HBA-MSH H.B. 1432 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1432
By: Madden
Elections
4/16/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a person is eligible for early voting by mail if the
voter is 65 years of age or older on election day.  Increases in life
expectancy have caused the number of people in this group to grow,
increasing the logistical difficulty of processing mail-in ballots. Also,
current law does not require  a person submitting an application for early
voting to attest to citizenship and eligibility for early voting by mail,
and does not necessarily require a delivery receipt for a mail-in ballot
envelope to be signed and dated by the voter.  This may decrease the
security of a mail-in ballot envelope.  House Bill 1432 sets forth
provisions relating to early voting by mail. 

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 1432 amends the Election Code to provide that a qualified voter
is eligible for early voting by mail if the voter is 70 rather than 65
years of age or older on election day.   The bill specifies that the
officially prescribed application form for an early voting ballot must
include immediately preceding the signature space the statement: "I certify
that I am a United States citizen and a legal resident of Texas, and that I
am otherwise eligible for early voting by mail in accordance with the
Election Code."   

The bill provides that the carrier envelope used to return a marked ballot
must be accompanied by an individual delivery receipt that is signed and
dated by the voter.  The bill prohibits a delivery of carrier envelopes if
the delivery originates from the address of a political action group or
agent employed by or working for or on behalf of a political party,
candidate, or representative of a candidate. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.