82R7808 JRJ-D
	By: Jackson	S.B. No. 1128

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the conduct and administration of elections.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 31.035, Election Code, is transferred to
	Subchapter E, Chapter 31, Election Code, redesignated as Section
	31.124, Election Code, and amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 31.124  [31.035]. RESTRICTIONS ON POLITICAL
	ACTIVITIES. (a) A county elections administrator or other
	government official who oversees, manages, or administers the
	election process may not be a candidate for a public office or an
	office of a political party, hold a public office, or hold an office
	of or position in a political party. At the time an administrator
	or official becomes a candidate or accepts an office or position in
	violation of this subsection, the administrator or official vacates
	the position [of administrator].
	(b)  A county elections administrator commits an offense if
	the administrator makes a political contribution or political
	expenditure, as defined by the law regulating political funds and
	campaigns, or publicly supports or opposes a candidate for public
	office or a measure to be voted on at an election. An offense under
	this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. On a final conviction,
	the administrator's employment is terminated, and the person
	convicted is ineligible for future appointment as county elections
	administrator.
	(c)  In this section, "candidate" means a person who has
	taken affirmative action, as described by the law regulating
	political funds and campaigns, for the purpose of gaining
	nomination or election.
	(d)  This section does not apply to a county clerk or a county
	tax assessor-collector.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 32, Election Code, is
	amended by adding Section 32.076 to read as follows:
	Sec. 32.076.  OBSERVING VOTER ASSISTANCE. (a)  The
	presiding judge or alternate presiding judge may observe assistance
	being provided to a voter to ensure compliance with the oath taken
	under Section 64.034 and that Section 64.036(a) is not being
	violated if the judge has reason to believe that a person assisting
	a voter under Section 64.032(c) is violating Section 64.036(a) or
	the oath taken under Section 64.034.
	(b)  If a watcher appointed under Chapter 33 requests the
	observation under Section 33.057(c), two election officers
	affiliated or aligned with different political parties shall
	observe the assistance provided to a voter to ensure that the person
	assisting the voter complies with the oath taken under Section
	64.034 and does not violate Section 64.036(a).
	SECTION 3.  Section 33.057, Election Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c)  A watcher may request that two election officers
	affiliated or aligned with different political parties observe the
	assistance provided to a voter to ensure that the person assisting
	the voter complies with the oath taken under Section 64.034 and does
	not violate Section 64.036(a).
	SECTION 4.  Section 43.007, Election Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
	(k)  Each county that previously participated in a program
	under this section is authorized to continue participation in the
	program for future elections described by Subsection (a) if:
	(1)  the commissioners court of the county approves
	participation in the program; and
	(2)  the secretary of state determines the county's
	participation in the program was successful.
	(l)  Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (i) do not apply to a
	county participating in the program under Subsection (k).
	SECTION 5.  Subchapter E, Chapter 127, Election Code, is
	amended by adding Section 127.1311 to read as follows:
	Sec. 127.1311.  ANNOUNCING UNOFFICIAL RESULTS. (a) Except
	as provided by Subsection (b), unofficial election results shall be
	released as soon as they are available after the polls close.
	(b)  The presiding judge of the central counting station, in
	cooperation with the county clerk, may withhold the release of
	unofficial election results until the last voter has voted.
	SECTION 6.  Section 573.061, Government Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 573.061.  GENERAL EXCEPTIONS. Section 573.041 does not
	apply to:
	(1)  an appointment to the office of a notary public or
	to the confirmation of that appointment;
	(2)  an appointment of a page, secretary, attendant, or
	other employee by the legislature for attendance on any member of
	the legislature who, because of physical infirmities, is required
	to have a personal attendant;
	(3)  a confirmation of the appointment of an appointee
	appointed to a first term on a date when no individual related to
	the appointee within a degree described by Section 573.002 was a
	member of or a candidate for the legislature, or confirmation on
	reappointment of the appointee to any subsequent consecutive term;
	(4)  an appointment or employment of a bus driver by a
	school district if:
	(A)  the district is located wholly in a county
	with a population of less than 35,000; or
	(B)  the district is located in more than one
	county and the county in which the largest part of the district is
	located has a population of less than 35,000;
	(5)  an appointment or employment of a personal
	attendant by an officer of the state or a political subdivision of
	the state for attendance on the officer who, because of physical
	infirmities, is required to have a personal attendant;
	(6)  an appointment or employment of a substitute
	teacher by a school district; [or]
	(7)  an appointment or employment of a person by a
	municipality that has a population of less than 200; or
	(8)  an appointment of an election clerk under Section
	32.031, Election Code, who is not related in the first degree by
	consanguinity or affinity to an elected official of the authority
	that appoints the election judges for that election.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.