Election Advisory No. 2025-07
| To: | All Election Officials | |
| From: | Christina Worrell Adkins, Director of Elections |
 |
| Date: | July 18, 2025 | |
| RE: | 2025 Legislative Summary – 89th Regular Session | |
Below is a brief summary of the major election-related legislation that passed during the Texas Legislature’s 89th Regular Session.
General Election-Related Changes
- House Bill 640 (Bumgarner): Clarifies the definition of “regular business day” for the office hours of election authorities during the election period. Defines a “regular business day” to mean a day when the main business office of the county, city, or other political subdivision is regularly open for business.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 31.122 - House Bill 677 (DeAyala): Prohibits a county elections administrator from holding another office or position appointed by an elected official.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 31.035 - House Bill 1522 (Gerdes): Modifies notice requirements for meetings conducted under the open meetings law. Changes the notice posting requirement from a minimum of 72 hours to at least three business days before the date of the scheduled meeting. Introduces new requirements for meetings where a governmental body will discuss or adopt a budget.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Government Code § 551.043 - House Bill 1620 (Leach): Makes non-substantive changes to various provisions in the Code of Criminal Procedure, Election Code, and other codes.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 41.0052,
Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 2A.001, 2A.002 - House Bill 1661 (Vasut): Requires the election officer responsible for procuring election supplies to provide a number of ballots equal to at least the percentage of voters who voted in the most recent corresponding election plus 25 percent of that number. Provides that the number of ballots cannot exceed the total number of registered voters in the precinct unless the county is part of the countywide polling place program. Provides a criminal offense for an election officer who intentionally fails to provide the required number of ballots or who does not promptly supplement the distributed ballots upon request from a polling place. The offense is classified as a Class A misdemeanor.
Elevates an offense under Section 51.010 of the Election Code (Failure to Distribute or Deliver Supplies) from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. Elevates an offense under Section 51.011 of the Election Code (Obstructing Distribution of Supplies) from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor. Elevates an offense under Section 61.007 of the Election Code (Unlawfully Revealing Information Before Polls Close) from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony.Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 41.0052,
Election Code §§ 51.005, 51.008, 51.010, 51.011, 61.007 - House Bill 2253 (Bhojani): Authorizes counties and local political subdivisions to cancel a measure that authorizes the issuance of bonds if the Governor issues a disaster declaration regarding a natural disaster or other disaster which threatens the health, safety, or general welfare of the authority’s residents within 90 days of the date of the election. The governing body of the authority must determine by majority vote that cancellation of the election is necessary due to damage to the authority’s election system, or to avoid harm to the authority’s election workers or voters. The governing body must provide reasonable public notice of the meeting and allow members of the public and the press to observe the meeting, to the extent practicable under the circumstances.
Effective Date: Immediately Statutes Affected: Election Code § 2.081 - House Bill 2885 (Gerdes): Authorizes Bastrop County and the City of Garland to order local option elections to determine whether the sale of alcoholic beverages of one or more of the various types and alcoholic contents shall be legalized.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 501.0211 - House Bill 3425 (Capriglione): Makes it a criminal offense to post or disclose the residence addresses or telephone number of public servants and their families through electronic communication with the intent to cause harm or a threat of harm.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Penal Code §§ 36.06, 42.074 - House Bill 3526 (Capriglione): Requires the Attorney General to send information to the Bond Review Board for inclusion in reports required under the Government Code. Requires the Bond Review Board to develop and maintain on the board’s Internet website a publicly accessible and searchable database that provides information on each bond proposed or issued by a local government. The database must include: 1) the amount of the principal of the bond; 2) the estimated amount of interest on the bond; 3) the estimated total amount to pay the principal of and any interest on the bond; and 4) the estimated minimum dollar amount required to be annually expended for debt service.
Provides that not later than the 20th day before election day for an election to authorize a local government to issue bonds, the local government must submit a report to the Bond Review Board that includes: 1) the date of the election; 2) the proposition number for each bond proposition; 3) the total estimated cost of the issuance of each proposed bond; 4) the estimated minimum dollar amount required to be annually expended for debt service; 5) a description of the purpose of each bond proposition; and 6) any other information the board determines necessary.
Provides that not later than the 20th day after election day for an election to authorize a local government to issue bonds, the local government must submit a report to the Bond Review Board that includes: 1) the total number of votes cast for each bond proposition; 2) the total number of votes in support of the bond proposition; 3) the total number of votes against the bond proposition; 4) any updated information different from what was initially reported to the board; and 5) any other information the board determines necessary.Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Government Code §§ 1202.008, 1231.024, 1231.025, 1231.026, 1231.065 - House Bill 3546 (Martinez): Provides independent school districts with the authority to, not later than December 31, 2030, change the date of their general elections for officers to the November uniform election date. Allows the board of trustees to adopt a resolution to modify the length of trustee terms until the date the November election is canvassed, with terms staggered for either three or four years. This resolution must specify how the transition from the former term length to the new term length will occur, starting with the first regular election after the resolution is adopted.
Effective Date: Immediately Statutes Affected: Education Code § 11.059(e) Election Code § 41.0052 Repeals: Education Code § 11.059(f) and (g) - House Bill 3909 (Hickland): Provides that except as permitted by Sections 61.012 and 61.013 of the Election Code, a person may not use a wireless communication device within a room in which voting is taking place. Requires that the presiding judge post a notice that states the prohibition on the use of a wireless communication device in a prominent and reasonably visible location outside of a room in which voting is taking place.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 61.014 - House Bill 5115 (Shaheen): Increases the penalty for election fraud by reclassifying the offense from a Class A misdemeanor to a second-degree felony. Expands the definition of election fraud to include certain actions such as counting votes the person knows are invalid, altering a report to include votes the person knows are invalid, refusing to count votes the person knows are valid, or altering a report to exclude votes the person knows are valid. If the offense is committed by a person while acting in their capacity as an elected official, it is a felony of the first degree.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 276.013 Repeals: Election Code §§ 276.013(c), 276.014 - Senate Bill 447 (Hinojosa, Juan): Allows the City of Mission to change the date of its general election to the November uniform election date. Provides that the municipality is prohibited from reverting to a different date in the future other than the November uniform election.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 41.0052 - Senate Bill 506 (Bettencourt): Provides for the review of ballot language provided by home-rule cities for initiative, referendum, and charter amendment elections. Prescribes procedures for the Secretary of State to review ballot propositions drafted by a city for certain elections. Provides that not later than the seventh day after a home-rule city issues its election order for a charter amendment, initiative, or referendum election, a registered voter or the city may submit the proposition for review by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State must review the proposition language within seven days to determine if the language is misleading, inaccurate, or prejudicial. If the Secretary of State determines that the ballot language is misleading, inaccurate, or prejudicial, the city has three days to cure the proposition and give notice of the new proposition. If the amended proposition is subsequently submitted to the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State again determines that the language is not sufficient, then the Secretary of State must draft the proposition.
Prohibits political subdivisions from proposing a measure that would appear on the same ballot as a petition-initiated measure if the two measures include the same subject matter or conflict with each other. A conflicting measure would be rendered void.
The bill applies to petitions submitted on or after January 1, 2026.Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 52.072, 233.0115, 273.101, 273.102, 273.103,
273.104, 277.005 - Senate Bill 688 (Hughes): Provides that the meeting of presidential electors shall convene at 2 p.m. on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December following their election.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 192.006 - Senate Bill 914 (Blanco): Authorizes the governing body of a city with a population of 9,000 or less, located predominantly in a county that has a total area of less than 6,200 square miles, and that has adopted a council-manager form of government to change the date on which it holds its general election to the November uniform election date not later than December 31, 2026. This provision, which is limited to the City of Alpine, expires on January 1, 2027.
Effective Date: Immediately Statutes Affected: Election Code § 41.0052 - Senate Bill 985 (Bettencourt, Paxton): Allows for combination of precincts in two circumstances:
- Population-Based Combination: If changes in county election precinct boundaries due to a redistricting plan result in county election precincts with fewer than 3,000 registered voters, the commissioners court (for a general or special election) or the county executive committee of a political party (for a primary election) may combine these precincts to avoid unreasonable expenditures for election equipment, supplies, and personnel. A combined precinct is subject to the maximum population prescribed under Section 42.006 of the Election Code.
- Combination Due to Lack of Suitable Polling Location: For counties that do not participate in the countywide polling place program, the commissioners court (for a general or special election) or the county executive committee of a political party (for a primary election) may combine precincts if there is no suitable building available for use as a polling place in one or more precincts, and the location of the combined polling place adequately serves the voters of the combined precinct. A combined precinct under this procedure may not contain more than 10,000 registered voters.
- Senate Bill 1025 (Bettencourt): Requires a ballot proposition that increases taxes to include, in capital typewritten letters of the same font size as the rest of the proposition, the statement “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE.”
Effective Date: Immediately Statutes Affected: Election Code § 52.072 - Senate Bill 1494 (Johnson, West): Authorizes the governing body of a political subdivision, other than a county or municipal utility district, to change the date on which it holds its general election to the November uniform election date in odd-numbered years no later than December 31, 2025.
Effective Date: Immediately Statutes Affected: Election Code § 41.0052 - Senate Bill 2166 (Parker): Modifies the requirements for conducting the Public Logic and Accuracy Test and the Tabulation Testing for electronic voting system equipment. Requires Logic and Accuracy Testing for electronic pollbook systems.
- Clarifies the requirements for the Public Logic and Accuracy Test and tabulation testing by requiring them to be conducted at the same time and by distinguishing the testing procedures for precinct scanners from the testing procedures for central accumulators.
- Harmonizes the notice requirements for both tests and requires the testing to be performed by the 48th day before election day. Requires that notice of the public testing of the voting system be published on the political subdivision’s website at least 48 hours before the test begins.
- Entities are no longer required to publish notice in the newspaper for the First Tabulation Test.
- Requires the general custodian to demonstrate, using a representative sample of voting system equipment, that the source code of the equipment has not been altered. For purposes of this requirement, a “representative sample” means ten of each type of voting device, or five percent of each type of voting device to be used in the election, whichever number is smaller.
- Modifies the procedures for tabulation testing by clarifying that precinct scanners are required to be tested once as part of the Public Logic and Accuracy Test, while central counting station equipment is required to be tested three times for each election.
- Clarifies that test materials are available for public inspection beginning on the first day after the final canvass of the election, and allows the container containing the test materials to be unsealed to respond to a public information request.
- Requires a Logic and Accuracy Test to be conducted for electronic pollbook systems. The test must be conducted at least 48 hours before voting begins. Notice of the test must be posted on the entity’s website at least 48 hours before the test begins.
- Senate Bill 2216 (Hughes): Requires that equipment used in the operation of a voting system be stored in a locked room. Provides that the inventory of electronic information storage media must include information on the polling location at which the storage media will be used. Requires the general custodian of election records to place security seals on each unit of voting system equipment to prevent unauthorized access to the equipment. Further requires the general custodian of election records to create a procedure for documenting which specific seals are placed on each unit of voting system equipment and any instance where the seals are removed, including the identity of the individual who removed the seals and the purpose for accessing the equipment.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 123.034, 129.051
| Effective Date: | September 1, 2025 |
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| Statutes Affected: | Election Code § 42.0051 |
| Effective Date: | September 1, 2025 |
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| Statutes Affected: | Election Code §§ 127.091, 127.092, 127.093, 127.094, 127.096,127.099, 127.100, 129.021, 129.023, 129.0231, 129.024 |
| Repeals: | Election Code § 127.096(a-1) |
Voting by Mail
- House Bill 2259 (DeAyala): Provides that the instructions for the officially prescribed Application for Ballot by Mail issued by the Secretary of State must be presented in portrait orientation on a single piece of paper that is 8 1/2 by 11 inches and printed in 12- point Calibri or Aptos font or the largest font size that allows the instructions to fit on a single piece of paper. The instructions must also contain bold print, as determined necessary by the Secretary of State, to adequately relate the instructions to an item on the application.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 84.0112 - House Bill 3697 (Cortez): Provides that the officially prescribed Application for Ballot by Mail issued by the Secretary of State must be printed in at least 10-point type and printed in black text.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 84.011 - Senate Bill 2964 (Hughes): Requires that if an early voting clerk identifies a defect in a voter’s carrier envelope, the clerk must notify the voter of the defect and provide a corrective action form within two days of discovering the defect. The notice must include an explanation of the defect and explain to the voter how the defect may be corrected not later than the sixth day after election day. If the voter cannot be timely notified of the defect, the early voting clerk may contact the voter by telephone or email. Early voting clerks are no longer authorized to return the defective carrier envelope in person or by mail to the voter.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 86.011, 86.015
Candidacy and Office Holding
- House Bill 148 (Turner): Requires candidates seeking election or appointment to the board of directors of appraisal districts to sign an acknowledgement of their duties and responsibilities, including establishing the appraisal district office, hiring a chief appraiser, and ensuring compliance with various legal requirements. These provisions apply to officers whose terms begin on or after January 1, 2026.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Tax Code §§ 5.044, 6.0302 - House Bill 766 (Cortez): Requires that a candidate for precinct chair include on their application either an email address at which the candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate’s campaign or a telephone number at which the candidate can be reached.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 172.021 - House Bill 3575 (Noble): Requires that candidates running for an office on the board of directors of appraisal districts file their candidate applications for a place on the ballotwith the county clerk/elections administrator. Candidates running for an office on the board of directors of a county appraisal district will no longer file their candidate applications for a place on the ballot with the county judge.
Effective Date: Immediately Statutes Affected: Election Code § 252.005
Tax Code § 6.032 - House Bill 3629 (Noble): Prohibits individuals who are required to register as sex offenders under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, from serving on the board of trustees of an independent school district. Candidates seeking to serve on the board of trustees of an independent school district must include a statement on their candidate application acknowledging that they are ineligible to serve if they are required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
Effective Date: Immediately Statutes Affected: Election Code § 252.005
Education Code §§ 11.055, 11.061 - Senate Bill 901 (Kolkhorst): Provides that a candidate who files a candidate application for a place on the primary election ballot or for nomination by convention with more than one political party within the same voting year will be ineligible for a place on the ballot for the primary election, nomination by convention, and participation in the subsequent general election as an independent candidate, the nominee of a political party, or a write- in candidate. Requires that the Secretary of State determine a candidate’s ineligibility within ten days after the regular filing deadline for the general primary election and that written notice be provided to the candidate, advising them of their ineligibility and the option to withdraw from the general primary election. Provides that the candidate’s name may not be certified under this circumstance.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 162.0151, 172.028, 181.068, 182.007
Poll Watcher Eligibility
- House Bill 493 (Shaheen): Modifies the existing ineligibility criteria for serving as a poll watcher by specifying that individuals finally convicted of a first- or second- degree felony, or a felony in connection with conduct directly attributable to an election, are ineligible. Requires that a Certificate of Appointment for a poll watcher include an affidavit from the appointee affirming that they have not been finally convicted of a felony of the first or second degree or any felony offense related to election conduct.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 33.006, 33.035
Curbside Voting and Assistance Procedures
- House Bill 521 (Guillen): Makes changes to curbside voting and assistance procedures:
- Requires that curbside voters execute a form attesting that they are physically unable to enter the polling place. Makes it a Class A misdemeanor to intentionally fail to complete this form. The executed forms must be delivered to the Secretary of State as soon as practicable.
- Requires that if an election worker will be assisting a curbside voter, then two election workers must be present to provide assistance, with the assistants being from different political parties if possible. During early voting, a single worker may assist a curbside voter.
- If four or more election officers are present at the polling place, two election officers shall deliver a ballot to a curbside voter. If there are three or fewer election officers present, the delivery can be made by one officer.
- When curbside voters are given transportation by another person, the election officer must ask the person providing transportation whether the person has assisted seven or more curbside voters during the entire voting period (early voting and election day combined). If the driver indicates that they have assisted seven or more curbside voters, then they must complete and sign a form that contains the person’s name and address and indicates whether the person is assisting the voter with voting as well. The forms must be delivered to the Secretary of State as soon as practicable. Failure to fill out this form is a Class A misdemeanor.
- Requires election officers to complete an assistance form when assisting a voter. It is a Class A misdemeanor for such individuals to knowingly fail to complete an assistance form.
- By the 30th day after election day, the county election official must forward information regarding any individual who assisted a total of seven or more voters during the early voting period and on election day to the Secretary of State.
- Prohibits loitering or electioneering within 20 feet of designated curbside voting parking spaces.
| Effective Date: | September 1, 2025 |
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| Statutes Affected: | Election Code §§ 61.003, 64.009, 64.0322, 85.036 |
Voter Registration and Jury Management
- House Bill 2637 (DeAyala): Provides that individuals aged 75 and older may claim a permanent exemption from grand jury service by filing a signed statement with the district clerk. Requires that the district clerk maintain a current register of individuals who are entitled to permanent exemptions due to age and prepare monthly updates for the Secretary of State regarding exemptions which have been claimed or rescinded. Includes provisions for maintaining lists of individuals disqualified from jury service due to citizenship or residency issues. Separates misdemeanor theft convictions and felony convictions as two separate reasons a person may be disqualified from jury service. Requires the district clerk to only send information on felony convictions to the voter registrar.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 30.0071
Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 19A.051, 19A.101, 19A.105, 19A.106, 19A.107
Government Code §§ 62.001, 62.0132, 62.102, 62.106, 62.107,
62.108, 62.109, 62.113, 62.114, 62.115 - House Bill 4749 (Landgraf): Updates the qualifications for serving as a grand juror or a petit juror in counties with a population of less than 1,000. Allows individuals who are residents of contiguous counties and qualified to vote in those counties to serve as a juror, even if the individual does not reside in the summoning county. Modifies the jury wheel reconstitution process to include the names of residents of contiguous counties. Clarifies the sources for reconstituting the jury wheel, allowing for the inclusion of voter registration lists and driver’s license or identification card holders from neighboring counties.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 19A.101, 19A.201 Government Code §§ 62.001, 62.0132, 62.014, 62.102 - Senate Bill 510 (Bettencourt): Provides that the Secretary of State may withhold funds if a voter registrar fails to timely perform certain duties related to voter registration, such as the approval, change, or cancellation of a voter’s registration, the scheduling of a hearing on a challenge to a voter’s registration or cancellation, the determination of a challenge, or the delivery of a notice related to a challenge.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 16.039 (redesignated as Section 12.007) - Senate Bill 523 (Zaffirini): Authorizes parole officers and probation officers to use an office address as an alternative address on their driver’s license. These individuals are allowed to designate their office address, instead of their residence address, on their voter registration certificate.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Transportation Code § 521.1211 - Senate Bill 1470 (Hughes): Requires the Department of Public Safety to provide specific data to the Secretary of State related to individuals who hold a driver’s license or personal identification card in Texas and who apply for a driver’s license or personal identification card in another state. Requires the Secretary of State to use data of registered voters who apply for a driver’s license or personal identification card in another state to maintain the statewide voter registration list.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code § 18.0625 - Senate Bill 1540 (Bettencourt): Expands the list of individuals eligible for confidentiality protections to include a current or former election official, or employee, volunteer, or designee of an election official, or an employee of the Secretary of State’s office who performs duties related to elections.
- Senate Bill 1569 (King): Expands the list of individuals eligible for confidentiality protections to include members of the governing boards of higher education institutions, chancellors and chief executive officers of university systems, and presidents and chief executive officers of public and private universities.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Government Code §§ 552.117, 552.1175 Tax Code § 25.025 - Senate Bill 1862 (Hughes): Requires that voter registration applications include the address, city, and county where the voter previously resided. If a voter registration application indicates that the voter’s previous residence address was outside of the State of Texas, the voter registrar must document the voter’s full legal name, date of birth, current address of residence, and previous address of residence. Requires the voter registrar to compile this information and, at least once a month, submit certain data to the Secretary of State. Provides that on a monthly basis, the Secretary of State must notify the voter registrar with jurisdiction over the previous residence of a voter that the voter may be removed from that jurisdiction’s voter registration list.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 13.002, 13.072 - Senate Bill 2217 (Hughes): Amends several sections of the Election Code related to election practices and procedures.
- Provides that an update to a voter’s registration takes effect immediately upon the voter registrar’s receipt of a notice of the voter’s change of address if the voterchanges residence within the same county as the voter’s current registration
address. - Requires an entity using electronic pollbooks to generate and retain a combination form report and a report containing a list of all voters who were accepted to vote, including a reference to the voter’s county election precinct and polling location where the voter was accepted to vote. These reports must be generated from the pollbook system no later than the 30th day after election day.
- Requires electronic voting devices to produce a report with all information required to be included on a combination form and to produce a list of all voters who were accepted to vote, including a reference to the voter’s county election precinct and polling location where the voter was accepted to vote.
- Requires that when reporting the results of a count, provisional ballots cast during the early voting period be included with the results for early voting by personal appearance, and provisional ballots cast on election day be included with the results for election day.
- Provides for a post-election reconciliation to compare the total number of votes cast at a polling location with the number of voters accepted to vote at that polling location. Requires the completed reconciliation form to be posted on the county’s Internet website in the same location that the county provides information on election results.
- Defines “central accumulator” to mean a part of a voting system that tabulates or consolidates the vote totals for multiple precincts.
- Requires the election judge to generate a report from each optical scanner used at the polling place regarding the total number of ballots scanned by that scanner during the period for early voting by personal appearance or election day, as applicable.
- Requires the presiding judge of the central counting station to prepare a report regarding the total number of ballots scanned by each optical scanner for each data storage device used with the scanner. The report must be generated before the data storage device is read into the central accumulator.
- For an election held on or after September 1, 2026, an election system that uses a central accumulator must be capable of producing a report with the total number of votes received by each candidate and for or against each proposition for each polling place.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 15.025, 31.014, 63.0011, 65.057, 66.005, 66.006, 121.003, 125.0635, 127.1302, 127.133 - Provides that an update to a voter’s registration takes effect immediately upon the voter registrar’s receipt of a notice of the voter’s change of address if the voterchanges residence within the same county as the voter’s current registration
| Effective Date: | September 1, 2025 |
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| Statutes Affected: | Election Code § 1.005 Government Code § 552.1175 |
Post-Election Hand Count Audit
- Senate Bill 827 (Parker): Renames the Partial Manual Count to the Post-Election Hand Count Audit, and modifies the procedures for conducting the count. Modifies requirements and timelines for performing a Risk-Limiting Audit.
- Requires the hand count audit of early voting locations and election day locations to be conducted by polling location rather than by precinct, but still requires ballots by mail to be counted by precinct. The count will be conducted in at least one percent of election day polling locations and early voting locations, or in three locations, whichever is greater. For ballots by mail, the count will be performed for at least one percent of the precincts in which a ballot by mail was cast, or in three precincts, whichever is greater.
- Requires the general custodian to designate members of the early voting ballot board to perform the hand count audit.
- Modifies the deadlines for performing the hand count audit in an election in which a risk-limiting audit is performed. In that situation, the hand count audit must begin not later than the first business day after the Secretary of State has certified the completion of the risk-limiting audit, and the count must be completed not later than the 30th day after election day or by the deadline designated by the Secretary of State, whichever is later.
- Authorizes the general custodian to select additional precincts and polling places for the hand count audit in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of State.
- A watcher appointed to the hand count audit must satisfy the same eligibility requirements as a watcher under Chapter 33 of the Election Code.
- Provides that the general custodian must post the results of the hand count audit on the county’s Internet website in the same location that the county provides information on election returns and election results.
- Allows for multiple races or propositions to be selected for a statewide Risk- Limiting Audit.
- Requires the statewide Risk-Limiting Audit to be performed on a date designated by the Secretary of State.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 127.201, 127.302
Integration of Early Voting by Personal Appearance and Election Day
- Senate Bill 2753 (Hall): Makes several changes to the Election Code. These changes will apply to an election ordered on or after the date that the Secretary of State releases a report on the implementation of the bill’s procedures.
- Removes the gap between the early voting period and election day to establish a single voting period.
- Requires election day results and early voting results to be reported together as in person voting results, and eliminates the separate reporting categories. Ballot by mail results are still reported separately from in person voting results.
- Allows the same set of voting system equipment to be used for both early voting and election day.
- Requires that the period for early voting by personal appearance begin on the 12th day before election day and continue through the day before election day, and includes Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
- Mandates that early voting locations be designated as polling places on election day.
- Requires election results to be reported by precinct, and reported by polling location.
- Provides that if changes in county election precinct boundaries to give effect to a redistricting plan result in county election precincts with fewer than 3,000 registered voters, a commissioners court for a general or special election, or the county executive committee of a political party for a primary election, may combine these precincts to avoid unreasonable expenditures for election equipment, supplies, and personnel. A combined precinct is subject to the maximum population prescribed under Section 42.006 of the Election Code.
- Requires early voting clerks to secure voting machines at the end of each day and unsecure them before the next day of voting begins.
- Requires a county that holds or provides election services for an election to post certain information on its website, including the total number of votes cast for each candidate or for or against each measure at each polling place.
- If the ballots will be counted using automatic tabulating equipment, the early voting ballots and election day ballots from the same polling place must be stored together in the same ballot box and to be delivered to the central counting station and counted together.
- If the ballots will be counted by hand, the early voting ballots must be kept in a separate ballot box from election day ballots. Early voting ballots would be counted by the early voting ballot board, and election day ballots would be counted by the presiding judge and clerks at the polling location.
- Provides that as soon as practicable after the bill’s effective date, but not later than August 1, 2027, the Secretary of State must adopt rules and prescribe procedures required for implementation and publish a report in the Texas Register stating that the Secretary of State has consulted with county election officials and is confident that the counties are prepared to implement the provisions provided for under the bill. The changes outlined in this bill do not take effect until the Secretary of State’s report is published.
Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Statutes Affected: Election Code §§ 12.004, 19.004, 42.0051, 43.0015, 61.002, 62.005, 65.002, 65.014, 65.016, 66.0021, 67.004, 67.017, 84.032, 85.001, 85.005, 85.007, 85.032, 85.033, 85.071, 87.021, 87.022, 87.0241, 87.103, 87.104, 87.1231, 87.129, 102.003, 127.131, 172.124 Repeals: Election Code Chapter 103
Election Code §§ 43.007(i), 85.006, 85.008, 85.064(d), 85.068,
87.023, 87.024, 113.004(c), 129.057
Joint Resolutions Passed During the 2025 Regular Session
HJR 1 - “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation a portion of the market value of tangible personal property a person owns that is held or used for the production of income.”
HJR 2 - “The constitutional amendment to prohibit the legislature from imposing death taxes applicable to a decedent’s property or the transfer of an estate, inheritance, legacy, succession, or gift.”
HJR 4 - “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from enacting a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions.”
HJR 7 - “The constitutional amendment to dedicate a portion of the revenue derived from state sales and use taxes to the Texas water fund and to provide for the allocation and use of that revenue.”
HJR 34 - “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the amount of the market value of real property located in a county that borders the United Mexican States that arises from the installation or construction on the property of border security infrastructure and related improvements.”
HJR 99 - “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held by the owner of the property for sale at retail.”
HJR 133 - “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of a condition or disease that is presumed under federal law to have been service-connected.”
SJR 2 - “The constitutional amendment to increase the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000.”
SJR 3 - “The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue.”
SJR 5 – “The constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail under certain circumstances to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony.”
SJR 18 - “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of a tax on the realized or
unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust.”
SJR 27 - “The constitutional amendment regarding the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the membership of the tribunal to review the commission’s recommendations, and the authority of the commission, the tribunal, and the Texas Supreme Court to more effectively sanction judges and justices for judicial misconduct.”
SJR 34 - “The constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.”
SJR 37 - “The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen.”
SJR 59 - “The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the permanent technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund to support the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System.”
SJR 84 - “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of the appraised value of an improvement to a residence homestead that is completely destroyed by a fire.”
SJR 85 - “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of the market value of the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled.”
If you need additional assistance, you may contact the Elections Division toll-free at 1-800-252- VOTE (8683).
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