2013 Legislative Update Keith Ingram, Director 25th Annual Election Seminar – December 2013 Texas...

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

2013 Legislative Update

Keith Ingram, Director25th Annual Election Seminar – December 2013


83rd Texas Legislature

• January 8, 2013 – May 27, 2013• Special Sessions


Voter Registration Changes

• H.B. 2263 (Miller): Allows voters to order a replacement voter registration certificate telephonically or electronically.

• Effectively immediately.


Voter Registration Changes

• H.B. 1632 (Fletcher): Codifies existing practice regarding confidentiality of information for certain public officials including peace officers.

• Effective immediately.


Voter Registration Changes• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Allows for documents or papers to be

filed by facsimile.• Allows for voter registration applications to be faxed to

voter registrar. The hard copy of the application must be mailed and must be received by the registrar within four days of receipt of the faxed application.

• Effective September 1, 2013.


Voter Registration Changes• H.B. 2465 (Farias): Requires SOS, to the extent

practicable, to indicate if a voter is on the suspense list on the SOS website.

• We have modified “Am I Registered?” for this notice.



Ineligibility• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Requires abstracts of death

certificates and probate records to be filed electronically with the SOS.

• A waiver can be requested.• Effective September 1, 2013.


Ineligibility• H.B. 3593 (Burnam): Provides changes to process of

determining potentially deceased voters.• Allows for the SOS to work with other state agencies to review

databases with information contained in the voter registration process.

• Requires counties to investigate potential ineligibility of weak match deceased.



Redistricting and Precinct Boundaries

• H.B. 1164 (Thompson, Ed, et al.): Amends §42.005(a) to provide that a county election precinct may contain territory from more than one ward in cities with a population of 10,000 or more.



Redistricting and Precinct Boundaries• S.B. 2 (Seliger): Adopts the Texas Senate map

(S172) drawn by the U.S. District Court in San Antonio.

• S.B. 4 (Seliger): Adopts the U.S. Congressional map (C235) drawn by the U.S. District Court in San Antonio.


Redistricting and Precinct Boundaries

• S.B. 3 (Seliger): Slightly amends interim map drawn by U.S. District Court in San Antonio, adopts plan H358.

• Districts Changed: – HD 42 (Webb County)– HD 80 (Dimmit, Frio, Uvalde, Zapata, and Zavala Counties)– HD 90, HD 97, and HD 99 (Tarrant County)– HD 103, HD 109, HD 110, HD 111, HD 113, and HD 115

(Dallas County)– HD 133, HD 137, and HD 149 (Harris County).


Redistricting

• On September 5, 2013 the U.S. District Court entered an order for the plans enacted by the 83rd Legislature to be used as interim maps.


Candidate Applications

• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Provides that the SOS may prescribe a different form for an application for a place on the ballot for the following:– Offices of the federal government– Offices of the state government– Offices of a political party



Candidate Filing Deadlines – Schools and Others

• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Standardizes the first day of the filing period by providing that political subdivisions, other than counties and cities, may not allow an application to be filed earlier than the 30th day before the filing deadline.



Ballots for CSOs • S.B. 910 (Duncan): Amends §145.096 to read that a

candidate’s name will remain on the ballot if the candidate is declared ineligible after 5 p.m. on the third day after the filing deadline.

• Previously, a candidate’s name would remain on the ballot if not declared ineligible by 5 p.m. on the second day after the filing deadline.

• Allows more time for filing authorities to review applications.• Effective September 1, 2013.


Ballots for CSOs • S.B. 904 (Van de Putte): Amends §145.092 to

change the withdrawal deadline to 5 p.m. on the fifth day after the filing deadline.

• Previously, a candidate must have withdrawn by 5 p.m. on the third day after the filing deadline.

• Allows more time for a candidate to withdraw.• Effective September 1, 2013.


ABBMs and Mail Ballots• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Amends §84.007 to require that

an ABBM must be submitted to the early voting clerk between the 60th day before an election and the 9th day before an election.

• If 9th day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, deadline falls on preceding regular business day.

• Previously, voters could submit an ABBM up until the 7th day before an election.



ABBMs and Mail Ballots• H.B. 666 (Miller, et al): Allows voters eligible to

vote early due to either disability and/or age (over 65 years old) to file an ABBM annually.

• Previously, ABBMs would need to be submitted to the early voting clerk for every election.

• Effective January 1, 2014.


FPCAs• H.B. 396 (Thompson, Senfronia): Allows FPCA voters to

vote in general and special elections held by a county, municipality or school district for the calendar year in which the FPCA is received.

• Requires early voting clerks to send FPCAs to early voting clerks who conduct an election in which the FPCA voter is eligible.



FPCAs• S.B. 904 (Van de Putte): Requires the SOS to create

a checklist for early voting clerks to use while processing FPCAs and ballots.

• Provides that a voter that completes the signature sheet is not required to complete a carrier envelope.



FPCAs

• H.B. 1129 (White, et al): Establishes a pilot program for receiving ballots from military voters in a combat zone.



Polling Places• H.B. 259 (Simmons, et al): Public buildings serving as

polling places cannot prohibit electioneering outside of 100 foot marker.

• Allows owners and operators to enact “reasonable regulations” concerning the “time, place, and manner of electioneering.”



Early Voting

• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Requires that “curbside” early voting in person under §85.034 be conducted in the same way that such voting is conducted under §64.009 on election day.



Early Voting

• S.B. 553 (Uresti): Allows for high school students to serve as early voting clerks, in addition to election day clerks (maximum of two days).



Early Voting Polling Places - CSOs• H.B. 506 (Lozano, et al): Requires political

subdivisions, other than counties, to use a county polling place within the political subdivision for November uniform elections.

• Any shared polling place that is designated as the main early voting location must be open for voting for all political subdivisions, and keep the hours of the political subdivision making the designation.



Early Voting Ballot Board• H.B. 985 (Elkins): Amends rules for November general

election for state and county officers only.• Provides that the EVBB shall verify and count provisional

ballots by the 13th day after the election.• Previously, the EVBB was required to complete counting by

the 7th day after the election.• Provides that the Voter Registrar must have seven calendar

days to complete the review of provisional voter’s eligibility. • Effective September 1, 2013.


Early Voting Ballot Board• H.B. 2233 (Simmons): Provides that the EVBB may

compare any “two or more signatures of the voter made within the preceding six years” when reviewing a ballot by mail.

• The signature comparison can only be used to confirm signatures are from the same person.



Election Procedures• H.B. 2110 (Kolkhorst): Prohibits a person from

being a poll worker if related to or employed by a candidate for party office which appears on the ballot in that precinct.

• Requires election officers to wear an identification badge. SOS will provide form.



Election Procedures

• S.B. 160 (Huffman): Requires poll watchers to wear an identification badge upon being accepted for service.

• SOS will provide form.• Effective September 1, 2013.


Election Procedures• H.B. 2475 (Miller): Amends the §64.034 oath

taken by persons assisting a voter, to state that the assistant is not the voter’s employer, an agent of the employer, or an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs.



Voting Systems

• H.B. 2373 (Klick): Allows for electronic capture of a voter’s signature for the signature roster/combination form.

• SOS must approve devices.• Effective September 1, 2013.


Central Counting Station

• H.B. 2006 (Klick): Allows a person that is an “employee of the political subdivision that adopts or owns the voting system” to serve as a counting station manager, even if they are not a registered voter of the political subdivision.



Canvass – General Elections• H.B. 985 (Elkins): During general elections for

state and county officers, under the new §65.051(a-1), the state canvass conducted by the governor will occur between the 18th day and the 33rd day after the election.



Recounts

• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Allows the actual expenses incurred for printing ballot images from a voting system to be assessed.



Special Elections

• S.B. 910 (Duncan): Amends §201.054 to provide two filing periods for special elections (the third period is eliminated).



Constitutional Amendments

• H.J.R. 87 (Munoz): Will allow charter amendments for appointment after a vacancy for home-rule municipalities with 4 year terms if there is 12 months or less left in the term.


Odds and Ends• S.B. 637 (Paxton): New notice requirements in

the election order for bond elections in political subdivisions.

• S.B. 169 (Hegar): Provides ballot language for county venue project elections regarding the tax and rate to be used for project financing.

2013 Legislative Update Keith Ingram, Director 25th Annual Election Seminar – December 2013 Texas...

Documents

Transcript of 2013 Legislative Update Keith Ingram, Director 25th Annual Election Seminar – December 2013 Texas...