Bill Text: TX HB1382 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the availability of certain information regarding early voting.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-07 - Effective on 9/1/21 [HB1382 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB1382-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 1382 |
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relating to the availability of certain information regarding early | ||
voting. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Chapter 86, Election Code, is amended by adding | ||
Section 86.015 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 86.015. ELECTRONIC TRACKING OF APPLICATION FOR BALLOT | ||
VOTED BY MAIL OR BALLOT VOTED BY MAIL. (a) The secretary of state | ||
shall develop or otherwise provide an online tool to each early | ||
voting clerk that enables a person who submits an application for a | ||
ballot to be voted by mail to track the location and status of the | ||
person's application and ballot on the secretary's Internet website | ||
and on the county's Internet website if the early voting clerk is | ||
the county clerk of a county that maintains an Internet website. | ||
(b) The online tool developed or provided under Subsection | ||
(a) must require the voter to provide, before permitting the voter | ||
to access information described by that subsection: | ||
(1) the voter's name and registration address and the | ||
last four digits of the voter's social security number; and | ||
(2) the voter's: | ||
(A) driver's license number; or | ||
(B) personal identification card number issued | ||
by the Department of Public Safety. | ||
(c) An online tool used under this section must: | ||
(1) for each election, record: | ||
(A) each application for a ballot to be voted by | ||
mail received by the clerk; and | ||
(B) each carrier envelope sent to a voter by the | ||
clerk; | ||
(2) for each carrier envelope, record or assign a | ||
serially numbered and sequentially issued barcode or tracking | ||
number that is unique to each envelope; and | ||
(3) update the applicable Internet website as soon as | ||
practicable after each of the following events occurs: | ||
(A) receipt by the early voting clerk of the | ||
person's application for a ballot to be voted by mail; | ||
(B) acceptance or rejection by the early voting | ||
clerk of the person's application for a ballot to be voted by mail; | ||
(C) placement in the mail by the early voting | ||
clerk of the person's official ballot; | ||
(D) receipt by the early voting clerk of the | ||
person's marked ballot; and | ||
(E) acceptance or rejection by the early voting | ||
ballot board of a person's marked ballot. | ||
(d) The secretary of state shall adopt rules and prescribe | ||
procedures as necessary to implement this section. | ||
(e) The information contained in Subsection (c) is not | ||
public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code, | ||
until after election day. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 87.121, Election Code, as amended by | ||
Chapters 1083 (H.B. 1850) and 1215 (S.B. 902), Acts of the 86th | ||
Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is reenacted and amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 87.121. EARLY VOTING ROSTERS. (a) The early voting | ||
clerk shall maintain for each election a roster listing each person | ||
who votes an early voting ballot by personal appearance and a roster | ||
listing each person to whom an early voting ballot to be voted by | ||
mail is sent. | ||
(b) For each person listed, the applicable roster must | ||
include: | ||
(1) the person's name, address, and voter registration | ||
number; | ||
(2) an identification of the person's county election | ||
precinct of registration; and | ||
(3) the date of voting or the date the ballot was | ||
mailed to the person, as applicable. | ||
(c) Each roster shall be updated daily. | ||
(d) Each roster may be maintained in any form approved by | ||
the secretary of state. | ||
(e) The clerk shall preserve each roster after the election | ||
for the period for preserving the precinct election records. | ||
(f) Information on the roster for a person to whom an early | ||
voting mail ballot has been sent is not available for public | ||
inspection, except to the voter seeking to verify that the | ||
information pertaining to the voter is accurate, until the first | ||
business day after election day. | ||
(g) Information on the roster for a person who votes an | ||
early voting ballot by personal appearance shall be made available | ||
for public inspection as provided by Subsection (i) not later than | ||
11 a.m. on the day after the date the information is entered on the | ||
roster under Subsection (c). | ||
(h) Information on the roster for a person who votes an | ||
early voting ballot by mail shall be made available for public | ||
inspection as provided by Subsection (i) not later than 11 a.m. on | ||
the day following the day the early voting clerk receives any [ |
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ballot voted by mail. | ||
(i) The information under Subsections (g) and (h) must be | ||
made available: | ||
(1) for an election in which the county clerk is the | ||
early voting clerk: | ||
(A) on the publicly accessible Internet website | ||
of the county; or | ||
(B) if the county does not maintain a website, on | ||
the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the | ||
commissioners court; or | ||
(2) for an election not described by Subdivision (1): | ||
(A) on the publicly accessible Internet website | ||
of the authority ordering the election; or | ||
(B) if the authority ordering the election does | ||
not maintain a website, on the bulletin board used for posting | ||
notice of meetings of the governing body of the authority. | ||
(j) [ |
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the general election for state and county officers shall submit to | ||
the secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state's | ||
Internet website the information described by: | ||
(1) Subsection (g) not later than 11 a.m. on the day | ||
after the date the information is entered on the roster under | ||
Subsection (c); and | ||
(2) Subsection (h) not later than 11 a.m. on the day | ||
following the day the early voting clerk receives any [ |
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voted by mail. | ||
(k) The early voting clerk for a primary election or the | ||
general election for state and county officers shall submit to the | ||
secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state's Internet | ||
website the election day information described by Subsections (g) | ||
and (h) not later than 11 a.m. on the day after the election. | ||
(l) The early voting clerk for a primary election or the | ||
general election for state and county officers shall submit to the | ||
secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state's Internet | ||
website the final rosters containing information described by | ||
Subsections (g) and (h) not later than the 20th day after the date | ||
of the local canvass. | ||
(m) [ |
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[ |
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described by Subsection (j) [ |
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Internet website in a downloadable format not later than 11 a.m. on | ||
the day following the day of receipt of the information. | ||
(n) [ |
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an early voting clerk for a primary election or the general election | ||
for state and county officers to provide the information to the | ||
secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state's Internet | ||
website under Subsection (j) [ |
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SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails | ||
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, | ||
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted | ||
codes. | ||
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by Section 1 of this Act | ||
apply beginning with an application for a ballot to be voted by mail | ||
for an election held on or after January 1, 2022. | ||
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 1382 was passed by the House on April | ||
29, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 3, 1 present, not | ||
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
No. 1382 on May 24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 1, | ||
1 present, not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 1382 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
amendments, on May 18, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays | ||
6. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |