Summary

Background

Scott Hochberg's presented a substitute bill before the Elections Committee on 2/21/07. His substitute bill had minor changes, and it was voted out favorably from committee on 3/1/07. The bill is an effort to strengthen voters' rights in Texas. His bill requires that election poll workers fill out a form and give a copy of that form to the voter, listing the reasons they were not allowed to vote. A copy of that form is maintained with the election officials, and will be used to study ways to reduce the number of errors with respect to eligible voters not being allowed to cast a legal ballot.

Texans currently have these rights:
* The right to a ballot with written instructions on how to cast the ballot.
* The right to cast your vote in secret and free from intimidation.
* The right to receive up to two more ballots if a mistake is made while marking the ballot.
* The right to ask the polling place official for instructions on how to cast the ballot, but not for suggestions on who to vote for.
* The right to bring an interpreter to assist you as you qualify to vote if you do not understand the English language.
* The right to assistance while casting your ballot if you cannot write, see the ballot, or understand the language in which it is written.
* The right to bring written materials into the voting booth to assist you as you cast the ballot.
* The right to vote at any early voting location in the county for elections conducted county-wide.
* The right to report a possible voting rights abuse to the Secretary of State or to your local election official.
* The right to cast a provisional ballot if your name does not appear on the list of registered voters, or you do not have proper identification.
* The right to file an administrative complaint with the Secretary of State concerning violations of federal and state voting procedures.
* The Secretary of State’s office may be contacted toll-free at 1.800.252.VOTE (8683), via e-mail at elections@sos.state.tx.us, and by regular mail at: Elections Division, P.O. Box 12060, Austin, TX 78711.
Source: TX Secretary of State's web site

This bill would add this additional right:
*The right to receive a written explanation if an individual is not accepted to cast a ballot

Additional Information

HB186 Committee Substitute was voted favorably out of committee on a vote of 5-1-1 on March 1, 2007.

This bill was heard in committee on February 21, 2007.
Committee Meeting Agenda for 2/21/2007