Bill Text: TX HB244 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to processes to address election irregularities; providing a civil penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-09-01 - Filed [HB244 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB244-Introduced.html
| 87S21487 MLH-D | ||
| By: Toth | H.B. No. 244 | |
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| relating to processes to address election irregularities; | ||
| providing a civil penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Chapters 280 and 281 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 280. REQUEST TO ADDRESS ELECTION IRREGULARITY | ||
| Sec. 280.001. REQUEST FOR EXPLANATION. (a) A person | ||
| described by Subsection (f) may issue a written request to the | ||
| county clerk for an explanation and supporting documentation for: | ||
| (1) an action taken by an election officer that | ||
| appears to violate this code; | ||
| (2) irregularities in precinct results; or | ||
| (3) inadequacy or irregularity of documentation | ||
| required to be maintained under this code. | ||
| (b) Not later than the 20th day after the date a request is | ||
| received under Subsection (a), a county clerk shall provide the | ||
| requested explanation and any supporting documentation. | ||
| (c) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation | ||
| and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (b) may | ||
| issue a request for further explanation and supporting | ||
| documentation to the county clerk. | ||
| (d) Not later than the 10th day after the date a request is | ||
| received under Subsection (c), the county clerk shall provide the | ||
| requested explanation and any supporting documentation. | ||
| (e) A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation | ||
| and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (d) may | ||
| issue a request to the secretary of state for an audit of the issue | ||
| described by Subsection (a), as provided by Section 280.002. | ||
| (f) A person may make a request under this section if the | ||
| person participated in the relevant election as: | ||
| (1) a candidate; | ||
| (2) a county chair of a political party; | ||
| (3) a presiding judge; | ||
| (4) an alternate presiding judge; or | ||
| (5) the head of a specific-purpose political committee | ||
| that supports or opposes a ballot measure. | ||
| Sec. 280.002. AUDIT BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) A person to | ||
| whom Section 280.001(e) applies may submit a request for an audit to | ||
| the secretary of state for investigation. A request for an audit | ||
| must include copies of: | ||
| (1) the requests made by the person to the person's | ||
| county clerk under Sections 280.001(a) and (c); | ||
| (2) the explanations provided by the county clerk to | ||
| the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d); and | ||
| (3) any supporting documentation provided by the | ||
| county clerk to the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d). | ||
| (b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the secretary | ||
| of state receives a request for an audit under this section, the | ||
| secretary must determine whether the information submitted under | ||
| Subsection (a) sufficiently explains the irregularity identified | ||
| under Section 280.001(a). If the information is insufficient, the | ||
| secretary shall immediately begin an audit of the identified | ||
| irregularity at the expense of the county. | ||
| (c) The county clerk shall cooperate with the office of the | ||
| secretary of state and may not interfere with or obstruct the audit. | ||
| (d) On conclusion of the audit, the secretary of state shall | ||
| provide notice of the findings of the audit to the person who | ||
| submitted the request for the audit and the county clerk. | ||
| Sec. 280.003. FINDING OF VIOLATION. (a) In addition to the | ||
| notice required under Section 280.002(d), the secretary of state | ||
| shall provide special notice to a county clerk detailing any | ||
| violation of this code found during the conduct of an audit under | ||
| Section 280.002. | ||
| (b) If the county clerk does not remedy a violation detailed | ||
| in a notice under Subsection (a) by the 30th day after the date the | ||
| clerk receives the notice, the secretary of state shall assess a | ||
| civil penalty of $500 for each violation not remedied and, if | ||
| possible, remedy the violation on behalf of the county clerk. The | ||
| remedy provided under this subsection is in addition to any other | ||
| remedy available under law for a violation of this code. | ||
| (c) If the secretary of state is not able to remedy the | ||
| violation on behalf of the county clerk, the secretary shall assess | ||
| an additional penalty under Subsection (b) for each day the county | ||
| clerk does not remedy the violation until the violation is | ||
| remedied. | ||
| (d) The secretary of state shall maintain a record of county | ||
| clerks who have been assessed a civil penalty under Subsection (b). | ||
| The secretary of state shall publish the record on the secretary of | ||
| state's Internet website. | ||
| (e) The attorney general may bring an action under this | ||
| section to recover a civil penalty that has not been paid. | ||
| (f) A civil penalty collected under this section shall be | ||
| deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue | ||
| fund. | ||
| CHAPTER 281. REVIEW OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS | ||
| Sec. 281.001. REVIEW OF RESULTS OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION | ||
| FOR STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS. (a) In this section, "committee" | ||
| means an election review advisory committee. | ||
| (b) A state or county chair of a political party that made | ||
| nominations by primary election for the last general election for | ||
| state and county officers may request a review of the results of the | ||
| 2020 general election for state and county officers by submitting a | ||
| written request to a county clerk. A county chair may only request a | ||
| review from the county clerk of the county served by the party | ||
| chair. | ||
| (c) A county clerk that receives a request under this | ||
| section shall appoint an election review advisory committee to | ||
| conduct a review under this chapter. The county clerk shall | ||
| supervise the committee. | ||
| (d) The county clerk shall appoint members of the committee | ||
| from lists of names of persons eligible for appointment submitted | ||
| to the county clerk by the party chair of each political party that | ||
| made nominations by primary election for the last general election | ||
| for state and county officers. The county clerk shall appoint an | ||
| equal number of members from each list. | ||
| (e) The committee members must be: | ||
| (1) qualified voters of the county; and | ||
| (2) selected with the intent that the committee | ||
| contain expertise in: | ||
| (A) advanced mathematics; | ||
| (B) voting systems; | ||
| (C) statistics; | ||
| (D) computer software operations; and | ||
| (E) methods of random selection. | ||
| (f) A review under this section shall include: | ||
| (1) all ballots voted by mail and on election day from | ||
| a number of randomly selected precincts in the county that | ||
| includes: | ||
| (A) not fewer than three precincts; and | ||
| (B) not more than two percent of the total number | ||
| of precincts in the county; and | ||
| (2) the greater of 1,000 voted ballots or one percent | ||
| of all ballots voted at an early voting location from a number of | ||
| locations equal to: | ||
| (A) three randomly selected early voting | ||
| locations; or | ||
| (B) if the county has fewer than three early | ||
| voting locations, all early voting locations in the county. | ||
| (g) A review under this section shall be limited to not more | ||
| than five contested races or ballot measures. If there are more than | ||
| five contested races or ballot measures identified in the request | ||
| under Subsection (b), the county clerk shall randomly select five | ||
| races or measures for review. At least one of the contested races | ||
| must be a race for: | ||
| (1) electors for president and vice president of the | ||
| United States; | ||
| (2) a federal office; | ||
| (3) a statewide office; | ||
| (4) state senator; or | ||
| (5) state representative. | ||
| (h) The committee shall begin the review not later than the | ||
| 20th day after the date the county clerk receives the request under | ||
| Subsection (b). The committee shall have access to ballots in the | ||
| custody of the county clerk for the purpose of review under | ||
| Subsection (f). | ||
| (i) Before beginning the review, the committee shall | ||
| determine an acceptable margin of error appropriate for the county. | ||
| (j) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the | ||
| review, the results of the review differ from canvassed results | ||
| from the 2020 general election for state and county officers by an | ||
| amount outside the margin of error determined under Subsection (i) | ||
| for the county, the committee shall conduct another review. A | ||
| review under this subsection shall be conducted in the same manner | ||
| as the initial review, except that the committee shall randomly | ||
| select different precincts for review. | ||
| (k) If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the | ||
| review under Subsection (j), the results of the review differ from | ||
| canvassed results from the 2020 general election for state and | ||
| county officers by an amount outside the margin of error determined | ||
| under Subsection (i) for the county, the committee shall conduct a | ||
| final review. A review under this subsection shall be conducted in | ||
| the same manner as the initial review, except that: | ||
| (1) for a contested race under Subsections (g)(1) | ||
| through (3), the review shall include the entire county; and | ||
| (2) for any other contested race, the review shall | ||
| include the entire district. | ||
| (l) The committee shall maintain a list of each ballot style | ||
| voted in a precinct or early voting location. The committee shall | ||
| note any ballot style voted in a precinct or early voting location | ||
| that contains a race or ballot measure not applicable to the | ||
| precinct or early voting location at which the ballot was voted. | ||
| (m) The committee shall provide the full results of the | ||
| review to: | ||
| (1) the county clerk; | ||
| (2) the secretary of state; and | ||
| (3) the county chair of each political party in the | ||
| county. | ||
| (n) The secretary of state shall issue a notice of the | ||
| results of the review to: | ||
| (1) the governor; | ||
| (2) the lieutenant governor; | ||
| (3) the speaker of the house of representatives; and | ||
| (4) each member of the legislature. | ||
| (o) The notice under Subsection (n) must include an | ||
| indication whether the result of the review: | ||
| (1) confirmed the final canvass of the 2020 general | ||
| election for state and county officers; | ||
| (2) differed from the final canvass of the 2020 | ||
| general election for state and county officers, but by an amount | ||
| within the margin of error identified under Subsection (i); or | ||
| (3) differed from the final canvass of the 2020 | ||
| general election for state and county officers by an amount outside | ||
| the margin of error identified under Subsection (i). | ||
| (p) If the notice under Subsection (n) indicates a | ||
| difference greater than the margin of error under Subsection (i), | ||
| the secretary of state shall prepare a report to accompany the | ||
| notice. The report must include: | ||
| (1) an analysis of the difference from the results of | ||
| the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state and county | ||
| officers; | ||
| (2) the likely causes of the difference from the | ||
| results of the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state | ||
| and county officers; and | ||
| (3) recommended measures to avoid similar differences | ||
| in future elections. | ||
| (q) A notice under Subsection (n) and any accompanying | ||
| report shall be posted on: | ||
| (1) the secretary of state's Internet website; and | ||
| (2) the county's Internet website, if the county | ||
| maintains an Internet website. | ||
| (r) This chapter expires on September 1, 2024. | ||
| SECTION 2. A person may make a request under Section | ||
| 280.001, Election Code, as added by this Act, only for an election | ||
| held on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the | ||
| last day of the legislative session. | ||
