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Amend CSSB 1 (house committee report) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to ARTICLE 1 of the bill and renumbering the SECTIONS of that ARTICLE accordingly:
SECTION 1.____. Section 1.012, Election Code, is amended by adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows:
(c-1) Except as provided by Subsections (c-2) and (c-3) and notwithstanding any other law, including Section 66.058, a cast ballot becomes public information under Chapter 552, Government Code, on the 60th day following the date of the election. When responding to a request for public information to which a ballot is responsive, the custodian shall produce a copy of the ballot and may not produce the original ballot.
(c-2) Any information on a ballot subject to a request for public information that could be used to identify an individual is confidential and shall be withheld and redacted from the copy of the ballot.
(c-3) If a ballot cast in a precinct containing five or fewer registered voters on election day is responsive to a request for public information, the governmental body, as that term is defined under Section 552.003, Government Code, that produces the copy of the ballot shall take reasonable measures to ensure that production of the copy does not have the effect of disclosing the ballot selections of any voter in that precinct. Reasonable measures to prevent disclosure of ballot selections under this subsection may include redacting precinct identifying information, modifying the request for public information to include portions of ballots from additional precincts, and aggregating responsive records from multiple precincts.