BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 752

By: Israel

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Many Texas elections are won by unopposed candidates who face no competition at the polls and are not required to secure a threshold of votes to win. However, in the vast majority of cases, these unopposed candidates still appear on the ballot. It has been suggested that candidates appearing on the ballot with no opponents may confuse voters, as well as cause a voter to spend more time in a voting booth than necessary. H.B. 752 seeks to address this issue by providing for these candidates to be declared elected, which results in their names being placed in a separate section at the bottom of the ballot where no votes are cast.

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.

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.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 752 amends the Election Code to require the governing body of a political subdivision, on receipt of certification that a candidate is unopposed for election to an office, to declare by order or ordinance the unopposed candidate elected to the office. The bill requires a certifying authority to declare an unopposed candidate elected to an office of the state or county government if only the votes cast for that candidate may be counted.           

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.