Bill Text: TX HB87 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to the presidential electors of this state.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-3)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-18 - Effective immediately [HB87 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB87-Comm_Sub.html

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88R21118 JON-D
By: Murr H.B. No. 87
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 87:
By: Swanson C.S.H.B. No. 87

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the presidential electors of this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 192.004, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 192.004. ELECTOR CANDIDATE WITHDRAWAL [VACANCY].
[(a)] An elector candidate may withdraw from the presidential
election before presidential election day, by delivering written
notice of the withdrawal to:
(1) the secretary of state; and
(2) the state chair of the party that nominated the
elector candidate or to the independent or write-in candidate for
president who named the elector candidate.
[(b) If an elector candidate withdraws, dies, or is declared
ineligible before presidential election day, a replacement elector
candidate may be named by the party that nominated the elector
candidate or by the independent or write-in candidate for president
who named the elector candidate.
[(c) An independent or write-in candidate for president
naming a replacement elector candidate must file with the secretary
of state, before presidential election day, the name and residence
address of the replacement candidate and a written statement,
signed by the replacement candidate, that the person consents to be
a candidate.
[(d) If a political party's rules do not provide the manner
of choosing a replacement elector candidate, the party's state
executive committee may choose the replacement candidate. The
state chair of a political party naming a replacement elector
candidate must file with the secretary of state, before
presidential election day, the name and residence address of the
replacement candidate.]
SECTION 2. Section 192.006(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The secretary of state shall arrange for the meeting
place, notify the electors, and call the meeting to order. [The
secretary shall act as temporary chair of the meeting until the
electors elect a chair from among themselves.]
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 192.009 to read as follows:
Sec. 192.009. REPLACEMENT NOMINEE. An elector shall
consider a replacement candidate certified under Subchapter C to be
the presidential or vice-presidential candidate for whom the
elector is the corresponding presidential elector candidate.
SECTION 4. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 192,
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. WITHDRAWAL, DEATH, AND INELIGIBILITY OF PRESIDENTIAL
AND VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES; CERTIFICATION OF INABILITY TO
SERVE
SECTION 5. Section 192.062(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The secretary of state shall certify in writing [for
placement on the ballot] the name of a political party's
replacement nominee for president or vice-president of the United
States as follows [if]:
(1) for placement on the ballot for an [the] original
nominee who withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible on or before
the 74th day before presidential election day if [; and
[(2)] the party's state chair delivers certification of
the replacement nominee's name, signed by the state chair, to the
secretary of state not later than 5 p.m. of the 71st day before
presidential election day; or
(2) to the nominating party's presidential elector
candidates for an original nominee who withdraws, dies, or is
declared ineligible after the 74th day before presidential election
day if the party's state chair delivers certification of the
replacement nominee's name, signed by the state chair, to the
secretary of state not later than 2 p.m. on the Monday after the
second Wednesday in December of a presidential election year.
SECTION 6. Section 192.064(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The secretary of state shall certify in writing [for
placement on the ballot] the name of a replacement
vice-presidential running mate for an independent candidate for
president of the United States as follows [if]:
(1) for placement on the ballot for an [the] original
running mate who withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible on or
before the 74th day before presidential election day if [; and
[(2)] the independent presidential candidate delivers
certification of the replacement running mate's name, signed by the
presidential candidate, to the secretary of state not later than 5
p.m. of the 71st day before presidential election day; or
(2) to the presidential candidate's corresponding
presidential elector candidates for an original running mate who
withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible after the 74th day
before presidential election day if the independent presidential
candidate delivers certification of the replacement running mate's
name, signed by the presidential candidate, to the secretary of
state not later than 2 p.m. on the Monday after the second Wednesday
in December of a presidential election year.
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 192.065 to read as follows:
Sec. 192.065. CERTIFICATION OF WINNING CANDIDATE'S
INABILITY TO SERVE; AFFIRMATION OR DENIAL BY ELECTORS. (a) The
secretary of state shall certify on the seventh day before the
meeting of electors that a candidate for president or vice
president who received the most votes in this state in the general
presidential election is willing and able to serve in the position
for which the candidate was elected, unless the secretary of state
has received a written certification from one of the following
individuals, in order of precedence, that the candidate is unable
or unwilling to serve:
(1) the candidate;
(2) the executive director of the candidate's
campaign; or
(3) the candidate's spouse or, if the candidate does
not have a surviving spouse, the person to whom the candidate's
estate would descend under Section 201.001, Estates Code.
(b) Upon receipt of a certification under Subsection (a),
the secretary of state shall notify the party of the candidate who
submitted the certification and post the certification on the
secretary of state's Internet website.
(c) The secretary of state may promulgate a form for a
certification under this section of inability or unwillingness to
serve.
(d) If before the meeting of electors the secretary of state
receives a certification under Subsection (a) that a candidate is
unwilling or unable to serve, the electors shall first vote on the
issue of whether that candidate is willing and able to serve in the
position for which the candidate was elected. If a majority of
electors vote that the candidate is not willing or able to serve in
the position for which the candidate was elected, Sections 192.102,
192.103(b), 192.103(d), and 192.104(d) and (e) do not apply to that
meeting of electors with respect to that candidate.
SECTION 8. Chapter 192, Election Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. REQUIRED ACTION BY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS;
REPLACEMENT OF ELECTOR
Sec. 192.101. DESIGNATION OF STATE'S ELECTORS. Each
elector position in this state must be nominated in accordance with
political party rules or by an independent or write-in presidential
candidate, as applicable. Except as otherwise provided in Sections
192.006, 192.103, and 192.104, this state's electors are the
winning elector nominees under the laws of this state.
Sec. 192.102. OATH. (a) Not later than the seventh day
before the meeting of electors, each elector nominee and alternate
elector nominee of a political party shall execute the following
oath: "If selected for the position of elector, I swear 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) Not later than the sixth day before the meeting of
electors, each elector nominee and alternate elector nominee of an
independent presidential candidate shall execute the following
oath: "If selected for the position of elector as a nominee of an
independent presidential candidate, I swear to serve and to mark my
ballots for that candidate and for that candidate's
vice-presidential running mate."
(c) The executed oaths must accompany the submission of the
corresponding names to the secretary of state.
Sec. 192.103. PRESIDING OFFICER; ELECTOR VACANCY. (a) The
secretary of state shall preside at the meeting of electors
described in Section 192.104.
(b) The position of an elector is vacant if the elector has
failed to execute the oath under Section 192.102.
(c) The secretary of state shall fill a vacancy with a
substitute elector nominated in accordance with political party
rules or named by an independent or write-in candidate for
president, as applicable. A substitute elector who is filling the
position of an elector is considered an elector for purposes of this
chapter. If a person's position as elector is determined to be
vacant, the person may not serve as a substitute elector with
respect to that meeting of electors.
(d) To qualify as a substitute elector under Subsection (c),
an individual who has not executed the oath required under Section
192.102 shall execute the following oath: "I swear to serve and to
mark my ballots for president and vice president consistent with
the oath of the individual to whose elector position I have
succeeded."
Sec. 192.104. ELECTOR VOTING. (a) At the time designated
for elector voting and after all vacant positions have been filled,
the secretary of state 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) Except as otherwise provided by law of this state other
than this subchapter, each elector shall present both completed
ballots to the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall
examine the ballots and read each vote publicly.
(c) The secretary of state shall accept as cast all ballots
of electors whose votes are consistent with their oaths executed
under Section 192.102 or 192.103(d). Except as otherwise provided
by law, the secretary of state may not accept and may not count
either an elector's presidential or vice-presidential ballot if the
elector has not marked both ballots or has marked a ballot in
violation of the elector's oath.
(d) An elector who refuses to present a ballot, presents an
unmarked ballot, or presents a ballot marked in violation of the
elector's oath executed under Section 192.102 or 192.103(d) vacates
the office of elector, creating a vacant position to be filled under
Section 192.103.
(e) The secretary of state shall distribute ballots to and
collect ballots from each elector and repeat the process under this
section of examining ballots, publicly reading the votes, 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 9. Section 192.007, Election Code, is repealed.
SECTION 10. 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, 2023.