BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3732

By: Guerra

Elections

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Providing an avenue for voters to verify that their votes are counted would help to ensure election integrity in Texas. Under current law, no procedure exists by which Texans may verify if their vote counted in an election. While records are kept by county election officials and by the secretary of state, the retention time for those records and supporting documents is less than two years, limiting the voter's ability to ask for more research to be done when they challenge their voting record. C.S.H.B. 3732 seeks to resolve this issue by providing for the secretary of state to establish a pilot program for the production of a paper receipt by electronic devices to accept voters.

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

C.S.H.B. 3732 amends the Election Code to require the secretary of state to establish a pilot program requiring a county to use an electronic device to accept voters that is certified under the requirements and standards prescribed by the secretary of state and that produces a paper receipt that provides a voter the information necessary to verify the voter's participation in the election is recorded accurately in the voter information databases maintained by the county and the secretary of state. The bill requires the secretary of state to do the following regarding the program:

· select each county to participate in the program, determined by the appropriate technological capabilities of each county;

· establish the program not later than January 1, 2024; and

· operate the program until January 1, 2026.

C.S.H.B. 3732 requires the secretary of state, not later than September 1, 2026, to prepare and submit a report to the legislature and the presiding officer of each legislative standing committee with jurisdiction over elections that includes the following information:

· which counties participated in the pilot program;

· the number of polling locations that used an electronic device to accept voters that produced a paper receipt;

· any best practices for the use of electronic devices to accept voters that produce a paper receipt; and

· any other information and recommendations considered necessary by the secretary of state for statewide implementation of the program.

The bill's provisions expire January 1, 2027.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3732 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute does not include the following provisions, which were present in the introduced:

· a prohibition against a voting system from being used in an election if the voting system does not produce a paper receipt that provides a voter the information necessary to verify that the voter's participation in the election is recorded accurately in the voter information databases maintained by the county and the secretary of state; and

· a prohibition against such a paper receipt from indicating for which candidates or measures a person voted.

The substitute instead requires the secretary of state to establish a pilot program for the production of a paper receipt by electronic devices to accept voters. The substitute includes the following provisions that were absent from the introduced with respect to that requirement:

· a requirement regarding the selection of participating counties;

· a reporting requirement for the secretary of state;

· a requirement for the secretary of state to operate the program until January 1, 2026; and

· a provision establishing that the bill's provisions expire January 1, 2027.