Swanson’s bill posting voter lists in a searchable database

The text as introduced · 1,263 words

By: Swanson
H.B. No. 439

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to maintaining certain voter registration information and

reviewing ballots voted by mail; creating criminal offenses.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 18, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 18.0045 to read as follows:

Sec. 18.0045. RECORD OF VOTERS REMOVED FROM LIST. (a) The

registrar shall retain the voter registration application of any

person whose name is removed from a list of registered voters

prepared under this subchapter.

(b) If voter registration information was recorded on an

optional storage method under Section 13.104, the information may

be substituted for the retained registration application under

Subsection (a).

(c) All information and records held by the registrar under

this section, other than information described as confidential

under Section 13.004, are open records for the purposes of Chapter

552, Government Code.

(d) A registrar commits an offense if the registrar

knowingly fails to comply with a requirement under this section. An

offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

(e) The registrar may use funds dedicated under Chapter 19

for the purpose of defraying costs associated with complying with

this section.

(f) The Secretary of State shall make a copy of any list

prepared under this subchapter available on the Secretary's

publicly accessible Internet website in a searchable, sortable, and

downloadable database format.

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 18, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 18.0085 to read as follows:

Sec. 18.0085. DATABASE OF LISTS AVAILABLE ON COUNTY

WEBSITE. (a) The registrar shall make a copy of any list prepared

under this subchapter available on the county's publicly accessible

Internet website in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable

database format.

(b) The registrar may use funds dedicated under Chapter 19

for the purpose of defraying costs associated with developing and

maintaining the database prescribed by this section.

(c) A registrar commits an offense if the registrar

knowingly fails to comply with the requirements under Subsection

(a). An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

SECTION 3. Sections 87.027(i) and (j), Election Code, are

amended to read as follows:

(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 shall [ 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. The committee shall also compare the information

provided by the voter under Section 84.002(a)(1-a) on the voter's

ballot application with the information provided by the voter under

Section 86.002(g) and any known copies of the information on file

with the county clerk or voter registrar. Except as provided by

Subsection (l), a determination under this subsection that the

signatures or provided information are not those of the voter must

be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership. The

committee shall place the jacket envelopes, carrier envelopes, and

applications of voters whose signatures or provided information are

not those of the voter in separate containers from those of voters

whose signatures or provided information 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.

(j) If a signature verification committee is appointed, the

early voting ballot board shall follow the same procedure for

accepting the early voting ballots voted by mail as in an election

without a signature verification committee, except that the board

may not determine whether a voter's signatures on the carrier

envelope certificate and ballot application are those of the same

person if the committee has determined that the signatures are

those of the same person. If the committee has determined that the

signatures or provided information are not those of the same

person, the board may make a determination that the signatures or

provided information are those of the same person by a majority vote

of the board's membership.

SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 87.0272 to read as follows:

Sec. 87.0272. INAPPROPRIATE ACTION BY SIGNATURE

VERIFICATION COMMITTEE. (a) A chair of a signature verification

committee or a chair's designee commits an offense if the chair or

chair's designee knowingly fails to perform a requirement under

Section 87.027(i).

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

SECTION 5. Section 87.041(b), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b) A ballot may be accepted only if:

(1) the carrier envelope certificate is properly

executed;

(2) neither the voter's signature on the ballot

application nor the signature on the carrier envelope certificate

is determined to have been executed by a person other than the

voter, unless signed by a witness;

(3) the voter's ballot application states a legal

ground for early voting by mail;

(4) the voter is registered to vote, if registration

is required by law;

(5) the address to which the ballot was mailed to the

voter, as indicated by the application, was outside the voter's

county of residence, if the ground for early voting is absence from

the county of residence;

(6) for a voter to whom a statement of residence form

was required to be sent under Section 86.002(a), the statement of

residence is returned in the carrier envelope and indicates that

the voter satisfies the residence requirements prescribed by

Section 63.0011;

(7) the address to which the ballot was mailed to the

voter is an address that is otherwise required by Sections 84.002

and 86.003; [ and ]

(8) the information required under Section 86.002(g)

provided by the voter identifies the same voter identified on the

voter's application for voter registration under Section

13.002(c)(8) ; and

(9) the information provided by the voter under

Section 84.002(a)(1-a) on the voter's ballot application is

determined to be the same as the voter's information provided by the

voter under Section 86.002(g) and any known copies of the

information on file with the county clerk or voter registrar .

SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 87, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 87.0412 to read as follows:

Sec. 87.0412. INAPPROPRIATE ACTION BY BOARD. (a) The

presiding judge of the early voting ballot board or a judge's

designee commits an offense if the presiding judge or designee

knowingly fails to perform a requirement under Section 87.041(b).

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

SECTION 7. Section 87.126, Election Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:

(a-2) An early voting clerk who maintains only electronic

records of applications for a ballot to be voted by mail, jacket

envelopes, carrier envelopes, or ballots commits an offense if the

clerk knowingly fails to record the front and back of each

application, envelope, or ballot recorded, and provide the records

to the early voting ballot board, the signature verification

committee, or both. An offense under this subsection is a Class A

misdemeanor.

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. An

election ordered before the effective date of this Act is governed

by the law in effect when the election was ordered, and the former

law is continued in effect for that purpose.

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