SB 1186

no more county-invented voting procedures without state sign-off

Died in committee

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review

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 oversight of certain election procedures by the secretary of state.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

The secretary of state must okay anything the Election Code doesn’t describe.

The bill bars county election officials from using any election procedure that the Election Code does not describe or allow unless the secretary of state approves it first. It touches county election officials and the secretary of state's office. On the ground, counties lose the ability to invent new voting procedures on their own and must get state sign-off before trying anything not in the code.

Labels

Labels: QUICK READ: 110 WORDS. The bill as filed runs 110 words, counting the existing law it amends and the text it strikes. The median 89R bill as filed runs 441 words (derived, 8,702 graded bills, snapshot Oct 19, 2026).NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Feb 7, 2025 and referred to the Senate State Affairs committee. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB1186 · 2025-02-07

SOLD BY

Sen. Bryan HughesRSenate 1

ITEM

relating to oversight of certain election procedures by the secretary of state.

WHAT IT DOES

The secretary of state must okay anything the Election Code doesn’t describe.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

Feb 7, 2025Received by the Secretary of the Senate
Feb 7, 2025Filed
Feb 28, 2025Read first time
Feb 28, 2025Referred to State Affairs

FILED UNDER

ELECTION INTEGRITY THEATER

THE TEXT

“A county election official may not implement an election procedure that is not described or allowed by this code unless the county election official first obtains approval from the secretary of state”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The bill puts a state approval gate on county election procedures not found in the code, which changes how counties can run elections.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Bryan Hughes

Donors

GOPAC Election Fund$250K CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)$100KCourt Reform Action for Families Texas PAC$100K

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 1, 2024 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.

GOPAC Election Fund$250,000.00

GOPAC Election Fund

$250,000.00

Cash: $250,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $250,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 15, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 15, 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: 101028838, 101071548.

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)$100,000.00

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Sep 4, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Sep 4, 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: 101067724.

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC$100,000.00

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 32 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Feb 20, 2026 to Oct 14, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 13, 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: 101071548.

Money

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

GOPAC Election Fund

$250,000.00

Cash: $250,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $250,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 15, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Jul 17, 2025 to Oct 15, 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: 101028838, 101071548.

CRAFTPAC (Court Reform Action for Texas Families)

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Sep 4, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Sep 4, 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: 101067724.

Court Reform Action for Families Texas PAC

$100,000.00

Cash: $100,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $100,000.00

Also funds 32 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Feb 20, 2026 to Oct 14, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Oct 13, 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: 101071548.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Fiscal

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

How this was graded

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

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Feb 7, 2025

02/28/2025 S Referred to State Affairs

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced

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

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

Subjects

County Government--General

Elections--Administration

Elections--General

SECRETARY OF STATE

Text

The text as introduced · 110 words

89R6241 MLH-D

By: Hughes
S.B. No. 1186

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to oversight of certain election procedures by the

secretary of state.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 31.0205 to read as follows:

Sec. 31.0205. COUNTY OVERSIGHT BY SECRETARY OF CERTAIN

ELECTION PROCEDURES. A county election official may not implement

an election procedure that is not described or allowed by this code

unless the county election official first obtains approval from the

secretary of state to implement the procedure.

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