By: Bettencourt, et al.	S.B. No. 97

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to processes to address election irregularities;
	providing a civil penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Title 16, Election Code, is amended by adding
	Chapters 280 and 281 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 280.  REQUEST TO ADDRESS ELECTION IRREGULARITY
	Sec. 280.001.  REQUEST FOR EXPLANATION. (a)  A person
	described by Subsection (f) may issue a written request to the
	county clerk for an explanation and supporting documentation for:
	(1)  an action taken by an election officer that
	appears to violate this code;
	(2)  irregularities in precinct results; or
	(3)  inadequacy or irregularity of documentation
	required to be maintained under this code.
	(b)  Not later than the 20th day after the date a request is
	received under Subsection (a), a county clerk shall provide the
	requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
	(c)  A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
	and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (b) may
	issue a request for further explanation and supporting
	documentation to the county clerk.
	(d)  Not later than the 10th day after the date a request is
	received under Subsection (c), the county clerk shall provide the
	requested explanation and any supporting documentation.
	(e)  A requestor who is not satisfied with the explanation
	and supporting documentation provided under Subsection (d) may
	issue a request to the secretary of state for an audit of the issue
	described by Subsection (a), as provided by Section 280.002.
	(f)  A person may make a request under this section if the
	person participated in the relevant election as:
	(1)  a candidate;
	(2)  a county chair of a political party;
	(3)  a presiding judge;
	(4)  an alternate presiding judge; or
	(5)  the head of a specific-purpose political committee
	that supports or opposes a ballot measure.
	Sec. 280.002.  AUDIT BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a)  A person to
	whom Section 280.001(e) applies may submit a request for an audit to
	the secretary of state for investigation. A request for an audit
	must include copies of:
	(1)  the requests made by the person to the person's
	county clerk under Sections 280.001(a) and (c);
	(2)  the explanations provided by the county clerk to
	the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d); and
	(3)  any supporting documentation provided by the
	county clerk to the person under Sections 280.001(b) and (d).
	(b)  Not later than the 30th day after the date the secretary
	of state receives a request for an audit under this section, the
	secretary must determine whether the information submitted under
	Subsection (a) sufficiently explains the irregularity identified
	under Section 280.001(a). If the information is insufficient, the
	secretary shall immediately begin an audit of the identified
	irregularity at the expense of the county.
	(c)  The county clerk shall cooperate with the office of the
	secretary of state and may not interfere with or obstruct the audit.
	(d)  On conclusion of the audit, the secretary of state shall
	provide notice of the findings of the audit to the person who
	submitted the request for the audit and the county clerk.
	Sec. 280.003.  FINDING OF VIOLATION. (a)  In addition to
	the notice required under Section 280.002(d), the secretary of
	state shall provide special notice to a county clerk detailing any
	violation of this code found during the conduct of an audit under
	Section 280.002.
	(b)  If the county clerk does not remedy a violation detailed
	in a notice under Subsection (a) by the 30th day after the date the
	clerk receives the notice, the secretary of state shall assess a
	civil penalty of $500 for each violation not remedied and, if
	possible, remedy the violation on behalf of the county clerk.  The
	remedy provided under this subsection is in addition to any other
	remedy available under law for a violation of this code.
	(c)  If the secretary of state is not able to remedy the
	violation on behalf of the county clerk, the secretary shall assess
	an additional penalty under Subsection (b) for each day the county
	clerk does not remedy the violation until the violation is
	remedied.
	(d)  The secretary of state shall maintain a record of county
	clerks who have been assessed a civil penalty under Subsection (b).
	The secretary of state shall publish the record on the secretary of
	state's Internet website.
	(e)  The attorney general may bring an action under this
	section to recover a civil penalty that has not been paid.
	(f)  A civil penalty collected under this section shall be
	deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue
	fund.
	CHAPTER 281.  REVIEW OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS
	Sec. 281.001.  REVIEW OF RESULTS OF 2020 GENERAL ELECTION
	FOR STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS. (a)  In this section, "committee"
	means an election review advisory committee.
	(b)  A state or county chair of a political party that made
	nominations by primary election for the last general election for
	state and county officers may request a review of the results of the
	2020 general election for state and county officers by submitting a
	written request to a county clerk.  A county chair may only request
	a review from the county clerk of the county served by the party
	chair.
	(c)  A county clerk that receives a request under this
	section shall appoint an election review advisory committee to
	conduct a review under this chapter.  The county clerk shall
	supervise the committee.
	(d)  The county clerk shall appoint members of the committee
	from lists of names of persons eligible for appointment submitted
	to the county clerk by the party chair of each political party that
	made nominations by primary election for the last general election
	for state and county officers.  The county clerk shall determine the
	number of members necessary to conduct the review and appoint an
	equal number of members from each list.
	(e)  The committee members must be qualified voters of the
	county.
	(f)  A review under this section shall include:
	(1)  all ballots voted in-person during early voting
	and on election day from each precinct in the county where the
	number of ballots cast exceeded the total number of voters who were
	accepted for voting at an early voting location or polling place in
	the precinct;
	(2)  all ballots voted by mail and on election day from
	an additional number of randomly selected precincts in the county
	that includes the greater of:
	(A)  three precincts; or
	(B)  20 percent of the remaining number of
	precincts in the county; and
	(3)  the greater of 1,000 voted ballots or 10 percent of
	all ballots voted at an early voting location from a number of
	locations equal to:
	(A)  not fewer than three randomly selected early
	voting locations; or
	(B)  if the county has fewer than three early
	voting locations, all early voting locations in the county.
	(g)  A review under this section shall be limited to not
	fewer than three and not more than five contested races or ballot
	measures. If there are more than five contested races or ballot
	measures identified in the request under Subsection (b), the county
	clerk shall randomly select five races or measures for review. The
	contested races must include at least one of each of the following
	types of races, regardless of whether the type was identified in the
	request under Subsection (b):
	(1)  a federal office;
	(2)  a statewide office; and
	(3)  a county office.
	(h)  The committee shall begin the review not later than the
	20th day after the date the county clerk receives the request under
	Subsection (b).  The committee shall have access to ballots in the
	custody of the county clerk for the purpose of review under
	Subsection (f).
	(i)  Before the committee begins the review, the secretary of
	state shall determine an acceptable margin of error appropriate for
	the county based on mathematical and statistical analyses
	appropriate to the voting system used by the county.
	(j)  If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
	review, the results of the review differ from canvassed results
	from the 2020 general election for state and county officers by an
	amount outside the margin of error determined under Subsection (i)
	for the county, the committee shall conduct another review.  A
	review under this subsection shall be conducted in the same manner
	as the initial review, except that the committee shall randomly
	select different precincts for review.
	(k)  If, for any contested race or ballot measure in the
	review under Subsection (j), the results of the review differ from
	canvassed results from the 2020 general election for state and
	county officers by an amount outside the margin of error determined
	under Subsection (i) for the county, the committee shall conduct a
	final review.  A review under this subsection shall be conducted in
	the same manner as the initial review, except that:
	(1)  for a contested race or ballot measure under
	Subsection (g), the review shall include the entire county; and
	(2)  for any other contested race, the review shall
	include the entire district.
	(l)  The committee shall provide the full results of the
	review to:
	(1)  the county clerk;
	(2)  the secretary of state; and
	(3)  the county chair of each political party in the
	county.
	(m)  The secretary of state shall issue a notice of the
	results of the review to:
	(1)  the governor;
	(2)  the lieutenant governor;
	(3)  the speaker of the house of representatives; and
	(4)  each member of the legislature.
	(n)  The notice under Subsection (m) must include an
	indication whether the result of the review:
	(1)  confirmed the final canvass of the 2020 general
	election for state and county officers;
	(2)  differed from the final canvass of the 2020
	general election for state and county officers, but by an amount
	within the margin of error identified under Subsection (i); or
	(3)  differed from the final canvass of the 2020
	general election for state and county officers by an amount outside
	the margin of error identified under Subsection (i).
	(o)  If the notice under Subsection (m) indicates a
	difference greater than the margin of error under Subsection (i),
	the secretary of state shall prepare a report to accompany the
	notice.  The report must include:
	(1)  an analysis of the difference from the results of
	the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state and county
	officers;
	(2)  the likely causes of the difference from the
	results of the final canvass of the 2020 general election for state
	and county officers; and
	(3)  recommended measures to avoid similar differences
	in future elections.
	(p)  A notice under Subsection (m) and any accompanying
	report shall be posted on:
	(1)  the secretary of state's Internet website; and
	(2)  the county's Internet website, if the county
	maintains an Internet website.
	(q)  This chapter expires on September 1, 2024.
	SECTION 2.  A person may make a request under Section
	280.001, Election Code, as added by this Act, only for an election
	held on or after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
	last day of the legislative session.