By Brown                                              S.B. No. 1424
         77R5638 DRH-D                           
                                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. Chapter 82, Election Code, is amended by adding
 1-6     Section 82.006 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 82.006.  EMERGENCY MILITARY DEPLOYMENT. A qualified
 1-8     voter who is a member of the armed forces of the United States is
 1-9     eligible for early voting by mail if the voter expects to be absent
1-10     from the county of the voter's residence because of an emergency
1-11     military deployment on election day and during the regular hours
1-12     for conducting early voting at the main early voting polling place
1-13     for the period for early voting by personal appearance.
1-14           SECTION 2. Section 86.004, Election Code, is amended to read
1-15     as follows:
1-16           Sec. 86.004.  TIME FOR PROVIDING BALLOT TO VOTER. The
1-17     balloting materials for voting by mail shall be mailed to voters as
1-18     soon as practicable after the ballots become available but not
1-19     earlier than the 60th [45th] day before election day.
1-20           SECTION 3. Section 86.011(d), Election Code, is amended to
1-21     read as follows:
1-22           (d)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, if
1-23     the clerk receives a timely carrier envelope before the seventh day
1-24     before election day that does not fully comply with the applicable
 2-1     requirements prescribed by this title, the clerk shall return [may
 2-2     deliver] the carrier envelope [in person or] by mail to the voter
 2-3     not later than the second day after the date the envelope is
 2-4     received.  The clerk [and] may receive, before the deadline, the
 2-5     corrected carrier envelope from the voter.  If the clerk receives a
 2-6     timely carrier envelope on or after the seventh day before election
 2-7     day, the [, or the] clerk shall, if possible, [may] notify the
 2-8     voter of the defect by telephone and advise the voter that the
 2-9     voter may come to the clerk's office in person to correct the
2-10     defect or cancel the voter's application to vote by mail and vote
2-11     on election day.  If the procedures authorized by this subsection
2-12     are used, they must be applied uniformly to all carrier envelopes
2-13     covered by this subsection.  A poll watcher is entitled to observe
2-14     the procedures under this subsection.  The secretary of state may
2-15     prescribe any other procedures necessary to implement this
2-16     subsection including requirements for posting notice of any
2-17     deliveries.
2-18           SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.