88R4035 MLH-D

By: Jetton H.B. No. 1669

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the appointment of election officers to serve during the early voting period.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 85.009, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and by adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), (b-3), (b-4), (b-5), and (b-6) to read as follows:

(b) Before July of each year, the county chair of each political party holding a primary election in the county shall submit in writing to the county clerk a list of names of persons [in order of preference for each early voting polling place] who are eligible for selection as an election officer. The county chair may supplement the list of names of persons until the 30th day before early voting begins [in case an appointed election officer becomes unable to serve]. The county clerk shall appoint presiding judges and alternate presiding judges who meet [the first person meeting] the applicable eligibility requirements from the lists [list] submitted in compliance with this subsection. The county clerk shall appoint [by the party with the highest number of votes in the county] as the presiding judge of each [that] polling place a [and the first] person [meeting the applicable eligibility requirements] from the list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with the [second] highest number of votes in that precinct in the last gubernatorial election, and as the alternate presiding judge of each polling place a person from the list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with the second highest number of votes in that precinct in the last gubernatorial election [the county as the alternate presiding judge of that polling place]. The county clerk shall appoint additional election officers for each polling place in the manner described by Subsection (a). The county clerk may reject the list if the persons whose names are submitted on the list are determined not to meet the applicable eligibility requirements.

(b-1) In a county with a population of 100,000 or more, to be eligible to serve as a presiding judge a person must:

(1) have served in at least three elections as an election clerk in the county in which the person's name is submitted; and

(2) to the greatest extent possible, have served in at least two elections as an alternate presiding judge in the county in which the person's name is submitted.

(b-2) In a county with a population of 100,000 or more, to be eligible to serve as an alternate presiding judge a person must have served in at least three elections as an election clerk in the county where the person's name is submitted.

(b-3) If the county clerk has appointed every eligible person on a list submitted in compliance with Subsection (b) by the county chair of a political party and a vacant position still remains, the county clerk may waive the requirements of Subsections (b-1) and (b-2).

(b-4) A presiding judge or alternate presiding judge is not required to serve in a polling place located in the precinct in which the judge resides.

(b-5) The county chairs may submit more names than necessary to fill available positions. If a vacancy occurs after the county clerk has made appointments under this section, the county clerk may appoint a new presiding judge or alternate presiding judge, as applicable, from the list affiliated or aligned with the same political party as the original judge.

(b-6) Following an oral warning to the election judge and with the concurrence of the county chair of the same political party with which the judge is affiliated or aligned, the county clerk may remove, replace, or reassign an election judge who causes a disruption in a polling location or wilfully disobeys the provisions of this code.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.