INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Section 32.002,
Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection
(c-1) 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 in
a county to which Subsection (a)(1) applies or before August of each year
in a county to which Subsection (a)(2) applies, the county chair of a
political party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second
highest number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial
general election shall submit in writing to the county clerk [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 county clerk shall
prepare for the commissioners court a list of persons whose names were
submitted by the county chairs and who are eligible to serve as election
judges. The commissioners court shall appoint the first person who
meets [meeting] the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list prepared by the county clerk and whose name was 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 who
meets [meeting] the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list prepared by the county clerk and whose name was submitted in
compliance with this subsection by the party with the second highest number
of votes in the precinct as the alternate presiding judge. If the
candidates for governor of two political parties received the same number
of votes in the precinct, the first person who meets [meeting]
the applicable eligibility requirements from the list prepared by the
county clerk and whose name was submitted by the party whose candidate
for governor received the highest number of votes in the county shall be
appointed as the presiding judge and the first person who meets [meeting]
the applicable eligibility requirements from the list prepared by the
county clerk and whose name was submitted by the party whose candidate
for governor received the second highest number of votes in the county
shall be appointed as the alternate presiding judge. The county clerk
[commissioners court] may reject any person from the list if
the person is [persons whose names are submitted on the list are]
determined not to meet the applicable eligibility requirements.
(c-1) Judges of
countywide polling places established under Section 43.007 must be
appointed in compliance with Subsection (c) from the persons whose names
were submitted for appointment as election
judges for the precincts in the geographic vicinity of the countywide
polling place.
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SECTION 1. Section 32.002,
Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection
(c-1) 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 in
a county to which Subsection (a)(1) applies or before August of each year
in a county to which Subsection (a)(2) applies, the county chair of a
political party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second
highest number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial
general election shall submit in writing to the county clerk [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 county clerk shall
prepare for the commissioners court a list of persons whose names were
submitted by the county chairs and who are eligible to serve as election
judges. The commissioners court shall appoint the first person who
meets [meeting] the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list prepared by the county clerk and whose name was 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 who
meets [meeting] the applicable eligibility requirements from the
list prepared by the county clerk and whose name was submitted in
compliance with this subsection by the party with the second highest number
of votes in the precinct as the alternate presiding judge. If the
candidates for governor of two political parties received the same number
of votes in the precinct, the first person who meets [meeting]
the applicable eligibility requirements from the list prepared by the
county clerk and whose name was submitted by the party whose candidate
for governor received the highest number of votes in the county shall be
appointed as the presiding judge and the first person who meets [meeting]
the applicable eligibility requirements from the list prepared by the
county clerk and whose name was submitted by the party whose candidate
for governor received the second highest number of votes in the county
shall be appointed as the alternate presiding judge. The county clerk
[commissioners court] may reject any person from the list if
the person is [persons whose names are submitted on the list are]
determined not to meet the applicable eligibility requirements.
(c-1) Judges of
countywide polling places established under Section 43.007 must be
appointed in compliance with Subsection (c) from the persons whose names
were submitted for appointment by the
county chairs in a manner that provides equitable representation, except
that the commissioners court and county clerk are not required to make the
appointments based on specific polling locations, a judge is not required
to serve in a polling place located in the precinct in which the judge
resides, and more than one presiding judge or alternate presiding judge may
be selected from the same precinct to serve in polling places not located
in the precinct in which the judges reside. The county clerk may submit,
and the commissioners court may preapprove, the appointment of more
presiding judges or alternate presiding judges than necessary to fill
available positions. The county clerk may select an individual whose
appointment was preapproved to fill a vacancy in a position that was held
by an individual from the same political party. Nothing in this subsection
precludes a county clerk from placing an election officer at a countywide
polling place based on the need for services at that location.
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SECTION 2. Section 32.006(a),
Election Code, is amended.
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SECTION 2. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 3. Section 32.009(d),
Election Code, is amended.
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SECTION 3. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 4. Subchapter A,
Chapter 32, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 32.012 to read as
follows:
Sec. 32.012. PROVISION OF
INFORMATION RELATING TO ELECTION JUDGE APPOINTED BY COMMISSIONERS COURT.
(a) After the commissioners court appoints an
election judge, the county clerk shall provide to the county chair of each
political party that submitted names for appointment the appointment list
that includes each appointed judge's name, precinct, address, and any
available telephone number and e-mail address.
(b) The appointment list
must be provided in writing or by posting
the list on the county's website.
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SECTION 4. Subchapter A,
Chapter 32, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 32.012 to read as
follows:
Sec. 32.012. PROVISION OF
INFORMATION RELATING TO ELECTION JUDGES APPOINTED BY COMMISSIONERS COURT.
(a) After the commissioners court appoints a
presiding election judge and an
alternate presiding judge, the county clerk shall provide to the
county chair of each political party that submitted names for appointment
the appointment list that includes each appointed judge's name, residence precinct, appointment location, address, and any
available telephone number and e-mail address.
(b) The appointment list
must be provided in writing.
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SECTION 5. Section 32.034,
Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) The person who
appoints an election clerk under this section shall provide to the county
chair of each political party that submitted names for appointment under
Subsection (b) the appointment list that includes each appointed clerk's
name, precinct, address, and any available telephone number and e-mail
address. If the commissioners court appoints a clerk as provided by
Subsection (e), the county clerk must provide the appointment list under
this section.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 6. Section
32.051(c), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) Except as provided by
Section 32.0511, to be eligible to serve as a clerk of an election
precinct, a person must be a qualified voter and, to the extent
practicable, the person should be a qualified voter:
(1) of the county, in a
countywide election ordered by the governor or a county authority or in a
primary election;
(2) of the part of the
county in which the election is held, for an election ordered by the
governor or a county authority that does not cover the entire county of the
person's residence; or
(3) of the political
subdivision, in an election ordered by an authority of a political
subdivision other than a county.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 7. Subchapter D,
Chapter 32, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 32.076 to read as
follows:
Sec. 32.076. PRESENCE OF
OFFICER FROM DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTY REQUIRED. When the presiding judge
is performing any activity within the polling location related to handling
ballots or voting machines, counting ballots or recording results, or any
similar activity, an alternate presiding judge or clerk whose name was
submitted for appointment by a political party other than the party that
submitted the presiding judge's name for appointment must be present to
allow the alternate presiding judge or clerk to observe the activity or
hear any discussion between election workers.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 8. Section 85.009(b),
Election Code, is amended.
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SECTION 5. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 9. Subchapter A,
Chapter 85, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 85.0091 to read as
follows:
Sec. 85.0091. EARLY
VOTING ELECTION OFFICERS FOR CERTAIN PARTISAN ELECTIONS. (a) This section applies only to an election that is
not held jointly with the general election for state and county officers
and is a special election or election for city officers in which a
candidate's political party alignment is indicated on the ballot.
(b) The early voting
clerk shall select election officers for the main early voting polling
place and any branch polling place in the manner that Section 85.009
provides for the county clerk to select officers, except that the early
voting clerk shall prescribe the deadline by which county chairs must
submit names of persons eligible to serve as election officers.
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SECTION 6. Subchapter A,
Chapter 85, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 85.0091 to read as
follows:
Sec. 85.0091. EARLY
VOTING ELECTION OFFICERS FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS.
(a) The early voting
clerk shall select election officers for a
primary election for the main early voting polling place and any
branch polling place in the manner that Section 85.009 provides for the
county clerk to select officers from the
appropriate political party, except that the early voting clerk
shall prescribe the deadline by which county chairs must submit names of
persons eligible to serve as election officers.
(b) This section does not apply to a joint primary
governed by Section 172.126.
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SECTION 10. Section
172.126(c), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) One set of election
officers shall conduct the primary elections at each polling place. Not
later than the second Monday in December preceding the primary elections,
each county chair shall deliver to the county clerk a list of the names of
the election judges and clerks for that party. The presiding judge of each
party, or alternate judge if applicable, serves as a co-judge for the precinct.
If an eligible presiding co-judge and alternate co-judge cannot be found to
serve for a particular party in a precinct, the county clerk may appoint
any voter meeting the qualifications of election judge to serve as the
presiding judge in the precinct [a joint primary may not be
conducted in that precinct, and that precinct must be consolidated with
another precinct that has an eligible presiding co-judge and alternate
co-judge to serve for each party]. The county clerk shall appoint the
election clerks in accordance with rules prescribed by the secretary of
state. The secretary of state shall prescribe the maximum number of clerks
that may be appointed for each precinct. The early voting ballot board and
any central counting station shall also be composed of and administered by
one set of election officers that provides representation for each party,
and the secretary of state by rule shall prescribe procedures consistent
with this subsection for the appointment of those officers.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 11. Sections
32.006(b), 32.010, and 32.0511(d), Election Code, are repealed.
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SECTION 7. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 12. This Act takes
effect September 1, 2015.
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SECTION 8. Same as introduced
version.
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