| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to processing early voting ballots voted by mail. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 87.0241(b), Election Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
(b) The board may not open a ballot envelope of an accepted |
|
|
voter or count early voting ballots until: |
|
|
(1) the polls open on election day; or |
|
|
(2) in an election conducted by an authority of a |
|
|
county with a population of 100,000 or more, or conducted jointly |
|
|
with such a county or conducted with such a county through a |
|
|
contract for election services, the end of the period for early |
|
|
voting by personal appearance. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 87.042, Election Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read |
|
|
as follows: |
|
|
(a) The early voting ballot board shall open each carrier |
|
|
envelope containing an accepted ballot without defacing the |
|
|
certificate on the carrier envelope and remove without opening the |
|
|
ballot envelope from the carrier envelope. |
|
|
(d) An accepted ballot that was not returned in the official |
|
|
ballot envelope shall be treated as an accepted ballot that was |
|
|
returned in the ballot envelope and may be placed in an empty |
|
|
envelope. |
|
|
(e) The board shall maintain chain of custody paperwork that |
|
|
accounts for the correct number of accepted ballots and envelopes |
|
|
placed into the ballot box or container as required by Subsection |
|
|
(b) or (c) or Section 87.044(b), as applicable. When the container |
|
|
is sealed, the paperwork must be signed by: |
|
|
(1) the presiding judge; |
|
|
(2) a member of the board who is a member of a |
|
|
different political party from the presiding judge; and |
|
|
(3) at least one poll watcher, if present during the |
|
|
session. |
|
|
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|
|
an election held on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
|
|
election held before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
|
|
the law in effect when the election was held, and that law is |
|
|
continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |