HB4780 - Relating to election judges and clerks.

  89R15715 MLH-D     By: Morgan H.B. No. 4780       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to election judges and clerks.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 32.002, Election Code, is amended by   amending Subsections (c) and (c-1) and adding Subsection (h) to   read as follows:          (c)  The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must   be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject   to this subsection.  Before July of each year in a county to which   Subsection (a)(1) applies or before August of each year in a county   to which Subsection (a)(2) applies, the county chair of a political   party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second   highest number of votes in the county in the most recent   gubernatorial general election shall submit in writing to the   commissioners court a list of names of persons in order of   preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as an   election judge.  The county chair may supplement the list of names   of persons until the fifth [ 20th ] day before a general election or   [ the 15th day before ] a special election in case an appointed   election judge becomes unable to serve.  The county chair of   [ commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the   applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in   compliance with this subsection by ] the party with the highest   number of votes in the precinct shall appoint the first person   meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list   submitted by that party chair under this subsection as the   presiding judge , and the county chair of [ first person meeting the   applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in   compliance with this subsection by ] the party with the second   highest number of votes in the precinct shall appoint the first   person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the   list submitted by that party chair under this subsection as the   alternate presiding judge.   If either county chair is unable to make   an appointment for presiding judge or alternate presiding judge,   the commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the   applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted by the   applicable county chair to the applicable position. If the   candidates for governor of two political parties received the same   number of votes in the precinct, the first person meeting the   applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted by the   party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of   votes in the county shall be appointed as the presiding judge and   the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements   from the list submitted by the party whose candidate for governor   received the second highest number of votes in the county shall be   appointed as the alternate presiding judge.  The commissioners   court may reject the list if the persons whose names are submitted   on the list are determined not to meet the applicable eligibility   requirements.          (c-1)  For purposes of this subsection, the county chair   shall provide a list of names of persons eligible for appointment as   election judges.  Judges of countywide polling places established   under Section 43.007 must be appointed from the list of names of   persons submitted by the county chair in compliance with Subsection   (c) except that in appointing a person from the list the county   chair or commissioners court , as applicable, shall apportion the   number of judges in direct proportion to the percentage of   precincts located in each county commissioners precinct won by each   party in the last gubernatorial election, the county chair or   commissioners court is not required to make the appointments based   on specific polling locations or precincts, a presiding judge or   alternate presiding judge is not required to serve in a polling   place located in the precinct in which the judge resides, and more   than one presiding judge or alternate presiding judge may be   selected from the same precinct to serve in polling places not   located in the precinct in which the judges reside.  The county   chairs may submit, and the commissioners court may preapprove, the   appointment of more presiding judges or alternate presiding judges   than necessary to fill available positions.  The county clerk shall   [ may ] select an individual whose appointment was preapproved by the   commissioners court to fill a vacancy in a position that was held by   an individual from the same political party.  Other than a judge's   party affiliation, nothing in this subsection precludes a county   chair or county clerk from placing an election officer at a   countywide polling place based on the need for services at that   location.           (h)     To the extent possible a judge may not be required to   serve at a polling place that would require the judge to travel more   than an estimated 20 minutes from the judge's residence.          SECTION 2.  Section 32.006(a), Election Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  The county chair of a political party holding a primary   election shall appoint for each primary the judges for each   precinct polling place or countywide polling place at [ in ] which   the election will be held in the county and fill any vacancy that   occurs in the position of presiding judge or alternate presiding   judge.          SECTION 3.  Sections 32.007(a), (c), and (f), Election Code,   are amended to read as follows:          (a)  If neither the presiding judge nor the alternate   presiding judge can serve in an election and their inability to   serve is discovered after the fifth [ 20th ] day before a general   election or [ the 15th day before a ] special election, the presiding   officer of the appointing authority or the authority if a single   officer shall appoint a replacement judge to preside at the   election, subject to Subsection (f).  If the appointing authority   is unavailable, the authority responsible for distributing the   supplies for the election shall appoint the replacement judge.          (c)  The appointing authority shall promptly give notice of   the emergency appointment to the county chair of each political   party that submitted a list under Section 32.002(c) and to the   authority responsible for distributing the supplies for the   election.  As soon as practicable but not later than the time for   closing the polls for the election, the appointing authority shall   prepare a written memorandum of the appointment and deliver a   signed copy to the presiding officer of the local canvassing   authority and to the general custodian of election records.  The   copies shall be preserved for the period for preserving the   precinct election records.          (f)  A person who is appointed as a replacement for a judge   originally appointed under Section 32.002 must be affiliated or   aligned with the same political party as was the original judge, if   possible, and the appointing authority shall [ make a reasonable   effort to ] consult with and receive approval in writing from the   party chair of the appropriate political party before making an   appointment under this section.          SECTION 4.  Sections 32.009(a) and (b), Election Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (a)  Each presiding election judge , [ and ] alternate   presiding judge , and county chair of each political party shall be   given written notice of the appointment as provided by this   section.          (b)  The authority responsible for distributing the supplies   for the election for which the judge is appointed shall prepare and   deliver the notice not later than the seventh [ 20th ] day after the   date the appointment is made.          SECTION 5.  Section 32.012, Election Code, is amended by   adding Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:           (c)     A county clerk shall provide a copy of any communication   sent to a presiding judge, alternate presiding judge, or election   clerk notifying the official of the official's appointment to the   county chair of each political party.           (d)     The county clerk shall use an online, secure   communications platform that restricts access to selected   individuals to allow the county chair of each political party or   officers of the political party designated by the chair to access   and view in real time:                 (1)     the name and contact information of each judge or   clerk;                 (2)  the name and address of each polling place;                 (3)     the identity of each judge or clerk that has been   assigned to each polling place;                 (4)  the date each assignment was made; and                 (5)     any other information determined by the county   clerk to be relevant to the timely and appropriate assignment of   judges and clerks to polling places.           (e)     The county clerk shall ensure that the county chair of   each political party or officers of the political party designated   by the chair have access to the platform described by Subsection (d)   not later than the 60th day before the date of the election.          SECTION 6.  Section 32.031, Election Code, is amended to   read as follows:          Sec. 32.031.  PRESIDING JUDGE TO APPOINT CLERKS.  (a) The   presiding judge for each election precinct shall appoint [ the ]   election clerks from the presiding judge's political party to   assist the judge in the conduct of an election at the polling place   served by the judge.   The presiding judge shall select the clerks   from the list provided by the county chair of the presiding judge's   political party under Section 32.034.          (b)   The alternate presiding judge for each election   precinct shall appoint election clerks from the alternate presiding   judge's political party to assist the judge in the conduct of an   election at the polling place served by the judge.   The alternate   presiding judge shall select the clerks from the list provided by   the county chair of the alternate presiding judge's political party   under Section 32.034.           (c)   The appointment of an election clerk is for a single   election only.          SECTION 7.  Sections 32.033(b) and (c), Election Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), the presiding   judge and alternate presiding judge shall each appoint at least one   clerk [ two clerks ] for each precinct in each election and may   appoint as many additional clerks, within the prescribed limit, as   are necessary for the proper conduct of the election , provided that   to the extent possible, the number of clerks from each political   party be kept equal .          (c)  In each election ordered by the governor or a county   authority in which the regular county election precincts are   required to be used, the presiding judge and alternate presiding   judge shall each appoint at least one clerk [ clerks ] for each   precinct in the number, within the prescribed limit, the judge   considers necessary for the proper conduct of the election ,   provided that to the extent possible, the number of clerks from each   political party be kept equal .          SECTION 8.  Sections 32.034(a), (b), (c), and (e), Election   Code, are amended to read as follows:          (a)  The clerks for the general election for state and county   officers or for a special election to fill a vacancy in an office   regularly filled at the general election shall be selected from   different political parties [ if possible ].          (b)  The county chair of each [ a ] political party whose   candidate for governor received the highest or second highest   number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial   general election may, not later than the 25th day before a general   election or the 10th day before a special election to which   Subsection (a) applies, submit to the commissioners court [ a   presiding judge ] a lis [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]