86R2009 ADM-D
 
  By: Hall S.B. No. 74
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to voting and election procedures; creating a criminal
  offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 52.075, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 52.075.  MODIFICATION OF BALLOT FORM FOR CERTAIN VOTING
  SYSTEMS.  The secretary of state may prescribe the form and content
  of a ballot for an election using a voting system, including an
  electronic voting system [or a voting system that uses direct
  recording electronic voting machines], to conform to the formatting
  requirements of the system.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 85.001(a) and (c), Election Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The period for early voting by personal appearance
  begins on the 10th [17th] day before election day and continues
  through the fourth day before election day, except as otherwise
  provided by this section.
         (c)  If the date prescribed by Subsection (a) [or (b)] for
  beginning the period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state holiday,
  the early voting period begins on the next regular business day,
  except as otherwise provided by Section 85.006.
         SECTION 3.  Section 85.005(d), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  In an election ordered by a city, early voting by
  personal appearance at the main early voting polling place shall be
  conducted for at least 12 hours[:
               [(1)]  on one weekday[, if the early voting period
  consists of less than six weekdays; or
               [(2)     on two weekdays, if the early voting period
  consists of six or more weekdays].
         SECTION 4.  Sections 85.006(a), (d), and (e), Election Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), the authority
  ordering an election may order early voting by personal appearance
  at the main early voting polling place to be conducted on a Saturday
  or Sunday [one or more Saturdays or Sundays] during the early voting
  period.
         (d)  The authority authorized to order early voting on a
  Saturday or Sunday under Subsection (a) or (b) shall order the
  voting under the applicable subsection on receipt of a written
  request submitted by at least 15 registered voters of the territory
  covered by the election. The request must be submitted in time to
  enable compliance with Section 85.007. The authority [is not
  required to order the voting on a particular date specified by the
  request but] shall order the voting on [at least one] Saturday if
  [a] Saturday is requested and on [at least one] Sunday if [a] Sunday
  is requested.
         (e)  In a primary election or the general election for state
  and county officers in a county with a population of 100,000 or
  more, the early voting clerk shall order personal appearance voting
  at the main early voting polling place to be conducted for at least
  12 hours on [the last] Saturday and for at least five hours on [the
  last] Sunday during [of] the early voting period. The early voting
  clerk shall order voting to be conducted at those times in those
  elections in a county with a population under 100,000 on receipt of
  a written request for those hours submitted by at least 15
  registered voters of the county. The request must be submitted in
  time to enable compliance with Section 85.007. This subsection
  supersedes any provision of this subchapter to the extent of any
  conflict.
         SECTION 5.  Section 85.010(b), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  A political subdivision that holds an election
  described by Subsection (a) shall designate as an early voting
  polling place for the election any early voting polling place[,
  other than a polling place established under Section 85.062(e),]
  established by the county and located in the political subdivision.
         SECTION 6.  Sections 85.062(a) and (b), Election Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (d) [or (e)], one or
  more early voting polling places other than the main early voting
  polling place may be established by:
               (1)  the commissioners court, for an election in which
  the county clerk is the early voting clerk; or
               (2)  the governing body of the political subdivision
  served by the authority ordering the election, for an election in
  which a person other than the county clerk is the early voting
  clerk.
         (b)  A polling place established under this section may be
  located, subject to Subsection (d), at any place in the territory
  served by the early voting clerk and may be located in any
  stationary structure as directed by the authority establishing the
  branch office. The polling place may be located in a movable
  structure, but the structure may not change locations during the
  early voting period [in the general election for state and county
  officers, general primary election, or runoff primary election].
  Ropes or other suitable objects may be used at the polling place to
  ensure compliance with Section 62.004. Persons who are not
  expressly permitted by law to be in a polling place shall be
  excluded from the polling place to the extent practicable.
         SECTION 7.  Section 85.063, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 85.063.  DAYS AND HOURS FOR VOTING: PERMANENT OR
  TEMPORARY BRANCH. Early voting by personal appearance at each
  permanent or temporary branch polling place shall be conducted on
  the same days and during the same hours as voting is conducted at
  the main early voting polling place.
         SECTION 8.  Section 85.068(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The early voting clerk shall post notice for each
  election stating any dates and the hours that voting on Saturday or
  Sunday will be conducted at a temporary branch polling place [under
  Section 85.064(d) or 85.065(b)], if the early voting clerk is a
  county clerk or city secretary under Section 83.002 or 83.005.
         SECTION 9.  Section 122.001, Election Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
         (d-1)  Effective September 1, 2029, a voting system may not
  be used in an election if the voting system does not use a paper
  record or produce a paper receipt that can be used to verify the
  tabulation of electronic voting system results.
         SECTION 10.  Subchapter A, Chapter 123, Election Code, is
  amended by adding Section 123.010 to read as follows:
         Sec. 123.010.  DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM
  PROHIBITED.  Except as necessary to comply with Section 61.012, an
  authority may not adopt a voting system that uses direct recording
  electronic voting machines.
         SECTION 11.  Section 128.001, Election Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  The secretary of state shall compile procedures adopted
  under this section for voting and for reconciliation of votes cast
  using computerized voting systems into a list. The list of
  procedures must apply uniformly across the state.
         SECTION 12.  Section 216.001, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 216.001.  APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
  applies only to:
               (1)  an election that results in a tie vote as provided
  by Sections 2.002(i), 2.023(b) and (c), and 2.028; or
               (2)  a precinct described by Section 216.006.
         SECTION 13.  Chapter 216, Election Code, is amended by
  adding Section 216.006 to read as follows:
         Sec. 216.006.  AUTOMATIC RECOUNT: DISCREPANCY. (a)  This
  section applies to a precinct that has completed a vote count under
  Chapter 65 in which the total number of ballots counted differs by
  at least 0.5 percent from the number of people who signed the
  precinct's signature roster under Section 63.002.
         (b)  The presiding judge of a precinct described by
  Subsection (a) shall conduct a recount under this chapter.
         (c)  A person commits an offense if the person canvasses a
  precinct's returns prior to the completion of a recount required by
  this section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A
  misdemeanor.
         SECTION 14.  (a)  The following provisions of the Election
  Code are repealed:
               (1)  Section 32.002(c-1);
               (2)  Section 43.004(c);
               (3)  Section 43.007;
               (4)  Section 66.058(g);
               (5)  Sections 85.001(b) and (e);
               (6)  Section 85.062(e);
               (7)  Section 85.064;
               (8)  Section 85.065;
               (9)  Section 127.201(g);
               (10)  Chapter 129; and
               (11)  Section 213.016.
         (b)  Section 33.05, Penal Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 15.  The change in law made by this Act in repealing
  Section 33.05, Penal Code, applies only to an offense committed on
  or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
  before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
  effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section,
  an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if
  any element of the offense occurred before that date.
         SECTION 16.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.