79R1173 ATP-D

By:  Denny                                                        H.B. No. 56 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the offense of tampering with a direct recording 
electronic voting machine; providing criminal penalties.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 33, Penal Code, is amended by adding 
Section 33.05 to read as follows:
	Sec. 33.05.  TAMPERING WITH DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC 
VOTING MACHINE.  (a)  In this section:
		(1)  "Direct recording electronic voting machine" has 
the meaning assigned by Section 121.003, Election Code.
		(2)  "Measure" has the meaning assigned by Section 
1.005, Election Code.
	(b)  A person commits an offense if:                                    
		(1)  the person accesses a computer, computer network, 
computer program, computer software, or computer system that is a 
part of a voting system that uses direct recording electronic 
voting machines and by means of that access:
			(A)  prevents a person from lawfully casting a 
vote;                
			(B)  changes a lawfully cast vote;                                    
			(C)  prevents a lawfully cast vote from being 
counted; or           
			(D)  causes a vote that was not lawfully cast to be 
counted; and    
		(2)  the outcome of the election that would result if 
determined according to the count of the votes cast in the election 
as affected by the person's action described by Subdivision (1) is 
different from the true outcome of the election.
	(c)  For purposes of Subsection (b)(2), the outcome of an 
election that would result if determined according to the count of 
the votes cast in the election as affected by the person's action 
described by Subsection (b)(1) is different from the true outcome 
of the election if, but for the action described by Subsection 
(b)(1):
		(1)  a different candidate would have been elected at 
the election;  
		(2)  for an election in which a candidate must receive a 
majority vote to be elected:
			(A)  a candidate who failed to receive a majority 
of the votes cast would have received a majority of the votes;
			(B)  a candidate who received a majority of the 
votes cast would have failed to receive a majority of the votes;
			(C)  one or both candidates in a required runoff 
election would be different; or
			(D)  a candidate who did not receive the highest 
or second highest number of votes in the election and is not a 
candidate in a required runoff election would have received 
sufficient votes to be a tied candidate entitled to cast lots to be 
a candidate in the runoff election;
		(3)  a measure that failed adoption at the election 
would have been adopted; or
		(4)  a measure that was adopted at the election would 
have failed adoption.
	(d)  An offense under this section does not require that the 
votes as affected by the person's actions described by Subsection 
(b)(1) actually be the votes used in the official determination of 
the outcome of the election.
	(e)  An offense under this section is a felony of the first 
degree.   
	(f)  Notwithstanding Section 15.01(d), an offense under 
Section 15.01(a) is a felony of the third degree if the offense the 
actor intends to commit is an offense under this section.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies 
only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this 
Act.  For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before 
the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs 
before the effective date.
	(b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this 
Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, 
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.