Paul Signature Committee Bill Also Rewrites The Mail-Ballot Cure Process

The text as introduced · 1,830 words

89R13834 LRM-F

By: Paul
H.B. No. 3774

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of a signature verification committee.

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

SECTION 1. Section 86.011(d), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, if

the clerk receives a timely carrier envelope that does not fully

comply with the applicable requirements prescribed by this title,

[ the clerk may deliver the carrier envelope in person or by mail to

the voter and may receive, before the deadline, the corrected

carrier envelope from the voter, or ] the clerk may notify the voter

of the defect by telephone or e-mail and advise the voter that the

voter may come to the clerk's office in person to correct the

defect , [ or ] cancel the voter's application to vote by mail and vote

on election day , or cure the defect as instructed on a corrective

action form and return the form by mail . If the procedures

authorized by this subsection are used, they must be applied

uniformly to all carrier envelopes covered by this subsection. A

poll watcher is entitled to observe the procedures under this

subsection. The secretary of state may prescribe any other

procedures necessary to implement this subsection including

requirements for posting notice of any deliveries.

SECTION 2. Section 87.0271(a), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) This section applies to an early voting ballot voted by

mail:

(1) for which the voter did not sign the carrier

envelope certificate;

(2) for which it cannot immediately be determined

whether the signature on the carrier envelope certificate or

signature sheet, as applicable, is that of the voter;

(3) [ missing any required statement of residence;

[ (4) ] missing information or a required signature

sheet [ containing incorrect information required under Section

84.002(a)(1-a) or Section 86.002 ]; or

(4) [ (5) ] containing incomplete information with

respect to a witness.

SECTION 3. Sections 87.0222(a) and (a-1), Election Code,

are amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), not later than

the 11th [ ninth ] day before election day, the jacket envelopes

containing early voting ballots voted by mail shall be delivered to

the board.

(a-1) Any jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by

mail returned after delivery of the ballots under Subsection (a)

may be delivered to the presiding judge of the early voting ballot

board between the end of the 11th [ ninth ] day before election day

and the closing of the polls on election day, or as soon after

closing as practicable, at the time or times specified by the

presiding judge.

SECTION 4. Section 87.027, Election Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a-1), (c), (d), (f), and (i) and adding

Subsections (e-1), (f-1), and (i-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) A signature verification committee shall be appointed

in the general election for state and county officers on submission

to the early voting clerk of a written request for the committee by

at least 15 registered voters of the county. The secretary of state

shall prescribe the form for a request submitted under this

subsection. The request must be submitted not later than the

preceding October 1, and a request submitted by mail is considered

to be submitted at the time of its receipt by the clerk.

(c) Not later than the fifth day after the date the early

voting clerk issues the order calling for the appointment of a

signature verification committee, or not later than October 15 for

a committee required under Subsection (a-1), the appropriate

authority shall appoint the members of the committee and designate

one of the appointees as chair, subject to Subsection (d). The

authority shall fill a vacancy on the committee by appointment as

soon as possible after the vacancy occurs, subject to Subsection

(d). The early voting clerk shall post notice of the name [ and

residence address ] of each appointee. The notice must remain

posted continuously for the period beginning the day after the date

of the appointment and ending on the last day of the committee's

operation in the election.

(d) The early voting clerk shall determine an odd [ the ]

number of members who are to compose the signature verification

committee and shall state that number in the order calling for the

committee's appointment. A committee must consist of not fewer

than five members. In an election in which party alignment is

indicated on the ballot, each county chair of a political party with

a nominee or aligned candidate on the ballot shall submit to the

appointing authority a list of names of persons eligible to serve on

the signature verification committee in order of the county chair's

preference. The authority shall appoint at least two persons from

each list in the order of preference indicated on each list to serve

as members of the committee. The same number of members must be

appointed from each list. The authority shall appoint as chair of

the committee the highest-ranked person on the list provided by the

political party whose nominee for governor received the most votes

in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election.

The authority shall appoint as vice chair of the committee the

highest-ranked person on the list provided by the political party

whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in the

county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. The vice

chair shall be counted as a member unless the chair is not present.

If the chair is not present, the vice chair acts as the chair until

the chair returns or a replacement is provided by the chair's

political party. A vacancy of any position on the committee shall

be filled by appointment from the original list or from a new list

submitted by the appropriate county chair.

(e-1) A person may not serve on a signature verification

committee and an early voting ballot board in the same election.

(f) The early voting clerk shall determine the place, day or

days, and hours of operation of the signature verification

committee and shall state that information in the order calling for

the committee's appointment. A committee may not begin operating

before the 20th day before election day and must convene not later

than the 12th day before election day .

(f-1) After the day the signature verification committee

begins operating, the early voting clerk may no longer send a voter

a notice of a defect and corrective action form under Section

86.011(d). The early voting clerk may, with instruction from the

committee chair, send a voter a notice of defect and corrective

action form under Section 87.0271 on behalf of the committee.

(i) The signature verification committee shall compare the

signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed

for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot

application to determine whether the signatures are those of the

voter. The committee may also compare the signatures with any known

signature of the voter on file with the county clerk or voter

registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of the

voter. Except as provided by Subsection (l), a determination under

this subsection that the signatures are not those of the voter must

be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership , with the

chair only voting to resolve a tie . Both political parties must be

equally represented during the majority vote. If an unequal number

of members are present, it must be decided at the beginning of the

meeting which member shall abstain from participating so that an

equal number of members from both parties are voting. The committee

shall place the jacket envelopes, unopened carrier envelopes, and

applications of voters whose signatures are not those of the voter

in separate containers from those of voters whose signatures are

those of the voter. The committee chair shall deliver the sorted

materials to the early voting ballot board at the time specified by

the board's presiding judge.

(i-1) The signature verification committee may only open a

carrier envelope if the carrier envelope is attached to a federal

postcard application for the purpose of reviewing a signature

sheet.

SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 87.0273 to read as follows:

Sec. 87.0273. SIGNATURE VERIFICATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS;

OATH AND IDENTIFICATION. (a) A member of the signature

verification committee shall repeat the following oath aloud:

"I swear (or affirm) that I will objectively work to be sure

to accept and count every eligible voter who provides the required

identification number and whose signature accompanying the ballot

appears to be that of the voter or the voter's witness. I

understand it is my duty to verify the voter's signature on the

ballot carrier envelope even when rebuttably presumed to be the

voter due to matching personal identification information. I will

not work alone when ballots are present and will work only in the

presence of a member of a political party different from my own. I

will faithfully perform my duties as an officer of the election and

guard the purity of the election."

(b) A member of the signature verification committee who

arrives after the oath is made shall repeat the oath aloud before

performing any duties as a member.

(c) Following administration of the oath, each member of the

signature verification committee shall be issued a form of

identification, prescribed by the secretary of state, to be

displayed by the member during the member's hours of service on the

board.

SECTION 6. Section 87.128(c), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(c) Each member who takes notes under this section shall

sign and date the notes and deliver them to the presiding judge or

committee chair, as applicable, for delivery to the custodian of

election records. A member may request and receive a copy of their

notes at the time of delivery.

SECTION 7. Section 101.105, Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 101.105. BALLOTING MATERIALS TO BE SENT BY

E-MAIL. Balloting materials to be sent by e-mail under this

subchapter include:

(1) the appropriate ballot;

(2) ballot instructions, including instructions that

inform a voter that the ballot must be returned by mail to be

counted;

(3) instructions prescribed by the secretary of state

on:

(A) how to print a return envelope from the

federal Voting Assistance Program website; and

(B) how to create a carrier envelope if not using

an official [ or ] signature sheet for the ballot; [ and ]

(4) a list of certified write-in candidates, if

applicable ; and

(5) an official signature sheet .

SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.