HBA-GUM H.B. 3712 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3712 By: Smithee Elections 4/12/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that an election must be held in a public building as defined by Section 43.031(a), Election Code. If a suitable public building is unavailable the law indicates that the election may be held "in some other building." The ambiguity in the language could allow a location which might not be deemed sufficiently neutral by the voting public to be used as a polling place. H.B. 3712 prohibits a polling place from being located at the home of a candidate or at the home of a person who is closely related to the candidate. Additionally, the law allows for write-in ballots at an election, but does not specify how separate write-in parts are to be provided to each voter. In some instances the voter has had to ask for the write-in part, which violates the principle of the secret ballot. This bill requires the authority conducting the election to provide with every ballot any applicable write-in part. H.B. 3712 also prohibits the authority from requiring a voter to request the write-in part. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 43.031, Election Code, by adding Subsection (e), to prohibit a polling place from being located at the home of a candidate for an elective office including a party office, or a person who is related within the third degree by consanguinity or within the second degree by affinity to a candidate for an elective office, including a party office. SECTION 2. Amends Section 124.064, Election Code, by adding Subsection (c), to require that if an electronic system ballot includes a separate write-in part, that part be provided to each voter. Prohibits the authority conducting the election from requiring a voter to request the separate write-in part as a condition to receiving that part. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: 90 days after adjournment.