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.