Bill Text: TX SB901 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to election integrity; increasing a criminal penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-02 - Referred to Elections [SB901 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB901-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to election integrity; increasing a criminal penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-02 - Referred to Elections [SB901 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB901-Introduced.html
By: Hughes | S.B. No. 901 | |
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relating to election integrity; increasing a criminal penalty. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 86.0051(d), Election Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(d) An offense under this section is a [ |
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SECTION 2. Section 87.027(i), Election Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(i) The signature verification committee shall compare the | ||
signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed | ||
for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot | ||
application to determine whether the signatures are those of the | ||
voter. The committee may also compare the signatures with any | ||
signature [ |
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preceding six years and on file with the county clerk or voter | ||
registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of the | ||
voter. Except as provided by Subsection (l), a determination under | ||
this subsection that the signatures are not those of the voter must | ||
be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership. The | ||
committee shall place the jacket envelopes, carrier envelopes, and | ||
applications of voters whose signatures are not those of the voter | ||
in separate containers from those of voters whose signatures are | ||
those of the voter. The committee chair shall deliver the sorted | ||
materials to the early voting ballot board at the time specified by | ||
the board's presiding judge. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 87.041(e), Election Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(e) In making the determination under Subsection (b)(2), | ||
the board may also compare the signatures with any signature [ |
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and on file with the county clerk or voter registrar to determine | ||
whether the signatures are those of the voter. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 87.042(b), Election Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) The [ |
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shall place the ballot envelope containing an accepted ballot in a | ||
separate container from the ballot box containing the early voting | ||
ballots voted by personal appearance. | ||
SECTION 5. Sections 87.062(a) and (c), Election Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) On the direction of the presiding judge, the early | ||
voting ballot board, in accordance with Section 85.032(b), shall | ||
open the containers [ |
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are to be counted by the board, remove the contents from the | ||
containers [ |
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envelopes from their envelopes. | ||
(c) Ballots voted by mail shall be tabulated separately from | ||
the ballots voted by personal appearance and shall be separately | ||
reported on the returns [ |
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SECTION 6. Section 87.103, Election Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 87.103. COUNTING BALLOTS AND PREPARING RETURNS. | ||
(a) The early voting electronic system ballots counted at a | ||
central counting station, the ballots cast at precinct polling | ||
places, and the ballots voted by mail shall be tabulated separately | ||
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separately reported on the returns. | ||
(b) The early voting returns prepared at the central | ||
counting station must include any early voting results obtained by | ||
the early voting ballot board under Subchapter [ |
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SECTION 7. Section 87.042(c), Election Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 8. The change in law made by this Act to Section | ||
86.0051(d), Election Code, applies only to an offense committed on | ||
or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed | ||
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in | ||
effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is | ||
continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, | ||
an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if | ||
any element of the offense occurred before that date. | ||
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |