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By: Zedler H.B. No. 3207
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain criminal conduct in election matters; providing
penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 64.036, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 64.036. UNLAWFUL ASSISTANCE. (a) A person commits an
offense if the person knowingly:
(1) provides assistance to a voter who is not eligible
for assistance;
(2) while assisting a voter prepares the voter's
ballot in a way other than the way the voter directs or without
direction from the voter;
(3) while assisting a voter suggests by word, sign, or
gesture how the voter should vote; or
(4) provides assistance to a voter who has not
requested assistance or selected the person to assist the voter.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
assists a voter in violation of Section 64.032(c).
(c) An election officer commits an offense if the officer
knowingly permits a person to provide assistance:
(1) to a voter who is not eligible for assistance; or
(2) in violation of Section 64.032(c).
(d) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree [Class A misdemeanor].
SECTION 2. Section 86.006, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 86.006. METHOD OF RETURNING MARKED BALLOT. (a) A
marked ballot voted under this chapter must be returned to the early
voting clerk in the official carrier envelope. The carrier
envelope may be delivered in another envelope and must be
transported and delivered only by mail or by common or contract
carrier.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a carrier envelope
may not be returned in an envelope or package containing another
carrier envelope.
(c) The carrier envelopes of persons who are registered to
vote at the same address may be returned in the same envelope or
package.
(d) Each carrier envelope that is delivered by a common or
contract carrier must be accompanied by an individual delivery
receipt for that particular carrier envelope that indicates the
name and residence address of the individual who actually delivered
the envelope to the carrier and the date, hour, and address at which
the carrier envelope was received by the carrier. A delivery of
carrier envelopes is prohibited by a common or contract carrier if
the delivery originates from the address of:
(1) an office of a political party or a candidate in
the election;
(2) a candidate in the election unless the address is
the residence of the early voter;
(3) a specific-purpose or general-purpose political
committee involved in the election; or
(4) an entity that requested that the election be
held, unless the delivery is a forwarding to the early voting clerk.
(e) Carrier envelopes may not be collected and stored at
another location for subsequent delivery to the early voting clerk.
The secretary of state shall prescribe appropriate procedures to
implement this subsection and to provide accountability for the
delivery of the carrier envelopes from the voting place to the early
voting clerk.
(f) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
possesses an official ballot or official carrier envelope provided
under this code to another. Unless the person possessed the ballot
or carrier envelope with intent to defraud the voter or the election
authority, it is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
subsection that the person, on the date of the offense, was:
(1) related to the voter within the second degree by
affinity or the third degree by consanguinity, as determined under
Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Government Code;
(2) registered to vote at the same address as the
voter;
(3) an early voting clerk or a deputy early voting
clerk;
(4) a person who possesses the carrier envelope in
order to deposit the envelope in the mail or with a common or
contract carrier and who provides the information required by
Section 86.0051(b) in accordance with that section;
(5) an employee of the United States Postal Service
working in the normal course of the employee's authorized duties;
or
(6) a common or contract carrier working in the normal
course of the carrier's authorized duties if the official ballot is
sealed in an official carrier envelope that is accompanied by an
individual delivery receipt for that particular carrier envelope.
(g) An offense under Subsection (f) is:
(1) a Class A [B] misdemeanor if the person possesses
or has possessed at least one but fewer than 3 [10] ballots or
carrier envelopes during any one election cycle unless the person
possesses the ballots or carrier envelopes without the consent of
the voters, in which event the offense is a felony of the third
degree [state jail felony]; or
(2) a felony of the third degree [Class A misdemeanor]
if the person possesses or has possessed at least 3 [10 but fewer
than 20] ballots or carrier envelopes during any one election cycle
unless the person possesses the ballots or carrier envelopes
without the consent of the voters, in which event the offense is a
felony of the second [third] degree[; or
(3) a state jail felony if the person possesses 20 or
more ballots or carrier envelopes unless the person possesses the
ballots or carrier envelopes without the consent of the voters, in
which event the offense is a felony of the second degree.]
(h) A ballot returned in violation of this section may not
be counted. If the early voting clerk determines that the ballot
was returned in violation of this section, the clerk shall make a
notation on the carrier envelope and treat it as a ballot not timely
returned in accordance with Section 86.011(c). If the ballot is
returned before the end of the period for early voting by personal
appearance, the early voting clerk shall promptly mail or otherwise
deliver to the voter a written notice informing the voter that:
(1) the voter's ballot will not be counted because of a
violation of this code; and
(2) the voter may vote if otherwise eligible at an
early voting polling place or the election day precinct polling
place on presentation of the notice.
SECTION 3. Section 86.010, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 86.010. ASSISTING VOTER. (a) A voter casting a
ballot by mail who would be eligible under Section 64.031 to receive
assistance at a polling place may select a person as provided by
Section 64.032(c) to assist the voter in preparing the ballot.
(b) Assistance rendered under this section is limited to
that authorized by this code at a polling place.
(c) The person assisting the voter must sign a written oath
prescribed by Section 64.034 that is part of the certificate on the
official carrier envelope.
(d) If a voter is assisted in violation of Subsection (a) or
(b), the voter's ballot may not be counted.
(e) A person who assists a voter to prepare a ballot to be
voted by mail shall enter the person's signature, printed name, and
residence address on the official carrier envelope of the voter.
(f) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
fails to provide the information on the official carrier envelope
as required by Subsection (e).
(g) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree [Class A misdemeanor] unless the person is convicted of an
offense under Section 64.036 for providing unlawful assistance to
the same voter, in which event the offense is a [state jail] felony
of the second degree.
(h) Subsection (f) does not apply if the person is related
to the applicant within the second degree by affinity or the third
degree by consanguinity, as determined under Subchapter B, Chapter
573, Government Code, or is registered to vote at the same address
as the applicant.
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
last day of the legislative session.