89R13836 MPF-F

By: Paul H.B. No. 4291

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of an early voting ballot board and signature verification committee.

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

SECTION 1. Section 87.002, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows:

(a) The early voting ballot board is composed of an odd number of members, consisting [consists] of a presiding judge, an alternate presiding judge, and at least one other member.

(c) In the general election for state and county officers, each county chair of a political party with nominees on the general election ballot shall submit to the county election board a list of names of persons eligible to serve on the early voting ballot board in order of the county chair's preference. The county election board shall appoint at least one person from each list to serve as a member of the early voting ballot board. [The same number of members must be appointed from each list.] The county election board shall appoint persons as members of the early voting ballot board in the order of preference indicated on each list.

(e) In appointing the presiding judge, alternate presiding judge, and other members to the early voting ballot board under this section and except as provided by Subsection (f), the appointing authority shall ensure that the board is composed of the same number of members from the political party whose nominee for governor received the most votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election and the political party whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election.

(f) In appointing the other members to the early voting ballot board under this section, the appointing authority shall appoint one additional member from the political party to which the presiding judge is affiliated.

(g) A vacancy on the early voting ballot board, including a vacancy of the presiding judge or alternate presiding judge, shall be filled by appointment from the original list or from a new list submitted by the appropriate county chair.

SECTION 2. Section 87.006, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) A member of the early voting ballot board shall repeat the following oath aloud:

"I swear (or affirm) that I will objectively work to be sure every eligible voter's vote is accepted and counted, and that only the ballots of those voters who violated the Texas Election Code will be rejected. I will make every effort to correctly reflect the voter's intent when it can be clearly determined. I will identify the legal grounds for which the voter voted by mail. I will not work alone when ballots are present and [will work only in the presence of a member of a political party different from my own.] I will faithfully perform my duty as an officer of the election and guard the purity of the election."

(a-1) In addition to the required oath under Subsection (a), a member of the early voting ballot board in an election in which party alignment is indicated on the ballot must repeat the following statement aloud:

"I will work only in the presence of a member of a political party different from my own."

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 87, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 87.007 to read as follows:

Sec. 87.007. BOARD VOTING PROCEDURES. (a) The presiding judge, or the alternate presiding judge when acting under Subsection (b), serves as a nonvoting member of the early voting ballot board, except that the presiding judge and alternate presiding judge, as applicable, shall vote to break any tie vote of the board.

(b) The alternate presiding judge of the early voting ballot board shall act as the presiding judge if the presiding judge is absent or unable to act.

(c) In the event that an absence or vacancy in the early voting ballot board causes a meeting of the board to be attended by an unequal number of voting members from each political party, the party with a larger number of members present shall determine, before the meeting begins, which member will abstain from any board vote to ensure that an equal number of votes are cast from a member of each political party.

(d) A vote of the board under this chapter must be made by a majority vote of the board members present and voting at the meeting of the board.

SECTION 4. Sections 87.0222(a) and (a-1), Election Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), not earlier than the 20th day before election day but not later than the 11th [ninth] day before election day, the jacket envelopes containing early voting ballots voted by mail shall be delivered to the board.

(a-1) Any jacket envelopes of early voting ballots voted by mail returned after delivery of the ballots under Subsection (a) may be delivered to the presiding judge of the early voting ballot board between the end of the 11th [ninth] day before election day and the closing of the polls on election day, or as soon after closing as practicable, at the time or times specified by the presiding judge.

SECTION 5. Section 87.0241(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The early voting ballot board may [shall] make its determination whether to accept early voting ballots voted by mail in accordance with Section 87.041 on any date after the ballots are delivered to the board, except that the board may not meet for the first time on a date later than the 11th day before election day.

SECTION 6. Section 87.027, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsections (d) and (i) and adding Subsections (e-1) and (h-1) to read as follows:

(d) The early voting clerk shall determine an odd [the] number of members who are to compose the signature verification committee and shall state that number in the order calling for the committee's appointment. A committee must consist of not fewer than five members. In an election in which party alignment is indicated on the ballot, each county chair of a political party with a nominee or aligned candidate on the ballot shall submit to the appointing authority a list of names of persons eligible to serve on the signature verification committee in order of the county chair's preference. The authority shall appoint at least two persons from each list in the order of preference indicated on each list to serve as members of the committee. The committee shall consist of one more member from the chair's political party than the vice chair's political party. [The same number of members must be appointed from each list.] The authority shall appoint as chair of the committee the highest-ranked person on the list provided by the political party whose nominee for governor received the most votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. The authority shall appoint as vice chair of the committee the highest-ranked person on the list provided by the political party whose nominee for governor received the second most votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election. A vacancy on the committee, including a vacancy in the chair or vice chair, shall be filled by appointment from the original list or from a new list submitted by the appropriate county chair.

(e-1) A person may not serve on a signature verification committee and an early voting ballot board in the same election.

(h-1) If a signature verification committee is appointed for the election, the committee shall meet for the first time to compare the signatures under Subsection (i) on the date the first jacket envelopes are delivered.

(i) The signature verification committee shall compare the signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot application to determine whether the signatures are those of the voter. The committee may also compare the signatures with any known signature of the voter on file with the county clerk or voter registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of the voter. Except as provided by Subsection (l), a determination under this subsection that the signatures are not those of the voter must be made by a majority vote of the committee members present and voting, with the chair only voting to resolve a tie [committee's membership]. Both political parties must be equally represented during the majority vote. If an unequal number of members are present, it must be decided at the beginning of the meeting which member shall abstain from participating so that an equal number of members from both parties are voting. The committee shall place the jacket envelopes, carrier envelopes, and applications of voters whose signatures are not those of the voter in separate containers from those of voters whose signatures are those of the voter. The committee chair shall deliver the sorted materials to the early voting ballot board at the time specified by the board's presiding judge.

SECTION 7. Section 87.062, Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) The board shall meet on election day to count the ballots and prepare the returns for any ballots to be counted by the board and are received by the board before the time the polls are required to be closed on election day.

SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.