1-1 By: Danburg, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Patterson) H.B. No. 332
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 1997;
1-3 May 7, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; May 18, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 13, Nays 0; May 18, 1997,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 332 By: Nixon
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to election precincts and polling places; providing a
1-11 criminal penalty.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Section 42.0051, Election Code, is amended to
1-14 read as follows:
1-15 Sec. 42.0051. Combining Certain Precincts. (a) If changes
1-16 in county election precinct boundaries to give effect to a
1-17 redistricting plan result in county election precincts with a
1-18 number of registered voters less than 500, a commissioners court
1-19 for a general or special election, or for a primary election the
1-20 county executive committee of a political party conducting a
1-21 primary election, may combine county election precincts
1-22 notwithstanding Section 42.005 to avoid unreasonable expenditures
1-23 for election equipment, supplies, and personnel.
1-24 (b) County election precincts in a county with a population
1-25 of 250,000 or more may also be combined under Subsection (a) if the
1-26 changes result in county election precincts with 500 or more but
1-27 fewer than 750 registered voters.
1-28 (c) A combined precinct under this section is subject to the
1-29 maximum population prescribed for a precinct under Section 42.006.
1-30 (d) [(c)] A combined precinct may not be established if it:
1-31 (1) results in a dilution of voting strength of a
1-32 group covered by the federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section
1-33 1973c et seq.);
1-34 (2) results in a dilution of representation of a group
1-35 covered by the Voting Rights Act in any political or electoral
1-36 process or procedure; or
1-37 (3) results in discouraging participation by a group
1-38 covered by the Voting Rights Act in any political or electoral
1-39 process or procedure because of the location of a polling place or
1-40 other factors.
1-41 SECTION 2. Section 43.031(d), Election Code, is amended to
1-42 read as follows:
1-43 (d) If a suitable public building is unavailable, the
1-44 polling place may be located in some other building, and any charge
1-45 for its use is an election expense. A polling place may not be
1-46 located in a building under this subsection unless electioneering
1-47 is permitted on the building's premises outside the prescribed
1-48 limits within which electioneering is prohibited, except that a
1-49 polling place may be located in a building at which electioneering
1-50 is not permitted if it is the only building available for use as a
1-51 polling place in the election precinct.
1-52 SECTION 3. Section 61.001, Election Code, is amended to read
1-53 as follows:
1-54 Sec. 61.001. BYSTANDERS EXCLUDED; UNLAWFUL PRESENCE OF
1-55 CANDIDATE. (a) Except as permitted by this code, a person may not
1-56 be in the polling place from the time the presiding judge arrives
1-57 there on election day to make the preliminary arrangements until
1-58 the precinct returns have been certified and the election records
1-59 have been assembled for distribution following the election.
1-60 (b) A candidate in the election commits an offense if the
1-61 candidate is in a polling place during the period described by
1-62 Subsection (a) for a purpose other than:
1-63 (1) voting; or
1-64 (2) official business in the building in which the
2-1 polling place is located.
2-2 (c) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (b)
2-3 that the candidate:
2-4 (1) is not within plain view or hearing of the persons
2-5 in the voting area or the area in which voters are being accepted
2-6 for voting; and
2-7 (2) is not engaged in campaign activity.
2-8 (d) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
2-9 SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 85, Election Code, is
2-10 amended by adding Section 85.037 to read as follows:
2-11 Sec. 85.037. BYSTANDERS EXCLUDED; UNLAWFUL PRESENCE OF
2-12 CANDIDATE. Section 61.001 applies to an early voting polling place
2-13 except that the period for which the conduct is proscribed is
2-14 during the time the polling place is open for the conduct of early
2-15 voting.
2-16 SECTION 5. Section 85.062(d), Election Code, is amended to
2-17 read as follows:
2-18 (d) In a primary election, the general election for state
2-19 and county officers, or a special election to fill a vacancy in the
2-20 legislature or in congress:
2-21 (1) the commissioners court of a county with a
2-22 population of 400,000 or more shall establish one or more early
2-23 voting polling places other than the main early voting polling
2-24 place in each state representative district containing territory
2-25 covered by the election, except that the polling place or places
2-26 shall be established in the state senatorial or congressional
2-27 district, as applicable, in a special election to fill a vacancy in
2-28 the office of state senator or United States representative; [and]
2-29 (2) the commissioners court of a county with a
2-30 population of 120,000 [100,000] or more but less than 400,000 shall
2-31 establish one or more early voting polling places other than the
2-32 main early voting polling place in each commissioners precinct
2-33 containing territory covered by the election; and
2-34 (3) the commissioners court of a county with a
2-35 population of 100,000 or more but less than 120,000 shall establish
2-36 one or more early voting polling places as described by Subdivision
2-37 (2) in each precinct for which the commissioners court receives in
2-38 time to enable compliance with Section 85.067 a written request for
2-39 that action submitted by at least 15 registered voters of that
2-40 precinct.
2-41 SECTION 6. Section 112.006, Election Code, is amended to
2-42 read as follows:
2-43 Sec. 112.006. Place for Voting by Personal Appearance. A
2-44 [(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person may vote a
2-45 limited ballot by personal appearance only at an early voting
2-46 polling place serving the voters of the election precinct in which
2-47 the person resides.]
2-48 [(b) In a county with a population of more than 1,500,000,
2-49 a] person may vote a limited ballot by personal appearance only at
2-50 the main early voting polling place.
2-51 SECTION 7. Section 161.006, Election Code, is amended to
2-52 read as follows:
2-53 Sec. 161.006. Holding [Primary or] Precinct Convention of
2-54 More Than One Party in Same Building. A political party may not
2-55 [hold a primary election in the same building in which another
2-56 party is holding a primary election on the same day or] hold a
2-57 precinct convention in the same building in which another party is
2-58 holding a precinct convention on the same day unless:
2-59 (1) the rooms in which the [primary elections or]
2-60 conventions are held are separated so that communication from one
2-61 room to the other is precluded; and
2-62 (2) a sign in bold print identifying the party holding
2-63 the [primary election or] convention is posted at the entrance to
2-64 each room.
2-65 SECTION 8. Section 172.1111, Election Code, is amended to
2-66 read as follows:
2-67 Sec. 172.1111. POSTING NOTICE OF PRECINCT CONVENTION
2-68 REQUIRED. (a) Before the opening of the polls, the presiding
2-69 judge shall post at each outside door through which a voter may
3-1 enter the building in which the polling place is located a written
3-2 notice in bold print of the date, hour, and place for convening the
3-3 precinct convention.
3-4 (b) The judge is not required to use an officially
3-5 prescribed form for the notice.
3-6 (c) The notice must remain posted continuously through
3-7 election day.
3-8 SECTION 9. Section 271.003, Election Code, is amended to
3-9 read as follows:
3-10 Sec. 271.003. Location of Common Polling Place. (a) A
3-11 regular county polling place may be used for a common polling place
3-12 in a joint election.
3-13 (b) The voters of a particular election precinct or
3-14 political subdivision may be served in a joint election by a common
3-15 polling place located outside the boundary of the election precinct
3-16 or political subdivision if the location can adequately and
3-17 conveniently serve the affected voters and will facilitate the
3-18 orderly conduct of the election.
3-19 SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
3-20 SECTION 11. The importance of this legislation and the
3-21 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-22 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-23 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-24 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-25 * * * * *