88R25919 MPF-F     By: Swanson, DeAyala, Smith, et al. H.B. No. 2860     Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2860:     By:  Smith C.S.H.B. No. 2860       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to maintaining certain voter registration information and   reviewing ballots voted by mail; creating criminal offenses.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 18, Election Code, is   amended by adding Section 18.0045 to read as follows:          Sec. 18.0045.  RECORD OF VOTERS REMOVED FROM LIST. (a)  The   registrar shall retain the voter registration application of any   person whose name is removed from a list of registered voters   prepared under this subchapter.          (b)  If voter registration information was recorded on an   optional storage method under Section 13.104, the information may   be substituted for the retained registration application under   Subsection (a).          (c)  All information and records held by the registrar under   this section, other than information described as confidential   under Section 13.004, are open records for the purposes of Chapter   552, Government Code.          (d)  A registrar commits an offense if the registrar   knowingly fails to comply with a requirement under this section.  An   offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.          (e)  The registrar may use funds dedicated under Chapter 19   for the purpose of defraying costs associated with complying with   this section.          SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 18, Election Code, is   amended by adding Section 18.0085 to read as follows:          Sec. 18.0085.  DATABASE OF LISTS AVAILABLE ON COUNTY   WEBSITE. (a)  The registrar shall make a copy of any list prepared   under this subchapter available on the county's publicly accessible   Internet website in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable   database format.          (b)  The registrar may use funds dedicated under Chapter 19   for the purpose of defraying costs associated with developing and   maintaining the database prescribed by this section.          (c)  A registrar commits an offense if the registrar   knowingly fails to comply with the requirements under Subsection   (a). An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.          SECTION 3.  Sections 87.027(i) and (j), Election Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (i)  The signature verification committee shall compare the   signature on each carrier envelope certificate, except those signed   for a voter by a witness, with the signature on the voter's ballot   application to determine whether the signatures are those of the   voter.  The committee shall [may] also compare the signatures with   any known signature of the voter on file with the county clerk or   voter registrar to determine whether the signatures are those of   the voter.  The committee shall also compare the information   provided by the voter under Section 84.002(a)(1-a) on the voter's   ballot application with the information provided by the voter under   Section 86.002(g) and any known copies of the information on file   with the county clerk or voter registrar. Except as provided by   Subsection (l), a determination under this subsection that the   signatures or provided information are not those of the voter must   be made by a majority vote of the committee's membership.  The   committee shall place the jacket envelopes, carrier envelopes, and   applications of voters whose signatures or provided information are   not those of the voter in separate containers from those of voters   whose signatures or provided information are those of the voter.     The committee chair shall deliver the sorted materials to the early   voting ballot board at the time specified by the board's presiding   judge.          (j)  If a signature verification committee is appointed, the   early voting ballot board shall follow the same procedure for   accepting the early voting ballots voted by mail as in an election   without a signature verification committee, except that the board   may not determine whether a voter's signatures on the carrier   envelope certificate and ballot application are those of the same   person if the committee has determined that the signatures are   those of the same person.  If the committee has determined that the   signatures or provided information are not those of the same   person, the board may make a determination that the signatures or   provided information are those of the same person by a majority vote   of the board's membership.          SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 87, Election Code, is   amended by adding Section 87.0272 to read as follows:          Sec. 87.0272.  INAPPROPRIATE ACTION BY SIGNATURE   VERIFICATION COMMITTEE. (a)  A chair of a signature verification   committee or a chair's designee commits an offense if the chair or   chair's designee knowingly fails to perform a requirement under   Section 87.027(i).          (b)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.          (c)  The secretary of state may withhold all or part of any   funds distributed by the secretary of state under Chapter 19 from a   county that violates the requirements established under Section   87.027(i).          SECTION 5.  Section 87.041(b), Election Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (b)  A ballot may be accepted only if:                (1)  the carrier envelope certificate is properly   executed;                (2)  neither the voter's signature on the ballot   application nor the signature on the carrier envelope certificate   is determined to have been executed by a person other than the   voter, unless signed by a witness;                (3)  the voter's ballot application states a legal   ground for early voting by mail;                (4)  the voter is registered to vote, if registration   is required by law;                (5)  the address to which the ballot was mailed to the   voter, as indicated by the application, was outside the voter's   county of residence, if the ground for early voting is absence from   the county of residence;                (6)  for a voter to whom a statement of residence form   was required to be sent under Section 86.002(a), the statement of   residence is returned in the carrier envelope and indicates that   the voter satisfies the residence requirements prescribed by   Section 63.0011;                (7)  the address to which the ballot was mailed to the   voter is an address that is otherwise required by Sections 84.002   and 86.003; [and]                (8)  the information required under Section 86.002(g)   provided by the voter identifies the same voter identified on the   voter's application for voter registration under Section   13.002(c)(8); and                 (9)  the information provided by the voter under   Section 84.002(a)(1-a) on the voter's ballot application is   determined to be the same as the voter's information provided by the   voter under Section 86.002(g) and any known copies of the   information on file with the county clerk or voter registrar.          SECTION 6.  Subchapter C, Chapter 87, Election Code, is   amended by adding Section 87.0412 to read as follows:          Sec. 87.0412.  INAPPROPRIATE ACTION BY BOARD. (a)  The   presiding judge of the early voting ballot board or a judge's   designee commits an offense if the presiding judge or designee   knowingly fails to perform a requirement under Section 87.041(b).          (b)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.          (c)  The secretary of state may withhold all or part of any   funds distributed by the secretary of state under Chapter 19 from a   county that violates the requirements established under Section   87.041(b).          SECTION 7.  Section 87.126, Election Code, is amended by   adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:          (a-2)  An early voting clerk who maintains only electronic   records of applications for a ballot to be voted by mail, jacket   envelopes, carrier envelopes, or ballots commits an offense if the   clerk knowingly fails to record the front and back of each   application, envelope, or ballot recorded, and provide the records   to the early voting ballot board, the signature verification   committee, or both.  An offense under this subsection is a Class A   misdemeanor.          SECTION 8.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to   an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.  An   election ordered before the effective date of this Act is governed   by the law in effect when the election was ordered, and the former   law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.