By: Duncan S.B. No. 1646

(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2007; March 21, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; April 19, 2007, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 19, 2007, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1646 By: Duncan

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain election practices and procedures; providing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 2.051, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Sections 2.055 and 2.056, this subchapter applies only to an election for officers of a political subdivision other than a county in which write-in votes may be counted only for names appearing on a list of write-in candidates and in which[:

[(1)] each candidate for an office that is to appear on the ballot is unopposed, except as provided by Subsection (b)[; and

[(2) no proposition is to appear on the ballot]. For purposes of this section, a special election of a political subdivision is considered to be a separate election with a separate ballot from:

(1) a general election for officers of the political subdivision held at the same time as the special election; or

(2) another special election of the political subdivision held at the same time as the special election.

SECTION 2. Section 2.053, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2.053. ACTION ON CERTIFICATION. (a) On receipt of the certification, the governing body of the political subdivision by order or ordinance may declare each unopposed candidate elected to the office. If no election is to be held on election day by the political subdivision, a copy of the order or ordinance shall be posted on election day at each polling place used or that would have been used in the election.

(b) If a declaration is made under Subsection (a), the election is not held. [A copy of the order or ordinance shall be posted on election day at each polling place that would have been used in the election.]

(c) The ballots used at a separate election held at the same time as an election that would have been held if the candidates were not declared elected under this section shall include the offices and names of the candidates declared elected under this section listed separately after the measures or contested races in the separate election under the heading "Unopposed Candidates Declared Elected." The candidates shall be grouped in the same relative order prescribed for the ballot generally. No votes are cast in connection with the candidates.

(d) The secretary of state by rule may prescribe any additional procedures necessary to accommodate a particular voting system or ballot style and to facilitate the efficient and cost-effective implementation of this section.

(e) A certificate of election shall be issued to each candidate in the same manner and at the same time as provided for a candidate elected at the election. The candidate must qualify for the office in the same manner as provided for a candidate elected at the election.

SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 2.054, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) In an election that may be subject to this subchapter, a [A] person commits an offense if by intimidation or by means of coercion the person influences or attempts to influence a person to:

(1) not file an application for a place on the ballot or a declaration of write-in candidacy; or

(2) withdraw as a candidate [in an election that may be subject to this subchapter].

SECTION 4. Chapter 2, Election Code, is amended by adding Subchapter D to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER D. CANCELLATION OF ELECTIONS

Sec. 2.081. CANCELLATION OF MOOT MEASURE. (a) If an authority that orders an election on a measure determines that the action to be authorized by the voters may not be taken, regardless of the outcome of the election, the authority may declare the measure moot and remove the measure from the ballot.

(b) If a measure is declared moot under this section and is removed from the ballot, the authority holding the election shall post notice of the declaration during early voting by personal appearance and on election day, at each polling place that would have been used for the election on the measure.

Sec. 2.082. SPECIFIC AUTHORITY FOR CANCELLATION REQUIRED. An authority that orders an election may cancel the election only if the power to cancel the election is specifically provided by statute.

SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 4.004, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The notice of a general or special election must state:

(1) the nature and date of the election;

(2) except as provided by Subsection (c), the location of each polling place, including each early voting polling place;

(3) the hours that the polls will be open; and

(4) any other information required by other law.

SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 16.031, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The registrar shall cancel a voter's registration immediately on receipt of:

(1) notice under Section 13.072(b) or 15.021 or a response under Section 15.053 that the voter's residence is outside the county;

(2) an abstract of the voter's death certificate under Section 16.001(a) or an abstract of an application indicating that the voter is deceased under Section 16.001(b);

(3) an abstract of a final judgment of the voter's mental incompetence, conviction of a felony, or disqualification under Section 16.002, 16.003, or 16.004;

(4) notice under Section 112.012 that the voter has applied for a limited ballot in another county;

(5) notice from a voter registration official in another state that the voter has registered to vote outside this state; [or]

(6) notice from the early voting clerk under Section 101.0041 that a federal postcard application submitted by an applicant states a voting residence address located outside the registrar's county; or

(7) notice from the secretary of state that the voter has registered to vote in another county, as determined by the voter's driver's license number or personal identification card number issued by the Department of Public Safety or social security number.

SECTION 7. Section 32.002, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:

(c) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject to this subsection. Before July of each year, the county chair of a political party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes in the county cast for a candidate nominated by a political party in the most recent gubernatorial general election shall submit in writing to the commissioners court a list of names of persons in order of preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as an election judge. The county chair may supplement the list of names of persons until the 20th day before a general election or the 15th day before a special election in case an appointed election judge becomes unable to serve. The commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with the highest number of votes in the precinct as the presiding judge and the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with the second highest number of votes in the precinct as the alternate presiding judge. The commissioners court may reject the list if the persons whose names are submitted on the list are determined not to meet the applicable eligibility requirements.

(g) If, since the most recent gubernatorial general election, the boundaries of a precinct have been changed, the number of votes received in the precinct by a political party's gubernatorial candidate shall be estimated as provided by Section 141.070 for the purpose of determining which political party's candidate for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes in the county.

SECTION 8. Section 32.034, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

(b) The county chair of a political party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes in the county cast for a candidate nominated by a political party in the most recent gubernatorial general election may, not later than the 25th day before a general election or the 10th day before a special election to which Subsection (a) applies, submit to a presiding judge a list containing the names of at least two persons who are eligible for appointment as a clerk. If a timely list is submitted, the presiding judge shall appoint at least one clerk from the list, except as provided by Subsection (c).

(f) If, since the most recent gubernatorial general election, the boundaries of a precinct have been changed, the number of votes received in the precinct by a political party's gubernatorial candidate shall be estimated as provided by Section 141.070 for the purpose of determining which political party's candidate for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes in the county.

SECTION 9. Subsection (a), Section 33.058, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) While on duty, a watcher may not:

(1) converse with an election officer regarding the election, except to call attention to an irregularity or violation of law;

(2) converse with a voter; [or]

(3) communicate in any manner with a voter regarding the election;

(4) use a mobile telephone; or

(5) use any mechanical or electronic means of recording images or sound.

SECTION 10. Subsection (a), Section 41.0052, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The governing body of a political subdivision other than a county may, not later than December 31, 2007 [2005], change the date on which it holds its general election for officers to another authorized uniform election date.

SECTION 11. Subsection (e), Section 85.001, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) For an election held on the uniform election date in May and any resulting runoff election, the period for early voting by personal appearance begins on the 12th day before election day and continues through the fourth day before election day.

SECTION 12. Subsection (f), Section 86.006, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(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 exception to the application of [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.

SECTION 13. Chapter 101, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 101.0041 to read as follows:

Sec. 101.0041. ACTION BY EARLY VOTING CLERK ON CERTAIN APPLICATIONS. The early voting clerk shall notify the voter registrar of a federal postcard application submitted by an applicant that states a voting residence address located outside the registrar's county.

SECTION 14. Section 123.035, Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) A contract for the acquisition of direct recording electronic voting machine equipment may not prohibit the transportation of the equipment across county lines, and a contract provision that violates this subsection is void.

SECTION 15. Subchapter A, Chapter 125, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 125.010 to read as follows:

Sec. 125.010. PRESENCE OF VOTING SYSTEM TECHNICIAN AUTHORIZED. (a) In this section, "voting system technician" means a person who as a vocation repairs, assembles, maintains, or operates voting system equipment.

(b) On the request of the authority holding the election, a voting system technician may be present at a polling place, a meeting of the early voting ballot board, or a central counting station for the purpose of repairing, assembling, maintaining, or operating voting system equipment.

SECTION 16. Subchapter B, Chapter 141, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 141.040 to read as follows:

Sec. 141.040. NOTICE OF DEADLINES. Not later than the 30th day before the first day on which a candidate may file an application for a place on the ballot under this subchapter, the authority with whom the application must be filed shall post notice of the dates of the filing period in a public place in a building in which the authority has an office.

SECTION 17. Subsection (a), Section 146.0301, Election Code, as amended by Chapters 1107 and 1109, Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005, is reenacted to read as follows:

(a) A write-in candidate may not withdraw from the election after the 67th day before election day.

SECTION 18. Subsection (a), Section 201.054, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a candidate's application for a place on a special election ballot must be filed not later than:

(1) 5 p.m. of the 62nd [67th] day before election day, if election day is on or after the 70th day after the date the election is ordered;

(2) 5 p.m. of the 31st day before election day, if election day is on or after the 36th day and before the 70th day after the date the election is ordered; or

(3) 5 p.m. of a day fixed by the authority ordering the election, which day must be not earlier than the fifth day after the date the election is ordered and not later than the 20th day before election day, if election day is before the 36th day after the date the election is ordered.

SECTION 19. Subsections (b) through (i), Section 213.013, Election Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) In a recount of an election on an office, each candidate for the office is entitled to be present at the recount and have watchers [representatives] present in the number corresponding to the number of counting teams designated for the recount. If only one counting team is designated or the recount is conducted on automatic tabulating equipment, each candidate is entitled to two watchers [representatives].

(c) In a recount of an election on an office for which a political party has a nominee or for which a candidate is aligned with a political party, the party is entitled to have watchers [representatives] present in the same number prescribed for candidates under Subsection (b).

(d) In a recount of an election on a measure, watchers [representatives] may be appointed by the campaign treasurer or assistant campaign treasurer of a specific-purpose political committee that supports or opposes the measure in the number corresponding to the number of counting teams designated for the recount. If only one counting team is designated or the recount is conducted on automatic tabulating equipment, each eligible specific-purpose political committee is entitled to two watchers [representatives].

(e) A watcher [representative] appointed to serve at a recount must deliver a certificate of appointment to the recount committee chair at the time the watcher [representative] reports for service. A watcher [representative] who presents himself or herself for service at any time immediately before or during the recount and submits a proper certificate of appointment must be accepted for service unless the number of appointees to which the appointing authority is entitled have already been accepted.

(f) The certificate must be in writing and must include:

(1) the printed name and the signature of the watcher [representative];

(2) the election subject to the recount;

(3) the time and place of the recount;

(4) the measure, candidate, or political party being represented;

(5) the signature and the printed name of the person making the appointment; and

(6) an indication of the capacity in which the appointing authority is acting.

(g) If the watcher [representative] is accepted for service, the recount committee chair shall keep the certificate and deliver it to the recount coordinator after the recount for preservation under Section 211.007. If the watcher [representative] is not accepted for service, the recount committee chair shall return the certificate to the watcher [representative] with a signed statement of the reason for the rejection.

(h) Each person entitled to be present at a recount is entitled to observe any activity conducted in connection with the recount. The person is entitled to sit or stand conveniently near the officers conducting the observed activity and near enough to an officer who is announcing the votes or examining or processing the ballots to verify that the ballots are counted or processed correctly or to an officer who is tallying the votes to verify that they are tallied correctly. Rules concerning a watcher's [representative's] rights, duties, and privileges are otherwise the same as those prescribed by this code for poll watchers to the extent they can be made applicable.

(i) No mechanical or electronic means of recording images or sound are allowed inside the room in which the recount is conducted, or in any hallway or corridor in the building in which the recount is conducted within 30 feet of the entrance to the room, while the recount is in progress. However, on request of a person entitled to appoint watchers [representatives] to serve at the recount, the recount committee chair shall permit the person to photocopy under the chair's supervision any ballot, including any supporting materials, challenged by the person or person's watcher [representative]. The person must pay a reasonable charge for making the copies and, if no photocopying equipment is available, may supply that equipment at the person's expense. The person shall provide a copy on request to another person entitled to appoint watchers [representatives] to serve at the recount.

SECTION 20. Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Section 271.002, Election Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) If the elections ordered by the authorities of two or more political subdivisions are to be held on the same day in all or part of the same county [territory], the governing bodies of the political subdivisions may enter into an agreement to hold the elections jointly in the election precincts that can be served by common polling places, subject to Section 271.003.

(b) If an election ordered by the governor and the elections ordered by the authorities of one or more political subdivisions are to be held on the same day in all or part of the same county [territory], the commissioners court of a county in which the election ordered by the governor is to be held and the governing bodies of the other political subdivisions may enter into an agreement to hold the elections jointly in the election precincts that can be served by common polling places, subject to Section 271.003.

(c) If another law requires two or more political subdivisions to hold a joint election, the governing body of any other political subdivision holding an election on the same day in all or part of the same county [territory] in which the joint election is to be held may enter into an agreement to participate in the joint election with the governing bodies of the political subdivisions holding the joint election.

SECTION 21. Subsection (b), Section 61.012, Election Code, is repealed.

SECTION 22. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to an election ordered on or after September 1, 2007.

(b) The governing body of a political subdivision other than a county may change an election date as authorized by Subsection (a), Section 41.0052, Election Code, as amended by this Act, at any time on or after September 1, 2007.

(c) The change in law made by this Act to Subsection (f), Section 86.006, Election Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to conduct described by that section that occurs on or after September 1, 2007. Conduct occurring before that date is governed by the law in effect when the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

(d) Subsection (a-1), Section 123.035, Election Code, as added by this Act, applies only to a contract executed on or after September 1, 2007. A contract executed before that date is governed by the law in effect when the contract was executed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 23. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.

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