Bill Text: TX HB4331 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to vote harvesting; creating an offense; creating a civil penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 16-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-23 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB4331 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB4331-Comm_Sub.html
| 87R15525 MLH-F | |||
| By: Jetton, et al. | H.B. No. 4331 | ||
| Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4331: | |||
| By: Jetton | C.S.H.B. No. 4331 | ||
|
|
||
|
|
||
| relating to vote harvesting; creating an offense; creating a civil | ||
| penalty. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Chapter 276, Election Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Sections 276.014 and 276.015 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 276.014. PAID VOTE HARVESTING. (a) In this section | ||
| and Section 276.015, "vote harvesting services" means direct | ||
| interaction with one or more voters in connection with an official | ||
| ballot, a ballot voted by mail, or an application for ballot by | ||
| mail, intended to deliver votes for a specific candidate or | ||
| measure. | ||
| (b) A person commits an offense if the person, directly or | ||
| through a third party, knowingly provides or offers to provide the | ||
| vote harvesting services in exchange for compensation or other | ||
| benefit, including benefits to a party whose welfare is of interest | ||
| to the person. | ||
| (c) A person commits an offense if the person, directly or | ||
| through a third party, knowingly provides or offers to provide | ||
| compensation or other benefit to a person, or to another party whose | ||
| welfare is of interest to the person, in exchange for the vote | ||
| harvesting services. | ||
| (d) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly | ||
| collects or possesses a ballot voted by mail or official carrier | ||
| envelope from a voter in connection with the vote harvesting | ||
| services. | ||
| (e) This section does not apply to acts promoting a | ||
| candidate or measure that do not involve direct interaction with: | ||
| (1) an application for ballot by mail, in the presence | ||
| of the voter; or | ||
| (2) a voter's official ballot, ballot voted by mail, or | ||
| carrier envelope. | ||
| (f) In this section, compensation in exchange for the vote | ||
| harvesting services is inferred if a person who performed the vote | ||
| harvesting services for a candidate or campaign solicits, receives, | ||
| or is offered compensation from the candidate or campaign, directly | ||
| or through a third party, for services other than the vote | ||
| harvesting services provided. | ||
| (g) An offense under this section is a felony of the third | ||
| degree. | ||
| (h) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this | ||
| section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor | ||
| may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. | ||
| Sec. 276.015. CIVIL LIABILITY FOR UNLAWFUL VOTE HARVESTING. | ||
| (a) A person who commits an offense under Section 276.014 is liable | ||
| to any candidate harmed by the vote harvesting services for damages | ||
| and penalties that may be awarded under Subsection (c). | ||
| (b) A person is harmed by the vote harvesting services if | ||
| the person can demonstrate that: | ||
| (1) the person was a candidate for office; | ||
| (2) the liable party committed an offense under | ||
| Section 276.014; and | ||
| (3) another candidate seeking the same office as the | ||
| person received a vote attributable to the offense, regardless of | ||
| whether the other candidate knowingly participated in the vote | ||
| harvesting services. | ||
| (c) A litigant who prevails in an action under Subsection | ||
| (b) shall recover from any person who committed the unlawful vote | ||
| harvesting services damages in an amount including: | ||
| (1) the amount of any compensation paid to or received | ||
| by the person in exchange for the vote harvesting services; | ||
| (2) the fair market value of any benefit given or | ||
| received in exchange for the vote harvesting services; | ||
| (3) a penalty in the amount of $25,000; and | ||
| (4) reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, witness | ||
| fees, and deposition fees. | ||
| (d) A litigant who prevails in an action under Subsection | ||
| (b) and shows that the number of voters contacted by the vote | ||
| harvesting services exceeds the number of votes by which the | ||
| litigant lost the election shall recover from the person liable for | ||
| the unlawful vote harvesting services punitive damages in an amount | ||
| including: | ||
| (1) any of the litigant's campaign expenditures | ||
| properly filed on a campaign finance report in connection with the | ||
| election; and | ||
| (2) any fees and expenses incurred by the litigant in | ||
| filing and securing a place on the ballot. | ||
| (e) A person who commits an offense under Section 276.014 | ||
| and is found liable under this chapter or other law for any amount | ||
| of damages arising from the vote harvesting services is jointly | ||
| liable with any other defendant for the entire amount of damages | ||
| arising from the vote harvesting services. | ||
| (f) The cause of action created by this section is | ||
| cumulative to any other remedy provided by common law or statute. | ||
| (g) The expedited actions process created by Rule 169, Texas | ||
| Rules of Civil Procedure, does not apply to an action under this | ||
| section. | ||
| (h) Chapter 27, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, does not | ||
| apply to a cause of action under this section. | ||
| (i) A cause of action under this section may be brought in | ||
| the county where any part of the vote harvesting services occurred. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
