Bill Text: TX HB543 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the required vote by a presidential elector.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 34)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-09 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB543 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB543-Comm_Sub.html

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85R19839 ATP-F
By: Raney, Cook, Parker, Ashby, Fallon, H.B. No. 543
et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 543:
By: Fallon C.S.H.B. No. 543

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the required vote by a presidential elector.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 192.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) To be eligible to serve as a presidential elector, a
person must:
(1) be a qualified voter of this state; [and]
(2) not hold the office of United States senator,
United States representative, or any other federal office of profit
or trust; and
(3) meet all other eligibility requirements provided
by this subchapter, and if representing a political party, by party
rules.
SECTION 2. Section 192.003, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 192.003. METHOD OF BECOMING ELECTOR AND ALTERNATE
ELECTOR NOMINEE [CANDIDATE]. (a) For each presidential elector
position in this state, the state chair of a political party
contesting the position in accordance with this section and party
rules, or an independent or write-in candidate for president, shall
submit to the secretary of state the names of two qualified
individuals. One of the individuals must be designated "elector
nominee" and the other "alternate elector nominee."
(b) Each political party that holds a national presidential
nominating convention shall adopt rules providing for the selection
of elector nominees and alternate elector nominees. The rules
shall provide that a presidential nominee of that party, not later
than the close of the national presidential nominating convention,
shall provide a list of persons eligible for nomination as
alternate elector nominee to the state chair of a political party.
The state chair shall forward the names of these individuals to the
secretary of state as the party's nominees for alternate elector
nominee. If the presidential nominee does not timely provide the
list required by this section, the party rules shall provide an
alternate method of selection of alternate elector nominees, and
any vacancy shall be filled as prescribed by Section 192.004. [To
become a presidential elector candidate, a person must be nominated
as a political party's elector candidate in accordance with party
rules or named as an elector candidate by an independent or write-in
candidate for president.]
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
amended by adding Sections 192.0031 and 192.0032 to read as
follows:
Sec. 192.0031. PLEDGE. (a) If required by political party
rule, each elector nominee and alternate elector nominee of the
political party shall execute the following pledge before a notary:
"If selected for the position of elector, I agree to serve and to
mark my ballots for President and Vice President for the nominees
for those offices of the party that nominated me."
(b) Each elector nominee and alternate elector nominee of an
independent or write-in presidential candidate shall execute the
following pledge before a notary: "If selected for the position of
elector as a nominee of an independent or write-in presidential
candidate, I agree to serve and to mark my ballots for that
candidate and for that candidate's vice-presidential running
mate."
(c) The executed pledges, if required, must accompany the
submission of the corresponding names to the secretary of state.
Sec. 192.0032. CERTIFICATION OF ELECTORS. In submitting
this state's certificate of ascertainment as required by 3 U.S.C.
Section 6, the secretary of state shall certify this state's
electors and state in the certificate that:
(1) the electors will serve as electors unless a
vacancy occurs in the office of elector before the end of the
meeting at which elector votes are cast, in which case a substitute
elector will fill the vacancy; and
(2) if a substitute elector is appointed to fill a
vacancy, the secretary of state will submit an amended certificate
of ascertainment stating the names on the final list of this state's
electors.
SECTION 4. Section 192.004, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 192.004. ELECTOR NOMINEE AND ALTERNATE ELECTOR NOMINEE
[CANDIDATE] VACANCY. (a) An elector nominee or alternate elector
nominee [candidate] may withdraw from the presidential election
before presidential election day, or if elected, may resign on or
after the presidential election day, by delivering written notice
of the withdrawal or resignation to:
(1) the secretary of state; and
(2) the state chair of the party that nominated the
elector nominee or alternate elector nominee [candidate] or to the
independent or write-in candidate for president who named the
elector nominee or alternate elector nominee [candidate].
(b) If an elector nominee or alternate elector nominee
[candidate] withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible before
presidential election day, a replacement elector nominee or
alternate elector nominee [candidate] may be named by the party
that nominated the elector nominee or alternate elector nominee
[candidate] or by the independent or write-in candidate for
president who named the elector nominee or alternate elector
nominee [candidate].
(c) An independent or write-in candidate for president
naming a replacement elector nominee or alternate elector nominee
[candidate] must file with the secretary of state, before
presidential election day, the name and residence address of the
replacement nominee [candidate] and a written statement, signed by
the replacement nominee [candidate], that the person consents to be
a nominee, and the executed pledge if required under Section
192.0031 [candidate].
(d) If a political party's rules do not provide the manner
of choosing a replacement elector nominee or alternate elector
nominee [candidate], the party's state executive committee may
choose the replacement nominee [candidate]. The state chair of a
political party naming a replacement elector nominee or alternate
elector nominee [candidate] must file with the secretary of state,
before presidential election day, the name and residence address of
the replacement nominee, and the executed pledge if required under
Section 192.0031 [candidate].
SECTION 5. Section 192.005, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 192.005. VOTE REQUIRED FOR ELECTION. The set of
elector nominees or alternate elector nominees [candidates] that is
elected is the one that corresponds to the candidates for president
and vice-president receiving the most votes.
SECTION 6. Section 192.006, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) If an elector or alternate elector resigns, dies, or is
declared ineligible on or after presidential election day or if a
vacancy occurs at the meeting of electors, the secretary of state
shall appoint an individual as a substitute elector to fill that
vacancy as follows:
(1) if the alternate elector is present to vote, by
appointing the alternate elector for the vacant position;
(2) if the alternate elector for the vacant position
is not present to vote, by appointing an elector chosen by lot from
the alternate electors present to vote who were nominated by the
same political party or presidential candidate;
(3) if the number of alternate electors present to
vote is insufficient to fill any vacant position under Subdivisions
(1) and (2), by appointing any immediately available individual who
is qualified to serve as an elector and chosen through nomination by
and plurality vote of the remaining electors, including nomination
and vote by a single elector if only one remains;
(4) if there is a tie between at least two nominees for
substitute elector in a vote conducted under Subdivision (3), by
appointing an elector chosen by lot from among those nominees; or
(5) if all elector positions are vacant and cannot be
filled under Subdivisions (1) through (4), by appointing a single
presidential elector, with the remaining vacant positions to be
filled under Subdivision (3) and, if necessary, Subdivision (4).
(e) If required by political party rule, to qualify as a
substitute elector under Subsection (d), an individual who has not
executed the pledge under Section 192.0031 shall execute the
following pledge: "I agree to serve and to mark my ballots for
President and Vice President consistent with the pledge of the
individual to whose elector position I have succeeded."
SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 192.0061 to read as follows:
Sec. 192.0061. ELECTOR VOTING. (a) At the time designated
for elector voting and after all vacant positions have been filled
under Section 192.006, the chair shall provide each elector with a
presidential and a vice-presidential ballot. The elector shall mark
the elector's presidential and vice-presidential ballots with the
elector's votes for the offices of president and vice-president,
respectively, along with the elector's signature and the elector's
legibly printed name.
(b) Each elector shall present both completed ballots to the
chair, who shall examine the ballots and accept as cast all ballots
of electors whose votes are consistent with the requirements of
this chapter, including any pledges required to be executed under
Section 192.0031 or 192.006(e).
(c) An elector who refuses to present a ballot, presents an
unmarked ballot, presents a ballot marked in violation of any
pledge executed by the elector under Section 192.0031 or
192.006(e), or refuses or otherwise fails to vote for the
candidates for president and vice-president receiving the most
votes in this state in the general election:
(1) is ineligible to serve;
(2) may never serve as an elector or alternate elector
in this state; and
(3) vacates the office of elector, creating a vacant
position to be filled under Section 192.006.
(d) The chair shall distribute ballots to and collect
ballots from a substitute elector and repeat the process under this
section of examining ballots, declaring and filling vacant
positions as required, and recording appropriately completed
ballots from the substituted electors, until all of this state's
electoral votes have been cast and recorded.
SECTION 8. Section 192.007, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 192.007. ELECTOR REPLACEMENT; ASSOCIATED CERTIFICATES
[AFTER ELECTION]. (a) After the vote of this state's electors is
completed, if the final list of electors differs from any list that
the secretary of state previously included on a certificate of
ascertainment prepared and transmitted under 3 U.S.C. Section 6,
the secretary of state immediately shall prepare an amended
certificate of ascertainment and transmit it to the governor for
the governor's signature [The electors meeting to vote for
president and vice-president may appoint a replacement elector by a
majority vote of the qualified electors present if:
[(1) the vacancy occurred before presidential
election day and a replacement was not chosen under Section
192.004;
[(2) on or after presidential election day, an elector
is declared ineligible or dies; or
[(3) the vacancy is declared under Section
192.006(c)].
(b) The electors shall prepare a certificate of vote. The
electors on the final list shall sign the certificate. The electors
shall process and transmit the signed certificate with the amended
certificate of ascertainment under 3 U.S.C. Sections 9, 10, and 11
[chair of the electors shall notify the secretary of state of the
name and residence address of a replacement elector immediately on
the replacement's appointment].
SECTION 9. If any provision of this Act or its application
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.