1-1     By:  West                                              S.B. No. 130

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed December 13, 1996; January 14, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;

 1-4     April 30, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable Committee

 1-5     Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0; April 30, 1997,

 1-6     sent to printer.)

 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 130                 By:  Galloway

 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-9                                   AN ACT

1-10     relating to the appointment of election judges for county election

1-11     precincts.

1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-13           SECTION 1.  Subsections (c) and (d), Section 32.002, Election

1-14     Code, are amended to read as follows:

1-15           (c)  The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must

1-16     be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject

1-17     to this subsection.  Before July of each year, the county chair of

1-18     a political party whose candidate for governor received the highest

1-19     or second highest number of votes in the county in the most recent

1-20     gubernatorial general election shall submit in writing to the

1-21     commissioners court a list of names of persons in order of

1-22     preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as an

1-23     election judge.  The commissioners court shall appoint the first

1-24     person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the

1-25     list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with

1-26     the highest number of votes in the precinct as the presiding judge

1-27     and the first person meeting the applicable eligibility

1-28     requirements from the list submitted in compliance with this

1-29     subsection by the party with the second highest number of votes in

1-30     the precinct as the alternate presiding judge.  The commissioners

1-31     court may reject the first list and make the appointments in the

1-32     same manner from a second list if the persons whose names are

1-33     submitted on the first list are determined not to meet the

1-34     applicable eligibility requirements.  If a list of names is not

1-35     submitted in compliance with this subsection, the commissioners

1-36     court shall appoint an eligible person who is affiliated or aligned

1-37     with the appropriate party, if available.

1-38           (d)  The commissioners court shall fill a vacancy in the

1-39     position of election judge for the remainder of the unexpired term.

1-40     An appointment to fill a vacancy may be made at any regular or

1-41     special term of court.  Not later than the 10th day after the date

1-42     the vacancy occurs, the county clerk shall notify the county chair

1-43     of the same political party with which the original judge was

1-44     affiliated or aligned of a vacancy.  Not later than the 20th day

1-45     after notification of the vacancy, the county chair of the same

1-46     political party with which the original judge was affiliated or

1-47     aligned shall submit to the commissioners court in writing the name

1-48     of a person who is eligible for the appointment.  If a name is

1-49     submitted in compliance with this subsection, the commissioners

1-50     court shall appoint that person to the unexpired term.  If a name

1-51     is not submitted in compliance with this subsection, the

1-52     commissioners court shall appoint an eligible person who is

1-53     affiliated or aligned with the same party, if available.

1-54           [(d)  The county clerk shall recommend a presiding judge and

1-55     an alternate judge for each precinct and shall submit a list of the

1-56     recommendations to the commissioners court.  The clerk shall also

1-57     recommend an appointee for each unexpired term.  The court shall

1-58     consider the clerk's recommendation before making an appointment.]

1-59           SECTION 2.  Section 32.007, Election Code, is amended by

1-60     amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read

1-61     as follows:

1-62           (a)  If neither the presiding judge nor the alternate

1-63     presiding judge can serve in an election and their inability to

1-64     serve is discovered so late that it is impracticable to fill the

 2-1     vacancy in the normal manner, the presiding officer of the

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

 2-3     appoint a replacement judge to preside at the election, subject to

 2-4     Subsection (f).  If the appointing authority is unavailable, the

 2-5     authority responsible for distributing the supplies for the

 2-6     election shall appoint the replacement judge.

 2-7           (b)  If a person authorized to act as presiding judge is not

 2-8     present at the polling place at the time for opening the polls, on

 2-9     receiving information of the absence, the authority authorized to

2-10     appoint a replacement under Subsection (a) shall investigate the

2-11     absence and appoint a replacement judge, subject to Subsection (f),

2-12     unless the authority learns that a previously appointed judge will

2-13     immediately report for duty.

2-14           (f)  A person who is appointed as a replacement for a judge

2-15     originally appointed under Section 32.002 must be affiliated or

2-16     aligned with the same political party as was the original judge, if

2-17     possible.

2-18           SECTION 3.  Subsection (a), Section 32.051, Election Code, is

2-19     amended to read as follows:

2-20           (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) or Section 32.0511,

2-21     to be eligible to serve as a judge of an election precinct, a

2-22     person must be a qualified voter of the precinct.

2-23           SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 32, Election Code, is

2-24     amended by adding Section 32.0511 to read as follows:

2-25           Sec. 32.0511.  ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTY ELECTION

2-26     JUDGES.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided by this section, to be

2-27     eligible to serve as a judge of a regular county election precinct

2-28     for which an appointment is made by the commissioners court, a

2-29     person must not have been finally convicted of an offense involving

2-30     voter fraud.

2-31           (b)  In a precinct in which a political party's candidate for

2-32     governor received more than 85 percent of the vote in the most

2-33     recent gubernatorial general election, the alternate presiding

2-34     judge may be a qualified voter of another precinct in the county.

2-35           (c)  Section 32.051(b) applies to the residence requirement

2-36     for an emergency appointment of a judge covered by this section.

2-37           SECTION 5.  Subchapter C, Chapter 32, Election Code, is

2-38     amended by adding Section 32.0552 to read as follows:

2-39           Sec. 32.0552.  INELIGIBILITY OF PERSON CONVICTED OF ELECTION

2-40     OFFENSE.  A person is ineligible to serve as an election judge or

2-41     clerk in an election if the person has been finally convicted of an

2-42     offense in connection with conduct directly attributable to an

2-43     election.

2-44           SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-45           SECTION 7.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-46     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-47     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-48     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-49     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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