HBA-TYH H.B. 306 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 306 By: Madden Elections 4/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, there is a decrease in the percentage of registered voters casting votes. Accessibility to the polling place and cynicism about the election process are two possible reasons for the decrease. In high growth areas, polling locations can change repeatedly from one election to the next. H.B. 306 insures that all voters have ready access to the voting places and information about their locations, while reinforcing the integrity of the system. 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. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 43, Election Code, by adding Subchapter C, as follows: SUBCHAPTER C. INFORMATION REGARDING LOCATION OF POLLING PLACE Sec. 43.061. NOTICE AT PREVIOUS POLLING PLACE. Requires the authority responsible for giving notice of elections, if possible, to post notice at the entrance to the previous polling place, stating that the location has changed and giving the new location, if the location of the polling place for an election precinct is different from the location used in the preceding election. Sec. 43.062. USE OF COMPUTERIZED INFORMATION. Requires an election officer, in an election in which detailed poll location information is available at a polling place through a computer, to assist voters in determining the correct polling place location for the voter's election precinct. SECTION 2. Amends Section 62.001, Election Code, by adding Subsection (b), to require the presiding judge at the polling place to take appropriate steps to provide for the security of the polling place, if it is left unattended at any time after the preparations for voting begin. Creates Subsection (a) from existing text. SECTION 3. Amends Chapter 63, Election Code, by adding Section 63.011, as follows: Sec. 63.011. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS PROHIBITED. Prohibits a voter from possessing, at the polling place or in the area within which electioneering is prohibited, a written communication that was prepared and furnished to the voter by another person, or was marked or printed to identify one or more candidates or measures for which the voter has agreed or has been requested to vote. Provides that an unmarked sample ballot, obtained and marked by the voter, is one example of a written communication that is not prohibited. Prohibits an election officer from allowing a voter to vote, if the officer knows that the voter has actual possession of a prohibited communication at the time of the actual voting. Prohibits a voter from receiving an official ballot until the voter gives any prohibited communication to the election officer. Provides that an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. SECTION 4. Amends Section 104.001, Election Code, to provide that a voter must be unable to use a voting machine or device at the polling place entrance or curb, as provided by Section 64.009 (Voter Unable to Enter Polling Place), to be eligible to vote by the early voting procedure. Creates Subsection (1) from existing text and adds Subsection (2). Makes a conforming change. SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 6. Emergency clause.