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House Bill 1735 |
House Author: Faircloth et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-17 |
Senate Sponsor: Huffman |
House Bill 1735 amends the Election Code to revise and update procedures for conducting and financing primary elections in Texas. The bill revises provisions relating to contracting for election services and the appointment and training of certain election judges and election clerks. The bill requires the secretary of state to implement a program to allow each commissioners court participating in the countywide polling place program to eliminate county election precinct polling places and establish countywide polling places for any runoff election resulting from an election held on the uniform election date in May and sets out requirements for establishing the location of such polling places.
House Bill 1735 provides for the administration of oaths to election officers entering service; the procedure for removing, replacing, or reassigning an election judge or election clerk who is being disruptive in a polling location or disobeying election law; the resolution of an incorrect ballot determination by the early voting ballot board; and the administration of oaths for early voting ballot board members and central counting station officers. The bill creates a Class B misdemeanor offense for a county election officer who prevents the county chair or the chair's designee from supervising the conduct of a primary election, provides penalty enhancements for an offense of unlawful participation in party affairs, and creates the offense of engaging in election fraud activity.