89R13834 LRM-F
	By: Paul	H.B. No. 3774

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the operation of a signature verification committee.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 86.011(d), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(d)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, if
	the clerk receives a timely carrier envelope that does not fully
	comply with the applicable requirements prescribed by this title,
	[the clerk may deliver the carrier envelope in person or by mail to
	the voter and may receive, before the deadline, the corrected
	carrier envelope from the voter, or] the clerk may notify the voter
	of the defect by telephone or e-mail and advise the voter that the
	voter may come to the clerk's office in person to correct the
	defect, [or] cancel the voter's application to vote by mail and vote
	on election day, or cure the defect as instructed on a corrective
	action form and return the form by mail.  If the procedures
	authorized by this subsection are used, they must be applied
	uniformly to all carrier envelopes covered by this subsection.  A
	poll watcher is entitled to observe the procedures under this
	subsection.  The secretary of state may prescribe any other
	procedures necessary to implement this subsection including
	requirements for posting notice of any deliveries.
	SECTION 2.  Section 87.0271(a), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  This section applies to an early voting ballot voted by
	mail:
	(1)  for which the voter did not sign the carrier
	envelope certificate;
	(2)  for which it cannot immediately be determined
	whether the signature on the carrier envelope certificate or
	signature sheet, as applicable, is that of the voter;
	(3)  [missing any required statement of residence;
	[(4)]  missing information or a required signature
	sheet [containing incorrect information required under Section
	84.002(a)(1-a) or Section 86.002]; or
	(4) [(5)]  containing incomplete information with
	respect to a witness.
	SECTION 3.  Sections 87.0222(a) and (a-1), Election Code,
	are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), not later than
	the 11th [ninth] day before election day, the jacket envelopes
	containing early voting ballots voted by mail shall be delivered to
	the board.
	(a-1)  Any jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by
	mail returned after delivery of the ballots under Subsection (a)
	may be delivered to the presiding judge of the early voting ballot
	board between the end of the 11th [ninth] day before election day
	and the closing of the polls on election day, or as soon after
	closing as practicable, at the time or times specified by the
	presiding judge.
	SECTION 4.  Section 87.027, Election Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (a-1), (c), (d), (f), and (i) and adding
	Subsections (e-1), (f-1), and (i-1) to read as follows:
	(a-1)  A signature verification committee shall be appointed
	in the general election for state and county officers on submission
	to the early voting clerk of a written request for the committee by
	at least 15 registered voters of the county.  The secretary of state
	shall prescribe the form for a request submitted under this
	subsection. The request must be submitted not later than the
	preceding October 1, and a request submitted by mail is considered
	to be submitted at the time of its receipt by the clerk.
	(c)  Not later than the fifth day after the date the early
	voting clerk issues the order calling for the appointment of a
	signature verification committee, or not later than October 15 for
	a committee required under Subsection (a-1), the appropriate
	authority shall appoint the members of the committee and designate
	one of the appointees as chair, subject to Subsection (d). The
	authority shall fill a vacancy on the committee by appointment as
	soon as possible after the vacancy occurs, subject to Subsection
	(d). The early voting clerk shall post notice of the name [and
	residence address] of each appointee. The notice must remain
	posted continuously for the period beginning the day after the date
	of the appointment and ending on the last day of the committee's
	operation in the election.
	(d)  The early voting clerk shall determine an odd [the]
	number of members who are to compose the signature verification
	committee and shall state that number in the order calling for the
	committee's appointment.  A committee must consist of not fewer
	than five members.  In an election in which party alignment is
	indicated on the ballot, each county chair of a political party with
	a nominee or aligned candidate on the ballot shall submit to the
	appointing authority a list of names of persons eligible to serve on
	the signature verification committee in order of the county chair's
	preference.  The authority shall appoint at least two persons from
	each list in the order of preference indicated on each list to serve
	as members of the committee.  The same number of members must be
	appointed from each list.  The authority shall appoint as chair of
	the committee the highest-ranked person on the list provided by the
	political party whose nominee for governor received the most votes
	in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election.
	The authority shall appoint as vice chair of the committee the
	highest-ranked person on the list provided by the political party
	whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in the
	county in the most recent gubernatorial general election.  The vice
	chair shall be counted as a member unless the chair is not present.
	If the chair is not present, the vice chair acts as the chair until
	the chair returns or a replacement is provided by the chair's
	political party. A vacancy of any position on the committee shall
	be filled by appointment from the original list or from a new list
	submitted by the appropriate county chair.
	(e-1)  A person may not serve on a signature verification
	committee and an early voting ballot board in the same election.
	(f)  The early voting clerk shall determine the place, day or
	days, and hours of operation of the signature verification
	committee and shall state that information in the order calling for
	the committee's appointment. A committee may not begin operating
	before the 20th day before election day and must convene not later
	than the 12th day before election day.
	(f-1)  After the day the signature verification committee
	begins operating, the early voting clerk may no longer send a voter
	a notice of a defect and corrective action form under Section
	86.011(d).  The early voting clerk may, with instruction from the
	committee chair, send a voter a notice of defect and corrective
	action form under Section 87.0271 on behalf of the committee.
	(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 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.  Except as provided by Subsection (l), a determination under
	this subsection that the signatures are not those of the voter must
	be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership, with the
	chair only voting to resolve a tie.  Both political parties must be
	equally represented during the majority vote.  If an unequal number
	of members are present, it must be decided at the beginning of the
	meeting which member shall abstain from participating so that an
	equal number of members from both parties are voting.  The committee
	shall place the jacket envelopes, unopened carrier envelopes, and
	applications of voters whose signatures are not those of the voter
	in separate containers from those of voters whose signatures 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.
	(i-1)  The signature verification committee may only open a
	carrier envelope if the carrier envelope is attached to a federal
	postcard application for the purpose of reviewing a signature
	sheet.
	SECTION 5.  Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Election Code, is
	amended by adding Section 87.0273 to read as follows:
	Sec. 87.0273.  SIGNATURE VERIFICATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS;
	OATH AND IDENTIFICATION.  (a) A member of the signature
	verification committee shall repeat the following oath aloud:
	"I swear (or affirm) that I will objectively work to be sure
	to accept and count every eligible voter who provides the required
	identification number and whose signature accompanying the ballot
	appears to be that of the voter or the voter's witness.  I
	understand it is my duty to verify the voter's signature on the
	ballot carrier envelope even when rebuttably presumed to be the
	voter due to matching personal identification information.  I will
	not work alone when ballots are present and will work only in the
	presence of a member of a political party different from my own.  I
	will faithfully perform my duties as an officer of the election and
	guard the purity of the election."
	(b)  A member of the signature verification committee who
	arrives after the oath is made shall repeat the oath aloud before
	performing any duties as a member.
	(c)  Following administration of the oath, each member of the
	signature verification committee shall be issued a form of
	identification, prescribed by the secretary of state, to be
	displayed by the member during the member's hours of service on the
	board.
	SECTION 6.  Section 87.128(c), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(c)  Each member who takes notes under this section shall
	sign and date the notes and deliver them to the presiding judge or
	committee chair, as applicable, for delivery to the custodian of
	election records.  A member may request and receive a copy of their
	notes at the time of delivery.
	SECTION 7.  Section 101.105, Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 101.105.  BALLOTING MATERIALS TO BE SENT BY
	E-MAIL.  Balloting materials to be sent by e-mail under this
	subchapter include:
	(1)  the appropriate ballot;
	(2)  ballot instructions, including instructions that
	inform a voter that the ballot must be returned by mail to be
	counted;
	(3)  instructions prescribed by the secretary of state
	on:
	(A)  how to print a return envelope from the
	federal Voting Assistance Program website; and
	(B)  how to create a carrier envelope if not using
	an official [or] signature sheet for the ballot; [and]
	(4)  a list of certified write-in candidates, if
	applicable; and
	(5)  an official signature sheet.
	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.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.