Bill Text: TX HB2815 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to early in-person voting by voters who reside at a residential care facility.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-03 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB2815 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB2815-Comm_Sub.html
85R21800 SRS-F | |||
By: Oliverson, Israel, Laubenberg, et al. | H.B. No. 2815 | ||
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2815: | |||
By: Laubenberg | C.S.H.B. No. 2815 |
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relating to early in-person voting by voters who reside at a | ||
residential care facility. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 86.003, Election Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read | ||
as follows: | ||
(a) The balloting materials for voting by mail shall be | ||
provided to the voter by mail, unless the ballot is delivered to a | ||
voter for early voting under Chapter 107. A ballot provided by any | ||
other method may not be counted. | ||
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), the balloting materials | ||
shall be addressed to the applicable address specified in the | ||
voter's application. The election officer providing the ballot may | ||
not knowingly deliver [ |
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that prescribed by this section. | ||
(e) A voter who makes an application to vote early by mail on | ||
the grounds of age or disability requesting that the ballot be sent | ||
to the address of a residential care facility, as defined by Chapter | ||
107, is required to vote as provided by that chapter if five or more | ||
applications for ballots to be voted by mail are made by residents | ||
of the same facility who request that the ballots be sent to that | ||
facility. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 86.004, Election Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (c), the | ||
balloting materials for voting by mail shall be mailed to a voter | ||
entitled to vote by mail not later than the seventh calendar day | ||
after the later of the date the clerk accepts the voter's | ||
application for a ballot to be voted by mail or the date the ballots | ||
become available for mailing, except that if that mailing date is | ||
earlier than the 45th day before election day, the balloting | ||
materials shall be mailed not later than the 38th day before | ||
election day. | ||
(c) An application to vote early by mail on the grounds of | ||
age or disability requesting that the ballot be sent to the address | ||
of a residential care facility, as defined by Chapter 107, shall be | ||
held until the earlier of: | ||
(1) the date on which five or more applications for | ||
ballots to be voted by mail made by residents of the same facility | ||
who request that the ballots be sent to that facility have been | ||
received, in which case ballots may not be mailed to the voters and | ||
voting shall be conducted under Chapter 107; or | ||
(2) the last day on which an application for a ballot | ||
to be voted by mail may be received, after which the ballot shall | ||
promptly be mailed to the voter. | ||
SECTION 3. Subtitle B, Title 7, Election Code, is amended by | ||
adding Chapter 107 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 107. EARLY VOTING AT A RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY | ||
Sec. 107.001. PURPOSE. This chapter is enacted to | ||
facilitate voting in a hospital, nursing home, other long-term care | ||
facility, or retirement center in which a significant number of | ||
occupants, patients, or residents lack adequate transportation to | ||
an appropriate polling place, need assistance in voting, are 65 | ||
years of age or older or are disabled, or are indefinitely confined. | ||
Sec. 107.002. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "residential | ||
care facility" means a facility licensed and regulated under | ||
Chapter 242 or 247, Health and Safety Code. | ||
Sec. 107.003. APPLICABILITY OF EARLY VOTING BY PERSONAL | ||
APPEARANCE PROVISIONS. To the extent applicable and not in | ||
conflict with this chapter, Chapter 85 applies to voting at a | ||
residential care facility under this chapter. | ||
Sec. 107.004. EARLY VOTING AT RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY | ||
REQUIRED. A voter residing in a residential care facility who has | ||
applied to vote early by mail on the grounds of age or disability | ||
and who requested that the ballot be sent to the address of the | ||
facility, must vote as provided by this chapter if five or more | ||
applications for ballots to be voted by mail were made by residents | ||
of the same facility who requested that the ballots be sent to the | ||
facility. | ||
Sec. 107.005. ELECTION JUDGES; QUALIFICATIONS; OATH. (a) | ||
Additional election judges shall be selected to serve at a | ||
residential care facility in the same manner as election judges are | ||
selected to serve at a polling place for early voting by personal | ||
appearance under Chapter 32. The county chair of a political party | ||
shall indicate on the list of names of persons if a person is | ||
willing to serve as an election judge under this chapter. | ||
(b) An election judge serving at a residential care facility | ||
may be a volunteer, an employee of the authority conducting the | ||
election, or compensated by the authority conducting the election | ||
in the same manner as an election judge for a polling place for | ||
early voting by personal appearance. | ||
(c) A person may not serve as an election judge for a | ||
residential care facility if at any time during the two years | ||
preceding the election, the person has been employed or retained at | ||
a residential care facility in the county where the person seeks to | ||
serve as an election judge. | ||
(d) Before beginning the duties of an election judge under | ||
this chapter, each individual appointed to serve as an election | ||
judge at a residential care facility shall sign and date this oath: | ||
I swear (or affirm) that I will not in any manner request or | ||
seek to persuade or induce any voter to vote for or against any | ||
candidate or measure to be voted on, and that I will faithfully | ||
perform my duty as an officer of the election and guard the purity | ||
of the election. | ||
I have read the statutes and training materials provided and | ||
will conduct this election accordingly. | ||
I understand that failing to follow procedures exactly may | ||
result in invalidation of the voter's ballot. | ||
I will not unduly influence or pressure a person to | ||
participate or cast a ballot in the election. | ||
I will not influence the choice of a voter to choose a | ||
particular primary ballot, vote in a particular race or election, | ||
or vote on a particular proposition. | ||
Signed: ________________________ | ||
This ___ day of ____, 20__. | ||
(e) The secretary of state shall provide training for an | ||
election judge serving under this chapter. | ||
Sec. 107.006. VOTING LOCATION. (a) The administrator of | ||
the residential care facility shall make available an area located | ||
in a common area of the facility for the purposes of voting under | ||
this chapter. The area shall allow a voter to cast a secret ballot. | ||
(b) The facility administrator shall allow posting of | ||
required notices during the period that voting is conducted under | ||
this chapter. | ||
(c) An election judge may enter the private room of a voter | ||
who requests that balloting materials be brought to the voter. | ||
Sec. 107.007. NOTICE OF ELECTION IN RESIDENTIAL CARE | ||
FACILITY; DETERMINATION OF TIME FOR VOTING. (a) If early voting at | ||
a residential care facility is required under this chapter, the | ||
early voting clerk shall give notice that early voting will occur at | ||
the facility and appoint election judges for the purpose of | ||
conducting voting under this chapter. | ||
(b) Not later than 5 p.m. on the sixth business day before | ||
election day, the election judges shall, with the input of the | ||
administrator of the residential care facility, designate one or | ||
more times for voting to be conducted. Voting may be conducted not | ||
earlier than the 29th day before election day and not later than the | ||
fourth day preceding election day. | ||
(c) Notice of the time or times for conducting the election | ||
shall be posted at the residential care facility by the election | ||
judge and on the appropriate county's website as soon as | ||
practicable after determining the time and not later than the fifth | ||
day before the first day on which voting will be conducted at the | ||
facility. | ||
(d) The secretary of state with the assistance of the | ||
Department of State Health Services shall create a list of all | ||
residential care facilities in an early voting clerk's | ||
jurisdiction. The secretary of state shall provide the list to the | ||
early voting clerk. | ||
(e) The early voting clerk shall maintain a public list of | ||
all residential care facilities in the clerk's jurisdiction at | ||
which voting is conducted under this chapter. The list must be | ||
available on the website of the authority conducting the election | ||
or posted at the location where public notices are posted in the | ||
county courthouse or authority public building, as applicable, and | ||
for each facility state: | ||
(1) the name of the facility; | ||
(2) the address of the facility; | ||
(3) the dates and times for voting at the facility; and | ||
(4) the names of the election judges for the facility. | ||
Sec. 107.008. CONDUCT OF ELECTION. (a) In an election | ||
conducted under this chapter, the early voting clerk shall deliver | ||
to the election judges for a residential care facility the | ||
balloting materials for any qualified voters who have requested a | ||
mail ballot for an election that would have been otherwise mailed to | ||
the voter at the facility under Chapter 86. | ||
(b) The election judges for a residential care facility | ||
shall deliver the balloting materials to the voter at the facility. | ||
(c) The voter shall mark and seal the ballot in the same | ||
manner as a voter voting under Chapter 86. | ||
(d) Both election judges for the residential care facility | ||
shall sign the carrier envelope as witnesses. In the space for the | ||
address of the witness, each election judge shall write in | ||
"Residential Care Facility Election Judge." | ||
(e) The election judges shall accept the carrier envelope | ||
and place the envelope in a secure bag or ballot container for | ||
transport to the early voting clerk's office. | ||
(f) Ballots voted at a residential care facility shall be | ||
processed for counting in the manner provided by Chapter 86 for a | ||
ballot voted by mail. | ||
Sec. 107.009. VOTING BY ADDITIONAL QUALIFIED VOTERS. (a) | ||
The early voting clerk shall produce a list of all additional | ||
qualified voters who reside at a residential care facility where | ||
voting is conducted under this chapter. | ||
(b) The clerk shall supply the election judges for the | ||
residential care facility with sufficient additional ballots and | ||
voting materials to allow any additional qualified voter who | ||
resides at the facility to vote under this chapter. During the | ||
voting period, any registered voter who resides at the facility may | ||
complete an application to request a mail ballot as if they were | ||
voting by mail. An election judge for the facility shall serve as a | ||
witness for any person who is unable to sign their name and may | ||
witness multiple applications. | ||
(c) An election judge for the residential care facility must | ||
accept a properly completed application for a ballot made under | ||
this section, and shall provide a ballot to the voter. The election | ||
judge shall make a notation on an application that it was made under | ||
this section. | ||
(d) A voter who applies for a ballot under this section | ||
shall vote in the manner provided by Section 107.008, except that | ||
the voter's ballot must be stored with the voter's application, and | ||
the voter's ballot may not be counted if the voter was not a | ||
qualified voter for the election as demonstrated from the | ||
information contained in the voter's application. | ||
Sec. 107.010. RETENTION OF RECORDS. (a) The election | ||
judges for the residential care facility shall record the number of | ||
ballots voted. Both of the election judges for each facility and | ||
the early voting clerk shall sign and attest to the number of | ||
ballots issued. | ||
(b) On completion of voting under this chapter, the election | ||
judges must record the number of: | ||
(1) completed ballots; | ||
(2) spoiled ballots; and | ||
(3) unused returned ballots. | ||
Sec. 107.011. PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION PRESENTED AT | ||
RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITY. (a) Notwithstanding Section 63.0101 or | ||
any other law, a voter voting under this chapter may submit a | ||
statement as proof of identification signed by both election judges | ||
for the residential care facility that: | ||
(1) contains the name and address of the voter; and | ||
(2) verifies that the voter is a resident of the | ||
facility and appears on the list of registered voters. | ||
(b) The election judges shall enclose the statement in the | ||
carrier envelope. | ||
Sec. 107.012. ASSISTING VOTER; NOTICE. (a) On written | ||
request to the early voting clerk by a relative of a registered | ||
voter in a residential care facility, the clerk may notify the | ||
relative of the time or times at which election judges will conduct | ||
voting at the facility. The relative may be present at the facility | ||
while voting is conducted. | ||
(b) A voter may receive assistance in the same manner as | ||
provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 64. | ||
(c) An election judge shall seal a ballot if the voter | ||
receives assistance from a person who is not an election judge. | ||
Sec. 107.013. SECURITY OF BALLOTS AND MATERIALS. (a) On | ||
completion of the voting each day on which voting is conducted at a | ||
residential care facility under this chapter, the election judges | ||
for the facility shall seal the ballot envelopes and any absentee | ||
ballot applications inside a secure envelope and shall seal the | ||
envelope and sign the seal. The election judges shall place the | ||
envelope inside a ballot bag or container. | ||
(b) As soon as possible after conducting voting at a | ||
residential care facility, but not later than 18 hours after | ||
leaving the facility, the election judges shall deliver the ballot | ||
bag or container to the early voting clerk. | ||
Sec. 107.014. PROVISION OF MAIL BALLOT TO CERTAIN VOTERS. | ||
If a qualified voter residing at a residential care facility and | ||
seeking to vote at the facility under this chapter is not able to | ||
cast a ballot during any time when voting is conducted at the | ||
facility, the election judges for the facility shall inform the | ||
early voting clerk. The clerk shall mail the ballot to the voter | ||
not later than the fourth day before election day. | ||
Sec. 107.015. WATCHERS. (a) In an election held under this | ||
chapter, a watcher may observe the process of ballot distribution | ||
in the common areas of a residential care facility in a manner | ||
consistent with Chapter 33. | ||
(b) A political party entitled to have the names of its | ||
nominees placed on the general election ballot may appoint a | ||
watcher to accompany the election judges to a residential care | ||
facility. | ||
(c) A political party seeking to appoint a watcher to serve | ||
at a residential care facility shall submit the name of the watcher | ||
to the county election officer of the county in which the facility | ||
is located, not later than the close of business on the last | ||
business day before the date the watcher seeks to observe the | ||
conduct of the election under this chapter. | ||
(d) A watcher must present the watcher's certificate of | ||
appointment to an election judge for the residential care facility | ||
on arrival at the facility. | ||
Sec. 107.016. LIMITATIONS ON APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. (a) | ||
The early voting clerk is not required to send election judges to | ||
conduct an election at a residential care facility unless there are | ||
at least five registered voters who are residents of the facility. | ||
(b) This chapter does not prevent a registered voter from: | ||
(1) voting early by personal appearance; | ||
(2) voting on election day; or | ||
(3) voting by mail from an address other than the | ||
residential care facility, including from the address of a family | ||
member designated under Section 84.002. | ||
Sec. 107.017. RULES. The secretary of state may adopt rules | ||
and prescribe procedures for voting at a residential care facility | ||
in accordance with this chapter. | ||
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 242, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 242.0181 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 242.0181. COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS | ||
REGARDING EARLY VOTING. An institution must comply with Chapter | ||
107, Election Code. | ||
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 247, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 247.008 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 247.008. COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS | ||
REGARDING EARLY VOTING. An assisted living facility must comply | ||
with Chapter 107, Election Code. | ||
SECTION 6. Sections 242.0181 and 247.008, Health and Safety | ||
Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a license issued or | ||
renewed on or after the effective date of this Act. A license | ||
issued or renewed before that date is governed by the law in effect | ||
on the date the license was issued or renewed, and the former law is | ||
continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |