BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

S.B. 108

By: Hall

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

The bill sponsor has informed the committee that in previous elections, some counties allowed the presiding judge to assign their alternate to patrol the parking lot, thereby restricting the alternate judge's ability to observe actions taken to accept voters and precluding the alternate judge from overseeing the distribution and scanning of ballots. S.B. 108 seeks to ensure the sharing of responsibility by judges appointed to oversee elections.

 

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

 

S.B. 108 amends the Election Code to specify that the requirement for an alternate presiding judge to serve as presiding judge for an election if the regularly appointed presiding judge cannot serve applies if the judge is not present at a polling location or otherwise cannot serve. The bill prohibits a person from preventing an alternate presiding judge from freely occupying or observing the area in which voters are being accepted for voting.

 

S.B. 108 repeals the Election Code provision requiring the regularly appointed presiding judge conducting an election to appoint the alternate presiding judge as one of the clerks.

 

With respect to the appointment of election clerks, the bill includes the alternate presiding judge for each election precinct among the judges that must appoint election clerks to assist the judges in the conduct of an election at the polling place served by those judges. The bill also replaces the requirement for the presiding judge to appoint at least two clerks for each precinct in each election with a requirement that the presiding judge appoint at least one clerk and the alternate presiding judge appoint at least one clerk for each precinct in each election. Accordingly, the bill does the following:

·       revises the requirement for the authority that appoints the election judges to prescribe the maximum number of clerks that each presiding judge may appoint for each election to require the authority instead to prescribe the maximum number of clerks that each presiding judge and alternative presiding judge may appoint;

·       authorizes the alternate presiding judge to appoint as many additional clerks, within the prescribed limit, as are necessary for the proper conduct of such an election; and

·       replaces the requirement for the presiding judge to appoint clerks for each precinct in an election ordered by the governor or applicable county authority in the number, within the prescribed limit, the judge considers necessary for the proper conduct of the election with a requirement that the presiding judge and alternate presiding judge each appoint clerks for each precinct in such an election within the prescribed limit the judges consider necessary. 

 

S.B. 108 revises provisions relating to the appointment of election clerks for elections for federal, state, and county offices. With respect to the authorization for the county chair of a political party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election to submit to a presiding judge a list containing the names of at least two persons who are eligible for appointment as an election clerk by a specified deadline, the bill makes the following revisions:

·       changes the deadline from not later than the 25th day before a general election to not later than the 30th day before a general election; and

·       includes the alternate presiding judge among the judges to whom the county chair may submit the list of names.

Accordingly, the bill replaces the requirement for the presiding judge to appoint at least one election clerk from a list that is timely submitted with a requirement for the presiding judge and the alternate presiding judge to each appoint at least one clerk from such a list.

 

S.B. 108 requires the presiding judge, if only one additional election clerk is to be appointed in such an election, to make the appointment from the list submitted by the county chair of the party whose candidate for governor received the second highest number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial election and removes the requirement for the presiding judge, if two lists are submitted, to decide from which list the appointment will be made.

 

S.B. 108 includes the alternate presiding judge among the judges that must make an appointment of an election clerk by a specified deadline in such an election and requires the presiding judge and alternate presiding judge to each appoint the same number of clerks to the extent possible given the total number of clerks to be appointed.

 

With respect to the requirement to submit a list of names for the appointment of an election clerk to the county chair of the political party whose candidate for governor received the most votes in the precinct in the most recent gubernatorial election and to the commissioners court, the bill makes the following revisions:

·       specifies that the list is submitted by the county clerk;

·       specifies that the recipient is the county chair of the political party that failed to timely submit a list of names; and

·       specifies that the requirement applies if a presiding judge and an alternate presiding judge have not been appointed at the time the county chair is required to submit the list.

 

S.B. 108 specifies that the authority of the manager, the presiding judge, and the alternate presiding judge to appoint clerks to serve at a central counting station applies in the same manner as described by these provisions for the appointment of precinct election clerks in an election for federal, state, and county offices. 

 

S.B. 108 repeals Section 32.032, Election Code.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2025.