BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 569

By: Bucy

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current law, if a mail-in ballot does not fully comply with the statutory requirements applicable to it due to clerical mistakes, it may be rejected without notifying the voter in time to correct it. The bill author has informed the committee that creating a structured process for notifying voters of defects and allowing them to correct those defects will enhance voter accessibility and ensure that all eligible votes are counted. H.B. 569 seeks to address this issue by requiring the early voting clerk to mail the voter a notice of defect and a corrective action form developed by the secretary of state and, further, allows the clerk to email a notice of a defect to the applicable voter.

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. 569 amends the Election Code to replace the authority for an early voting clerk who receives a timely carrier envelope that does not fully comply with the applicable requirements for voting by mail to deliver the carrier envelope in person or by mail to the voter and to receive, before the deadline, the corrected carrier envelope from the voter, or to notify the voter of the defect and provide for the voter to instead vote in person, with a requirement for the clerk to send the voter a notice of the defect and a corrective action form developed by the secretary of state by mail or by common or contract carrier not later than the second day after the clerk discovers the defect and before voting materials must be delivered to the early voting ballot board. The bill requires the secretary of state to develop the corrective action form that may be completed and submitted to an early voting clerk to correct a defect.

H.B. 569 requires the early voting clerk to include with the notice delivered to the voter a brief explanation of each defect in the noncomplying ballot and a notice that the voter may take the following actions:

· cancel the voter's application to vote by mail by submitting a request for the cancellation to an election officer; or

· correct the defect in the voter's ballot by doing the following:

o submitting the corrective action form by mail or by common or contract carrier; or

o coming to the early voting clerk's office not later than the sixth day after election day.

The bill requires an early voting clerk to send defect notices uniformly by mail or uniformly by common or contract carrier with respect to each ballot in an election to which the bill's provision's apply.

H.B. 569 expands the authorization of an early voting clerk to notify the voter of the defect by telephone to include notification by email and specifies that the authorization applies if the clerk determines that it would not be possible for the voter to receive the notice of defect within a reasonable time to correct the defect. The bill authorizes the clerk to inform the voter that the voter may request to have the voter's application to vote by mail canceled, submit a corrective action form by mail or by common or contract carrier, or come to the early voting clerk's office in person not later than the sixth day after election day to correct the defect. The bill requires an early voting clerk, in addition to sending a voter notice of the defect or notifying the voter of the defect by telephone or email, to notify the voter of a discovered defect using the online tool provided to each early voting clerk that enables a person who submits an application for a ballot to be voted by mail to receive notice of and, if possible, correct a defect in the person's application and ballot. The bill requires the clerk to permit a voter, if possible, to correct a defect using the online tool.

H.B. 569 entitles a poll watcher to observe an early voting clerk when the clerk is sending a voter notice of the defect or notifying the voter of the defect by telephone or email.

H.B. 569 replaces an authorization for the secretary of state to prescribe any other procedures necessary to implement provisions relating to correcting certain defects in an early voting ballot voted by mail, including requirements for posting notice of any deliveries, with an authorization for the secretary to prescribe any procedures necessary to implement the bill's provisions.

H.B. 569 applies only to an election held on or after the bill's effective date. An election held before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect when the election was held, and the law is continued in effect for that purpose.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.