HBA-TBM H.B. 2509 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2509 By: Danburg Elections 3/13/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, several provisions of the Election Code may cause unintended or unnecessary difficulties for voters and election officials. Some of the provisions regarding early voting may serve to prohibit the participation of disabled voters. Other provisions create difficulties for voters or candidates attempting to supply information when a deadline conflicts with a weekend or holiday. During the recent presidential election, the State of Florida faced problems concerning inaccurate felony conviction information provided to voting officials. In Texas, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice provides notice of felony convictions, but only those for those felons who serve time in prison which may also cause inaccuracies. Many of the problems identified in the Election Code have been addressed by opinions and recommendations provided by the secretary of state. House Bill 2509 provides a comprehensive revision of the Election Code to codify the secretary of state's recommendations. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2509 amends the Election Code to provide a revision of election processes and procedures and to incorporate opinions and recommendations provided by the secretary of state. The bill provides that if a deadline for the performance of an act changes, the new deadline is used for any computation of other dates, deadlines, or procedures that are required to be made in relation to the last day for performance. The bill also describes what qualifies as a performance of an act and that the death of a person is not considered performance of an act (Sec. 1.006). The bill requires a runoff election to be held not later than the 45th rather than 30th day after the final canvass of the main election is completed, unless prescribed by a home-rule city charter (Sec. 2.025). The bill modifies provisions relating to the effective date of registration for a voter who initially submits an incomplete registration application or who has moved (Secs. 13.073 and 15.025). The bill modifies procedures for the cancellation of a voter's registration following a felony conviction to require the Department of Public Safety to prepare and file with the secretary of state an abstract of each felony final judgment (Sec. 16.003). H.B. 2509 modifies the provisions relating to the time frame for a voter to respond to a notice of cancellation of voter registration following an investigation by the registrar from 31 days to 30 days (Sec. 16.033). The bill provides that an affidavit executed by a polling place worker that attests to a voter's identity is acceptable as proof of identification for a voter to be accepted to vote (Sec. 63.0101). H.B. 2509 makes amendments to provisions regarding eligibility for person to serve as early voting clerks or as deputies of early voting clerks (Secs. 83.006, 83.007, and 83.032). The bill authorizes a voter to submit a request to cancel an early voting ballot by executing an affidavit before the election officer that the voter did not mark the ballot (Sec. 84.032). The bill provides that for a voter who requests an early voting ballot, the ballot must be mailed to the voter's registered mailing address if different from the voter's home address (Sec. 86.003). The bill amends provisions regarding the deadline for the return by mail of a marked ballot for a joint election of a political subdivision with the county and state (Sec. 86.007). The bill clarifies the provisions relating to the processing of early voting ballots before election polls open in a county with a population of 100,000 or more (Sec. 87.0241). H.B. 2509 sets forth requirements for notification of meetings by an early voting ballot board (Sec. 87.0242). The bill establishes provisions relating to the appointment of a signature verification committee (Sec. 87.027). The bill amends provisions regarding the delivery of early voting ballots by a ballot board to a central counting station to require that the ballots be delivered in an unopened container (Sec. 87.101). The bill deletes the prohibition against reporting early vote totals by the clerk of a precinct that has received less than five early voting ballots (Sec. 87.1231). The bill modifies the requirements for timing of the meeting of the ballot board for the counting of certain late mail ballots (Sec. 87.125). The bill extends the deadline for application for late voting by a disabled voter from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on election day (Sec. 102.003). The bill requires that voting by disabled voters be conducted from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day rather than from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Sec. 104.003). The bill amends the procedure for limited ballot voting to restrict such voting to the early voting period, and to delete the provision that the voter is only eligible for such voting for 90 days after moving (Sec. 112.002). The bill provides that the filing deadline for a declared write-in candidate in certain elections is 5 p.m. of the fifth day after the day on which an application for a ballot place is required to be filed (Sec. 144.006). The bill modifies the provisions for write-in declarations to apply to all elections for city officers rather than only general elections (Secs. 146.051 and 146.055). The bill sets forth provisions that specify that a vote for a write-in candidate in a special election to fill a vacancy in the legislature may not be counted unless it appears on the list of write-in candidates (Secs. 146.071-146.075). The bill modifies provisions regarding the financing of county primary elections to require that any surplus funds be remitted to the secretary of state rather than the county clerk (Sec. 173.011). H.B. 2509 modifies provisions regarding the deadline for an expedited recount request from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the next regular business day when the original deadline falls on a weekend or holiday (Sec. 212.008). The bill modifies provisions regarding a deposit to cover the cost of a recount to provide that the deposit may be in cash or a money order (Sec. 212.111). The bill provides that for a petition signature to be valid, the petition must contain the signer's date of birth or voter registration number instead of both (Sec. 277.002). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.