Signed by Governor Greg Abbott

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the Secretary of State develop an online tool for early voting application tracking.

Highlights:

• Requires the secretary of state to develop or otherwise provide an online tool to each early voting clerk that enables a person who submits an application for a ballot to be voted by mail to track the location and status of the person’s application and ballot on the secretary’s Internet website and on the county’s Internet website if the early voting clerk is the county clerk of a county that maintains an Internet website (Sec. 1.a).

• Specifies the online tool developed or provided must make the voter provide the following, before permitting the voter to access information (Sec. 1.b):

• The voter ’s name and registration address and the last four digits of the voter ’s social security number; and

• The voter’s:

• Driver’s license number; or

• Personal identification card number issued by the Department of Public Safety.

• Requires the online tool to provide the following (Sec. 1.c):

• For each election, record:

• Each application for a ballot to be voted by mail received by the clerk; and

• Each carrier envelope sent to a voter by the clerk;

• For each carrier envelope, record or assign a serially numbered and sequentially issued barcode or tracking number that is unique to each envelope; and

• Update the applicable Internet website as soon as practicable after each of the following events occurs:

• Receipt by the early voting clerk of the person ’s application for a ballot to be voted by mail;

• Acceptance or rejection by the early voting clerk of the person ’s application for a ballot to be voted by mail;

• Placement in the mail by the early voting clerk of the person ’s official ballot;

• Receipt by the early voting clerk of the person’s marked ballot; and

• Acceptance or rejection by the early voting ballot board of a person ’s marked ballot.

• The secretary of state will adopt rules and prescribe procedures as necessary to implement this law; and

• The information is not public information until after election day.

• Requires the early voting clerk to maintain for each election a roster listing each person who votes an early voting ballot by personal appearance and a roster listing each person to whom an early voting ballot to be voted by mail is sent (Sec. 2.a).

• Requires the early voting clerk for a primary election or the general election for state and county officers to submit to the secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state’s Internet website the election day information no later than 11 a.m. on the day after the election (Sec. 2.k).

• Requires the early voting clerk for a primary election or the general election for state and county officers to submit to the secretary of state for posting on the secretary of state’s Internet website the final rosters containing information no later than the 20th day after the date of the local canvass (Sec. 2.l).

Full Bill Text