By Jones of Dallas                               H.B. No. 916

      75R4552 GGS-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the appointment of election judges for county election

 1-3     precincts.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Sections 32.002(c) and (d), Election Code, are

 1-6     amended to read as follows:

 1-7           (c)  The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must

 1-8     be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject

 1-9     to this subsection.  Before July of each year, the county chair of

1-10     a political party whose candidate for president of the United

1-11     States received the highest or second highest number of votes in

1-12     the county in the most recent presidential general election shall

1-13     submit in writing to the commissioners court the name of a person

1-14     for each precinct who is eligible for appointment as an election

1-15     judge.  The commissioners court shall appoint the person whose name

1-16     is submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with

1-17     the highest number of votes in the precinct as the presiding judge

1-18     and the person whose name is submitted in compliance with this

1-19     subsection by the party with the second highest number of votes in

1-20     the precinct as the alternate presiding judge.  If a name is not

1-21     submitted in compliance with this subsection, the commissioners

1-22     court shall appoint an eligible person who is affiliated or aligned

1-23     with the appropriate party, if available.

1-24           (d)  The commissioners court shall fill a vacancy in the

 2-1     position of election judge for the remainder of the unexpired term.

 2-2     An appointment to fill a vacancy may be made at any regular or

 2-3     special term of court.  Not later than the 30th day after the date

 2-4     the vacancy occurs, the county chair of the same political party

 2-5     with which the original judge was affiliated or aligned shall

 2-6     submit to the commissioners court in writing the name of a person

 2-7     who is eligible for the appointment.  If a name is submitted in

 2-8     compliance with this subsection, the commissioners court shall

 2-9     appoint that person to the unexpired term.  If a name is not

2-10     submitted in compliance with this subsection, the commissioners

2-11     court shall appoint an eligible person who is affiliated or aligned

2-12     with the same party, if available.  [(d)  The county clerk shall

2-13     recommend a presiding judge and an alternate judge for each

2-14     precinct and shall submit a list of the recommendations to the

2-15     commissioners court.  The clerk shall also recommend an appointee

2-16     for each unexpired term.  The court shall consider the clerk's

2-17     recommendation before making an appointment.]

2-18           SECTION 2.  Section 32.007, Election Code, is amended by

2-19     amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read

2-20     as follows:

2-21           (a)  If neither the presiding judge nor the alternate

2-22     presiding judge can serve in an election and their inability to

2-23     serve is discovered so late that it is impracticable to fill the

2-24     vacancy in the normal manner, the presiding officer of the

2-25     appointing authority or the authority if a single officer shall

2-26     appoint a replacement judge to preside at the election, subject to

2-27     Subsection (f).  If the appointing authority is unavailable, the

 3-1     authority responsible for distributing the supplies for the

 3-2     election shall appoint the replacement judge.

 3-3           (b)  If a person authorized to act as presiding judge is not

 3-4     present at the polling place at the time for opening the polls, on

 3-5     receiving information of the absence, the authority authorized to

 3-6     appoint a replacement under Subsection (a) shall investigate the

 3-7     absence and appoint a replacement judge, subject to Subsection (f),

 3-8     unless the authority learns that a previously appointed judge will

 3-9     immediately report for duty.

3-10           (f)  A person who is appointed as a replacement for a judge

3-11     originally appointed under Section 32.002 must be affiliated or

3-12     aligned with the same political party as was the original judge, if

3-13     possible.

3-14           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

3-15           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-16     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-17     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-18     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-19     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.