By: West S.B. No. 130
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the appointment of election judges for county election
1-2 precincts.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 32.002, Election
1-5 Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-6 (c) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must
1-7 be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject
1-8 to this subsection. Before July of each year, the county chair of
1-9 a political party whose candidate for governor received the highest
1-10 or second highest number of votes in the county in the most recent
1-11 gubernatorial general election shall submit in writing to the
1-12 commissioners court a list of names of persons in order of
1-13 preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as an
1-14 election judge. The commissioners court shall appoint the first
1-15 person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the
1-16 list 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 first person meeting the applicable eligibility
1-19 requirements from the list submitted in compliance with this
1-20 subsection by the party with the second highest number of votes in
1-21 the precinct as the alternate presiding judge. The commissioners
1-22 court may reject the first list and make the appointments in the
1-23 same manner from a second list if the persons whose names are
2-1 submitted on the first list are determined not to meet the
2-2 applicable eligibility requirements. If a list of names is not
2-3 submitted in compliance with this subsection, the commissioners
2-4 court shall appoint an eligible person who is affiliated or aligned
2-5 with the appropriate party, if available.
2-6 (d) The commissioners court shall fill a vacancy in the
2-7 position of election judge for the remainder of the unexpired term.
2-8 An appointment to fill a vacancy may be made at any regular or
2-9 special term of court. Not later than the 10th day after the date
2-10 the vacancy occurs, the county clerk shall notify the county chair
2-11 of the same political party with which the original judge was
2-12 affiliated or aligned of a vacancy. Not later than the 20th day
2-13 after notification of the vacancy, the county chair of the same
2-14 political party with which the original judge was affiliated or
2-15 aligned shall submit to the commissioners court in writing the name
2-16 of a person who is eligible for the appointment. If a name is
2-17 submitted in compliance with this subsection, the commissioners
2-18 court shall appoint that person to the unexpired term. If a name
2-19 is not submitted in compliance with this subsection, the
2-20 commissioners court shall appoint an eligible person who is
2-21 affiliated or aligned with the same party, if available.
2-22 [(d) The county clerk shall recommend a presiding judge and
2-23 an alternate judge for each precinct and shall submit a list of the
2-24 recommendations to the commissioners court. The clerk shall also
2-25 recommend an appointee for each unexpired term. The court shall
3-1 consider the clerk's recommendation before making an appointment.]
3-2 SECTION 2. Section 32.007, Election Code, is amended by
3-3 amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read
3-4 as follows:
3-5 (a) If neither the presiding judge nor the alternate
3-6 presiding judge can serve in an election and their inability to
3-7 serve is discovered so late that it is impracticable to fill the
3-8 vacancy in the normal manner, the presiding officer of the
3-9 appointing authority or the authority, if a single officer, shall
3-10 appoint a replacement judge to preside at the election, subject to
3-11 Subsection (f). If the appointing authority is unavailable, the
3-12 authority responsible for distributing the supplies for the
3-13 election shall appoint the replacement judge.
3-14 (b) If a person authorized to act as presiding judge is not
3-15 present at the polling place at the time for opening the polls, on
3-16 receiving information of the absence, the authority authorized to
3-17 appoint a replacement under Subsection (a) shall investigate the
3-18 absence and appoint a replacement judge, subject to Subsection (f),
3-19 unless the authority learns that a previously appointed judge will
3-20 immediately report for duty.
3-21 (f) A person who is appointed as a replacement for a judge
3-22 originally appointed under Section 32.002 must be affiliated or
3-23 aligned with the same political party as was the original judge, if
3-24 possible.
3-25 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 32.051, Election Code, is
4-1 amended to read as follows:
4-2 (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or Section 32.0511,
4-3 to be eligible to serve as a judge of an election precinct, a
4-4 person must be a qualified voter of the precinct.
4-5 SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 32, Election Code, is
4-6 amended by adding Section 32.0511 to read as follows:
4-7 Sec. 32.0511. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTY ELECTION
4-8 JUDGES. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, to be
4-9 eligible to serve as a judge of a regular county election precinct
4-10 for which an appointment is made by the commissioners court, a
4-11 person must not have been finally convicted of an offense involving
4-12 voter fraud.
4-13 (b) In a precinct in which a political party's candidate for
4-14 governor received more than 85 percent of the vote in the most
4-15 recent gubernatorial general election, the alternate presiding
4-16 judge may be a qualified voter of another precinct in the county.
4-17 (c) Section 32.051(b) applies to the residence requirement
4-18 for an emergency appointment of a judge covered by this section.
4-19 SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 32, Election Code, is
4-20 amended by adding Section 32.0552 to read as follows:
4-21 Sec. 32.0552. INELIGIBILITY OF PERSON CONVICTED OF ELECTION
4-22 OFFENSE. A person is ineligible to serve as an election judge or
4-23 clerk in an election if the person has been finally convicted of an
4-24 offense in connection with conduct directly attributable to an
4-25 election.
5-1 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
5-2 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the
5-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.