87S10273 SMT-F
	By: Vasut	H.B. No. 177

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	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 [The] early
	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)  [neither] the voter's signature on the ballot
	application and [nor] the signature on the carrier envelope
	certificate are [is] determined to have been executed by the voter
	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[, 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; 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 [two or more]
	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 [voting] or causes a ballot to be
	accepted for counting [voting] that the person knows does not meet
	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 [The]
	early voting ballot board shall open each carrier envelope
	containing the [an] accepted ballot without defacing the
	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
	[duplicated as electronic system ballots for] automatic counting
	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 [Subchapters] D [and
	E].
	(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.