.201, Election Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1)

to read as follows:

(a) To ensure the accuracy of the tabulation of electronic

voting system results, the general custodian of election records

shall conduct a manual count of all the races in :

(1) at least one percent of the election precincts or

in three precincts, whichever is greater, in which the electronic

voting system was used ; or

(2) at least one percent of polling places

participating in the countywide polling place program under Section

43.007 or in three countywide polling places, whichever is greater,

in which the electronic voting system was used on election day and

during early voting by personal appearance .

(a-1) The custodian shall select the precincts or

countywide polling places for a manual count under Subsection (a)

at random and shall begin the count not later than 72 hours after

the polls close. The count shall be completed not later than the

21st day after election day. Subsection (b) supersedes this

subsection to the extent of a conflict.

(b) In a general election for state and county officers,

primary election, or election on a proposed amendment to the state

constitution or other statewide measure submitted by the

legislature, the secretary of state shall select, in accordance

with rules adopted by the secretary, the precincts or countywide

polling places to be counted under Subsection (a). The secretary

shall designate not more than three offices and not more than three

propositions to be counted in the selected precincts or countywide

polling places . The secretary shall notify the general custodian

of election records of the precincts or countywide polling places ,

offices, and propositions selected under this subsection not

earlier than the day after election day.

(c) On selection or notification, as applicable, of the

precincts or countywide polling places to be counted, the general

custodian of election records shall post on the county's Internet

website home page [ in the custodian's office ] a notice of the date,

hour, and place of the count.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.