74R10724 GGS-D
By Danburg H.B. No. 544
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 544:
By Danburg C.S.H.B. No. 544
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to written communications used by voters in a polling
1-3 place and to the criminal penalty for electioneering.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 61.003(c), Election Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (c) An offense under this section is a Class B <C>
1-8 misdemeanor.
1-9 SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 61, Election Code, is
1-10 amended by adding Section 61.011 to read as follows:
1-11 Sec. 61.011. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION USED BY VOTER IN POLLING
1-12 PLACE. (a) A sample ballot or other written communication to be
1-13 used by a voter in marking a ballot or otherwise indicating votes
1-14 may not be exhibited or held by the voter in a manner in which it
1-15 can be read by persons waiting to vote. The voter may consult the
1-16 written communication only after going to the voting station. The
1-17 voter shall take the written communication with the voter when
1-18 leaving the polling place.
1-19 (b) The sample ballot or other written communication may not
1-20 be larger than 8-1/2 by 14 inches and may not contain characters
1-21 larger than 1/4 inch in height or width unless it is from a general
1-22 voter's guide that is printed in a newspaper or by a nonpartisan
1-23 organization. A voter who is in possession of a written
1-24 communication that violates this subsection may not receive an
2-1 official ballot until the voter delivers the written communication
2-2 to an election officer.
2-3 (c) An election officer shall periodically check each voting
2-4 station and other areas of the polling place and remove from sight
2-5 any sample ballots or other written communications used by voters
2-6 that were left or discarded in the polling place.
2-7 SECTION 3. Sections 63.011 and 63.012, Election Code, are
2-8 amended to read as follows:
2-9 <Sec. 63.011. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION PROHIBITED. (a) A
2-10 voter may not have in his actual possession while marking the
2-11 ballot a written communication that:>
2-12 <(1) was prepared and furnished to the voter by
2-13 another person; and>
2-14 <(2) is marked or printed in a way that identifies one
2-15 or more candidates or measures for which the voter has agreed to
2-16 vote or has been requested to vote.>
2-17 <(b) A sample ballot that has not been marked or printed in
2-18 a way that identifies candidates or measures for which to vote,
2-19 that is obtained by the voter from a newspaper or another person,
2-20 and that the voter marks himself is one example of a written
2-21 communication that is not prohibited under Subsection (a).>
2-22 <(c) An election officer may not accept a voter for voting
2-23 if the officer knows that the voter has actual possession of a
2-24 communication prohibited by Subsection (a) at the time he offers to
2-25 vote.>
2-26 <(d) An election officer may require a voter to answer under
2-27 oath whether the voter has actual possession of a communication
3-1 prohibited by Subsection (a). If a voter has a prohibited
3-2 communication, the voter may not receive an official ballot until
3-3 the voter delivers the communication to the election officer.>
3-4 <(e) A person commits an offense if the person violates
3-5 Subsection (a). The offense is a Class C misdemeanor.>
3-6 Sec. 63.011 <63.012>. Unlawfully Accepting or Refusing to
3-7 Accept Voter. (a) An election officer commits an offense if the
3-8 officer knowingly:
3-9 (1) permits an ineligible voter to vote without having
3-10 been challenged; or
3-11 (2) refuses to accept a person for voting whose
3-12 acceptance is required by this code.
3-13 (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
3-14 SECTION 4. Section 85.036(e), Election Code, is amended to
3-15 read as follows:
3-16 (e) An offense under this section is a Class B <C>
3-17 misdemeanor.
3-18 SECTION 5. An offense under Section 61.003, 63.011, or
3-19 85.036, Election Code, committed before the effective date of this
3-20 Act is subject to the law in effect when the offense was committed,
3-21 and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes
3-22 of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date
3-23 of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that
3-24 date.
3-25 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-26 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
3-27 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-1 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-2 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-3 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.