Bill Text: TX HB177 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the acceptance and counting of early voting ballots voted by mail.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-07-08 - Filed [HB177 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB177-Introduced.html
| 87S10273 SMT-F | ||
| By: Vasut | H.B. No. 177 | |
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| relating to the acceptance and counting of early voting ballots | ||
| voted by mail. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Sections 87.041(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g), | ||
| Election Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
| (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the [ |
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| voting ballot board shall inspect and open each jacket envelope and | ||
| carrier envelope for an early voting ballot voted by mail and | ||
| determine whether to accept the voter's ballot for counting. | ||
| (b) A ballot may be accepted for counting only if: | ||
| (1) the carrier envelope certificate is properly | ||
| executed; | ||
| (2) [ |
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| application and [ |
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| certificate are [ |
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| and not 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 ground for early voting is absence from the | ||
| county of residence and the address to which the ballot was mailed | ||
| to the voter, as indicated by the application, was outside the | ||
| voter's county of residence[ |
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| (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; and | ||
| (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. | ||
| (c) If a ballot is accepted for counting, the board shall | ||
| enter the voter's name on the poll list unless the form of the list | ||
| makes it impracticable to do so. The names of the voters casting | ||
| ballots by mail shall be listed separately on the poll list from | ||
| those casting ballots by personal appearance. | ||
| (d) A ballot shall be rejected if any requirement prescribed | ||
| by Subsection (b) is not satisfied. In that case, the board: | ||
| (1) may not open the carrier envelope; and | ||
| (2) shall indicate the rejection by entering | ||
| "rejected" on the carrier envelope and on the corresponding jacket | ||
| envelope. | ||
| (e) In making the determination under Subsection (b)(2), | ||
| the board may also compare the signatures with any [ |
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| signatures of the voter made within the preceding six years and on | ||
| file with the county clerk or voter registrar to determine whether | ||
| the signatures are those of the voter. | ||
| (g) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally | ||
| accepts a ballot for counting [ |
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| accepted for counting [ |
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| the requirements of Subsection (b). An offense under this | ||
| subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 87.042, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (a) Once a ballot has been accepted for counting, the [ |
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| early voting ballot board shall open each carrier envelope | ||
| containing the [ |
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| certificate on the carrier envelope and remove the ballot envelope | ||
| from the carrier envelope. If the ballot is to be counted at a | ||
| central counting station, the early voting ballot board and the | ||
| signature verification committee may not open the official ballot | ||
| envelope of an accepted ballot. | ||
| (c) The official ballot envelope must be placed in a | ||
| separate container if: | ||
| (1) the ballots are to be counted at a central counting | ||
| station; or | ||
| (2) the procedure for counting the early voting votes | ||
| cast by personal appearance is different from that for counting the | ||
| votes cast by mail. | ||
| (d) An accepted ballot that was not returned in the official | ||
| ballot envelope shall be treated as an accepted ballot that was | ||
| returned in the official ballot envelope. | ||
| (e) A poll watcher is entitled to observe the acceptance of | ||
| early voting ballots voted by mail, including the work of the early | ||
| voting ballot board and any signature verification committee. The | ||
| poll watcher must be able to determine how the ballots are opened | ||
| and distributed and how the early voting ballot board and any | ||
| signature verification committee are making decisions about the | ||
| acceptance of ballots, if applicable. The poll watchers must | ||
| comply with all provisions of this code when carrying out their | ||
| duties. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 87.044, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: | ||
| (c) The provisions of Subsections (a) and (b) may be waived | ||
| if the application, the federal postcard application, if | ||
| applicable, and the cover sheet are maintained and retrievable in | ||
| an electronic format for at least 22 months from the date of the | ||
| last election to which those documents were applicable. | ||
| SECTION 4. The heading to Section 87.102, Election Code, is | ||
| amended to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 87.102. SCANNING AND DUPLICATING PAPER BALLOTS FOR | ||
| AUTOMATIC COUNTING. | ||
| SECTION 5. Section 87.102, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (a) The authority adopting an electronic voting system in | ||
| which ballots are counted at a central counting station may direct | ||
| by resolution, order, or other official action that the early | ||
| voting regular paper ballots cast in an election be scanned and put | ||
| into a format that allows the ballots to be counted by the | ||
| [ |
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| equipment at the central counting station. The presiding judge and | ||
| alternate presiding judge must be present and shall observe the | ||
| process of scanning. | ||
| (c) A ballot that is damaged or unreadable by the scanning | ||
| equipment used under this section may be duplicated as described by | ||
| this subsection. In the general election for state and county | ||
| officers, teams of two people, one designated by the chair of the | ||
| party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of | ||
| votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general | ||
| election, and one designated by the chair of the party whose | ||
| candidate received the second highest number of votes in that | ||
| election, shall copy the ballot onto a new ballot from the same | ||
| precinct and ballot style and shall write on the new ballot the | ||
| serial numbers of both the original and duplicate ballots in an ink | ||
| that cannot be read by the scanning equipment. The presiding and | ||
| alternate judges of the central counting station may inspect both | ||
| the original and the duplicate ballot to verify the accuracy of the | ||
| duplication. Each member of the duplication team shall sign their | ||
| names and print their names in a legible manner in a log of | ||
| duplications. | ||
| SECTION 6. Section 87.103, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read | ||
| as follows: | ||
| (b) The early voting returns prepared at the central | ||
| counting station must include any early voting results obtained by | ||
| the early voting ballot board under Subchapter [ |
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| (c) If the automatic counting equipment discovers an | ||
| overvote in a scanned ballot, the presiding and alternate judges of | ||
| the central counting station, with the assistance of their clerks, | ||
| shall examine the ballot and jointly determine the intention of the | ||
| voter. If they are unable to make a determination of the voter's | ||
| intention, the vote in the race in which the overvote appears may | ||
| not be counted and the votes in the other races on the ballot shall | ||
| be counted. | ||
| (d) A poll watcher is entitled to observe the work of the | ||
| central counting station, including the counting of ballots. The | ||
| poll watcher must be able to determine how the ballots are counted | ||
| and how the presiding and alternate judges of the central counting | ||
| station are making decisions about the acceptance of ballots, if | ||
| applicable. The poll watchers must comply with all provisions of | ||
| this code when carrying out their duties. | ||
| SECTION 7. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the | ||
| last day of the legislative session. | ||
