By:  Brown                                            S.B. No. 1424
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to certain practices and procedures involving the conduct
 1-3     of early voting by mail.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 86.004, Election Code, is amended to read
 1-6     as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 86.004.  TIME FOR PROVIDING BALLOT TO VOTER.  The
 1-8     balloting materials for voting by mail shall be mailed to voters as
 1-9     soon as practicable after the ballots become available but not
1-10     earlier than the 55th [45th] day before election day.
1-11           SECTION 2.  Subsection (d), Section 86.011, Election Code, is
1-12     amended to read as follows:
1-13           (d)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, if
1-14     the clerk receives a timely carrier envelope before the seventh day
1-15     before election day that does not fully comply with the applicable
1-16     requirements prescribed by this title, the clerk shall return [may
1-17     deliver] the carrier envelope [in person or] by mail to the voter
1-18     not later than the second day after the date the envelope is
1-19     received.  The clerk [and] may receive, before the deadline, the
1-20     corrected carrier envelope from the voter.  If the clerk receives a
1-21     timely carrier envelope on or after the seventh day before election
1-22     day, [or] the clerk shall, if possible, [may] notify the voter of
1-23     the defect by telephone and advise the voter that the voter may
1-24     come to the clerk's office in person to correct the defect or
1-25     cancel the voter's application to vote by mail and vote on election
 2-1     day.  If the procedures authorized by this subsection are used,
 2-2     they must be applied uniformly to all carrier envelopes covered by
 2-3     this subsection.  A poll watcher is entitled to observe the
 2-4     procedures under this subsection.  The secretary of state may
 2-5     prescribe any other procedures necessary to implement this
 2-6     subsection including requirements for posting notice of any
 2-7     deliveries.
 2-8           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.