BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1255
86R13037 ATP-F	By: Bettencourt
	State Affairs
	3/28/2019
	As Filed

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

Under current law, the countywide polling place program provides that the secretary of state shall implement a program to allow each commissioners court participating in the program to eliminate county election precinct polling places and establish countywide polling places. Interested parties contend that more clarity is needed as to procedures to locate and ensure access to polling locations throughout participating counties.

 

S.B. 1255 addresses these contentions by providing methodologies for establishing the number, and general location of countywide polling places.

 

As proposed, S.B. 1255 amends current law relating to the location of countywide polling places within a county.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Section 43.007(m), Election Code, as follows:

 

(m) Requires the county, in adopting a methodology under Subsection (f) (relating to determining the location of polling places), to ensure that:

 

(1) each county commissioners precinct contains at least on countywide polling place and the percentage of the total number of countywide polling places located in each commissioners precinct is required to be equal as mathematically possible to the percentage of registered voters of the county whose registrations are effective on the date of the election residing in each commissioner precinct; and

 

(2) in a county with a population of 400,000 or more, the percentage of the total number of countywide polling places located in each state representative district in the county containing territory in which the election is held is required to be as equal as mathematically possible to the percentage of registered voters of the county whose registrations are effective on the date of the election residing in each state representative district, rather than that the total number of permanent branch and temporary branch polling places open for voting in a county commissioners precinct does not exceed more than twice the number of permanent branch and temporary branch polling places in another county commissioners precinct.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2019.