| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to eligibility to serve as an interpreter in an election. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 61.032, Election Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 61.032. INTERPRETER PERMITTED. If an election officer |
|
|
who attempts to communicate with a voter does not understand the |
|
|
language used by the voter, the voter may communicate through an |
|
|
interpreter selected by the voter or, if the voter has not selected |
|
|
an interpreter, any interpreter an election officer may appoint. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 61.033, Election Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 61.033. ELIGIBILITY TO SERVE AS INTERPRETER. To be |
|
|
eligible to serve as an interpreter, a person: |
|
|
(1) may be any person other than the voter's employer, |
|
|
an agent of the voter's employer, or an officer or agent of a labor |
|
|
union to which the voter belongs; and |
|
|
(2) if appointed to serve as an interpreter by an |
|
|
election officer, must be a registered voter of the county in which |
|
|
the voter needing the interpreter resides or a registered voter of |
|
|
an adjacent county. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 61.034, Election Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 61.034. TRANSLATING BALLOT. If a voter cannot |
|
|
comprehend the language in which the ballot is printed, the voter |
|
|
may receive assistance in accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 64 |
|
|
[an interpreter may accompany the voter to the voting station for |
|
|
the purpose of translating the ballot to the voter]. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 61.035, Election Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 61.035. OATH. (a) Before serving as an interpreter, |
|
|
the person selected as interpreter must take the following oath |
|
|
administered by an election officer: |
|
|
"I swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my ability, I will |
|
|
correctly interpret and translate each question, answer, or |
|
|
statement addressed either to the voter by any election officer or |
|
|
to an election officer by the voter." |
|
|
(b) A person who will be providing ballot assistance under |
|
|
Section 61.034 must also take the oath required by Subchapter B, |
|
|
Chapter 64, and meet all other requirements of that subchapter. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |