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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to availability of cast ballots under the public |
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information law. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to instill confidence |
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in the elections of this state and protect the secrecy of the ballot |
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by ensuring the public's right to audit the results of the public's |
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elections by accessing copies of cast ballots that have been |
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anonymized. |
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SECTION 2. Section 1.012, Election Code, is amended by |
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adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and (c-3) to read as follows: |
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(c-1) Except as provided by Subsections (c-2) and (c-3) and |
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notwithstanding any other law, including Section 66.058, a cast |
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ballot is public information under Chapter 552, Government Code. |
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(c-2) Any information on a ballot subject to a request for |
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public information that could be used to identify an individual is |
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confidential and shall be withheld and redacted from the ballot. |
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(c-3) If a ballot cast in a precinct containing five or |
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fewer registered voters on election day is responsive to a request |
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for public information, the governmental body, as that term is |
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defined under Section 552.003, Government Code, that produces the |
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ballot shall take reasonable measures to ensure that production of |
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the ballot does not have the effect of disclosing the ballot |
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selections of any voter in that precinct. Reasonable measures to |
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prevent disclosure of ballot selections under this subsection may |
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include redacting precinct identifying information, modifying the |
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request for public information to include portions of ballots from |
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additional precincts, and aggregating responsive records from |
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multiple precincts. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect December 1, 2021. |