Bill Text: TX HB704 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to renewing the application to receive ballots to be voted by mail for certain elections held during a calendar year.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-21 - Referred to Elections [HB704 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB704-Introduced.html
| 86R4539 ATP-F | ||
| By: Thompson of Harris | H.B. No. 704 | |
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| relating to renewing the application to receive ballots to be voted | ||
| by mail for certain elections held during a calendar year. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 86.0015, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read as follows: | ||
| (g) The county clerk shall provide to a voter who has | ||
| applied for and qualifies to receive ballots to be voted by mail | ||
| under this section, with the ballot for an election held on the | ||
| November uniform election date of an even-numbered year, an | ||
| application for a ballot to be voted by mail and instructions for | ||
| submitting the application under this subsection. The application: | ||
| (1) must be preprinted so that the voter is required | ||
| only to: | ||
| (A) sign and date the application; and | ||
| (B) indicate in which political party's primary | ||
| election the voter seeks to vote or indicate that the voter does not | ||
| want to receive a primary election ballot; | ||
| (2) may be returned with the voter's ballot in the | ||
| carrier envelope; | ||
| (3) applies to each election that occurs before | ||
| December 31 of the next even-numbered year following the November | ||
| election, notwithstanding Subsection (b)(2)(A); | ||
| (4) must be signed by the applicant, or by a witness as | ||
| provided by Section 84.003; and | ||
| (5) must be on a form prescribed by the secretary of | ||
| state. | ||
| (h) The secretary of state shall prescribe an application | ||
| form and instructions under Subsection (g) required for use by each | ||
| county. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 87.043, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: | ||
| (e) After the final canvass for an election held on the | ||
| November uniform election date of an even-numbered year, the early | ||
| voting ballot board shall determine whether an application provided | ||
| to the voter under Section 86.0015(g) is stored in an envelope with | ||
| or otherwise included with a rejected ballot. The early voting | ||
| ballot board shall deliver to the early voting clerk any early | ||
| voting applications described by this subsection. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 87.044, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: | ||
| (c) The early voting ballot board shall deliver to the early | ||
| voting clerk any early voting applications included as provided by | ||
| Section 86.0015(g) in a carrier envelope with a ballot voted in an | ||
| election held on the November uniform election date of an | ||
| even-numbered year regardless of whether the ballot is accepted. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
