BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 3122 |
By: Faircloth |
Elections |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested observers have expressed concern that when the end of the presentation of identification six-day cure period falls on a holiday, the period extends to a seventh day—the same day by which the early voting ballot board must act—making it difficult for the board to complete its work on time. In addition, if the board makes any errors, election officials have no standing to seek judicial review to remedy the errors. C.S.H.B. 3122 seeks to address these concerns.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 3122 amends the Election Code to extend from the seventh day after the date of an election to the ninth day after the date of an election the deadline by which the early voting ballot board is required to verify and count provisional ballots.
C.S.H.B. 3122 authorizes a county election officer who determines a ballot was incorrectly rejected by the early voting ballot board before the time set for convening the canvassing authority to petition a district court for injunctive or other relief as the court determines appropriate.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2015.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 3122 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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