bill reshapes early voting ballot boards

The text as introduced · 1,655 words

89R13836 MPF-F

By: Paul
H.B. No. 4291

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of an early voting ballot board and

signature verification committee.

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

SECTION 1. Section 87.002, Election Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (e), (f),

and (g) to read as follows:

(a) The early voting ballot board is composed of an odd

number of members, consisting [ consists ] of a presiding judge, an

alternate presiding judge, and at least one other member.

(c) In the general election for state and county officers,

each county chair of a political party with nominees on the general

election ballot shall submit to the county election board a list of

names of persons eligible to serve on the early voting ballot board

in order of the county chair's preference. The county election

board shall appoint at least one person from each list to serve as a

member of the early voting ballot board. [ The same number of

members must be appointed from each list. ] The county election

board shall appoint persons as members of the early voting ballot

board in the order of preference indicated on each list.

(e) In appointing the presiding judge, alternate presiding

judge, and other members to the early voting ballot board under this

section and except as provided by Subsection (f), the appointing

authority shall ensure that the board is composed of the same number

of members from the political party whose nominee for governor

received the most votes in the county in the most recent

gubernatorial general election and the political party whose

nominee for governor received the second most votes in the county in

the most recent gubernatorial general election.

(f) In appointing the other members to the early voting

ballot board under this section, the appointing authority shall

appoint one additional member from the political party to which the

presiding judge is affiliated.

(g) A vacancy on the early voting ballot board, including a

vacancy of the presiding judge or alternate presiding judge, shall

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

submitted by the appropriate county chair.

SECTION 2. Section 87.006, Election Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as

follows:

(a) A member of the early voting ballot board shall repeat

the following oath aloud:

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

every eligible voter's vote is accepted and counted, and that only

the ballots of those voters who violated the Texas Election Code

will be rejected. I will make every effort to correctly reflect the

voter's intent when it can be clearly determined. I will identify

the legal grounds for which the voter voted by mail. 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 duty as an officer of the election and guard

the purity of the election."

(a-1) In addition to the required oath under Subsection (a),

a member of the early voting ballot board in an election in which

party alignment is indicated on the ballot must repeat the

following statement aloud:

"I will work only in the presence of a member of a political

party different from my own."

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 87, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 87.007 to read as follows:

Sec. 87.007. BOARD VOTING PROCEDURES. (a) The presiding

judge, or the alternate presiding judge when acting under

Subsection (b), serves as a nonvoting member of the early voting

ballot board, except that the presiding judge and alternate

presiding judge, as applicable, shall vote to break any tie vote of

the board.

(b) The alternate presiding judge of the early voting ballot

board shall act as the presiding judge if the presiding judge is

absent or unable to act.

(c) In the event that an absence or vacancy in the early

voting ballot board causes a meeting of the board to be attended by

an unequal number of voting members from each political party, the

party with a larger number of members present shall determine,

before the meeting begins, which member will abstain from any board

vote to ensure that an equal number of votes are cast from a member

of each political party.

(d) A vote of the board under this chapter must be made by a

majority vote of the board members present and voting at the meeting

of the board.

SECTION 4. Sections 87.0222(a) and (a-1), Election Code,

are amended to read as follows:

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

the 20th day before election day but 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 5. Section 87.0241(a), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) The early voting ballot board may [ shall ] make its

determination whether to accept early voting ballots voted by mail

in accordance with Section 87.041 on any date after the ballots are

delivered to the board , except that the board may not meet for the

first time on a date later than the 11th day before election day .

SECTION 6. Section 87.027, Election Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (d) and (i) and adding Subsections (e-1) and

(h-1) to read as follows:

(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 committee shall consist of one

more member from the chair's political party than the vice chair's

political party. [ 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. A

vacancy on the committee , including a vacancy in the chair or vice

chair, 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.

(h-1) If a signature verification committee is appointed

for the election, the committee shall meet for the first time to

compare the signatures under Subsection (i) on the date the first

jacket envelopes are delivered.

(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 members present and

voting, with the chair only voting to resolve a tie [ committee's

membership ]. 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, 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.

SECTION 7. Section 87.062, Election Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) The board shall meet on election day to count the

ballots and prepare the returns for any ballots to be counted by the

board and are received by the board before the time the polls are

required to be closed on election day.

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.