By Danburg, Denny, Madden, Ehrhardt, H.B. No. 332
75R9261 GGS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to election precincts and polling places; providing a
1-3 criminal penalty.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 42.0051, Election Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 42.0051. Combining Certain Precincts. (a) If changes
1-8 in county election precinct boundaries to give effect to a
1-9 redistricting plan result in county election precincts with a
1-10 number of registered voters less than 500, a commissioners court
1-11 for a general or special election, or for a primary election the
1-12 county executive committee of a political party conducting a
1-13 primary election, may combine county election precincts
1-14 notwithstanding Section 42.005 to avoid unreasonable expenditures
1-15 for election equipment, supplies, and personnel.
1-16 (b) County election precincts in a county with a population
1-17 of 250,000 or more may also be combined under Subsection (a) if the
1-18 changes result in county election precincts with 500 or more but
1-19 less than 750 registered voters.
1-20 (c) A combined precinct under this section is subject to the
1-21 maximum population prescribed for a precinct under Section 42.006.
1-22 (d) [(c)] A combined precinct may not be established if it:
1-23 (1) results in a dilution of voting strength of a
1-24 group covered by the federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section
1-25 1973c et seq.);
2-1 (2) results in a dilution of representation of a group
2-2 covered by the Voting Rights Act in any political or electoral
2-3 process or procedure; or
2-4 (3) results in discouraging participation by a group
2-5 covered by the Voting Rights Act in any political or electoral
2-6 process or procedure because of the location of a polling place or
2-7 other factors.
2-8 SECTION 2. Section 61.001, Election Code, is amended to read
2-9 as follows:
2-10 Sec. 61.001. BYSTANDERS EXCLUDED; UNLAWFUL PRESENCE OF
2-11 CANDIDATE. (a) Except as permitted by this code, a person may not
2-12 be in the polling place from the time the presiding judge arrives
2-13 there on election day to make the preliminary arrangements until
2-14 the precinct returns have been certified and the election records
2-15 have been assembled for distribution following the election.
2-16 (b) A candidate in the election commits an offense if the
2-17 candidate is in a polling place during the period described by
2-18 Subsection (a) for a purpose other than:
2-19 (1) voting; or
2-20 (2) official business in the building in which the
2-21 polling place is located.
2-22 (c) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (b)
2-23 that the candidate:
2-24 (1) is not within plain view or hearing of the persons
2-25 in the voting area or the area in which voters are being accepted
2-26 for voting; and
2-27 (2) is not engaged in campaign activity.
3-1 (d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
3-2 SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 85, Election Code, is
3-3 amended by adding Section 85.037 to read as follows:
3-4 Sec. 85.037. BYSTANDERS EXCLUDED; UNLAWFUL PRESENCE OF
3-5 CANDIDATE. Section 61.001 applies to an early voting polling place
3-6 except that the period for which the conduct is proscribed is
3-7 during the time the polling place is open for the conduct of early
3-8 voting.
3-9 SECTION 4. Section 85.062(d), Election Code, is amended to
3-10 read as follows:
3-11 (d) In a primary election, the general election for state
3-12 and county officers, or a special election to fill a vacancy in the
3-13 legislature or in congress:
3-14 (1) the commissioners court of a county with a
3-15 population of 400,000 or more shall establish one or more early
3-16 voting polling places other than the main early voting polling
3-17 place in each state representative district containing territory
3-18 covered by the election, except that the polling place or places
3-19 shall be established in the state senatorial or congressional
3-20 district, as applicable, in a special election to fill a vacancy in
3-21 the office of state senator or United States representative; [and]
3-22 (2) the commissioners court of a county with a
3-23 population of 120,000 [100,000] or more but less than 400,000 shall
3-24 establish one or more early voting polling places other than the
3-25 main early voting polling place in each commissioners precinct
3-26 containing territory covered by the election; and
3-27 (3) the commissioners court of a county with a
4-1 population of 100,000 or more but less than 120,000 shall establish
4-2 one or more early voting polling places as described by Subdivision
4-3 (2) in each precinct for which the commissioners court receives in
4-4 time to enable compliance with Section 85.067 a written request for
4-5 that action submitted by at least 15 registered voters of that
4-6 precinct.
4-7 SECTION 5. Section 112.006, Election Code, is amended to
4-8 read as follows:
4-9 Sec. 112.006. Place for Voting by Personal Appearance. A
4-10 [(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may vote a
4-11 limited ballot by personal appearance only at an early voting
4-12 polling place serving the voters of the election precinct in which
4-13 the person resides.]
4-14 [(b) In a county with a population of more than 1,500,000,
4-15 a] person may vote a limited ballot by personal appearance only at
4-16 the main early voting polling place.
4-17 SECTION 6. Section 161.006, Election Code, is amended to
4-18 read as follows:
4-19 Sec. 161.006. Holding [Primary or] Precinct Convention of
4-20 More Than One Party in Same Building. A political party may not
4-21 [hold a primary election in the same building in which another
4-22 party is holding a primary election on the same day or] hold a
4-23 precinct convention in the same building in which another party is
4-24 holding a precinct convention on the same day unless:
4-25 (1) the rooms in which the [primary elections or]
4-26 conventions are held are separated so that communication from one
4-27 room to the other is precluded; and
5-1 (2) a sign in bold print identifying the party holding
5-2 the [primary election or] convention is posted at the entrance to
5-3 each room.
5-4 SECTION 7. Section 172.1111, Election Code, is amended to
5-5 read as follows:
5-6 Sec. 172.1111. POSTING NOTICE OF PRECINCT CONVENTION
5-7 REQUIRED. (a) Before the opening of the polls, the presiding
5-8 judge shall post at each outside door through which a voter may
5-9 enter the building in which the polling place is located a written
5-10 notice in bold print of the date, hour, and place for convening the
5-11 precinct convention.
5-12 (b) The judge is not required to use an officially
5-13 prescribed form for the notice.
5-14 (c) The notice must remain posted continuously through
5-15 election day.
5-16 SECTION 8. Section 271.003, Election Code, is amended to
5-17 read as follows:
5-18 Sec. 271.003. Location of Common Polling Place. (a) A
5-19 regular county polling place may be used for a common polling place
5-20 in a joint election.
5-21 (b) The voters of a particular election precinct or
5-22 political subdivision may be served in a joint election by a common
5-23 polling place located outside the boundary of the election precinct
5-24 or political subdivision if the location can adequately and
5-25 conveniently serve the affected voters and will facilitate the
5-26 orderly conduct of the election.
5-27 SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-1 SECTION 10. The importance of this legislation and the
6-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.