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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Rep. M.P. Garcia

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/23/07

HB 33

SHORT TITLE

Requiring Elections within Certain Conservancy

Districts to be Conducted by Mail-In Ballot

SB

ANALYST E Ortiz

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

No Responses Received From

Secretary of State (SOS)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 33 strikes language that lays out the procedure for elections at polling places and

replaces it with language to allow for elections by mail-in ballot where each qualified elector will

receive a mail-in ballot prior to the election. It allows the election officer or director to prepare a

separate ballot for each county within the conservancy district or one ballot for use within the

entire conservancy district. When appropriate, the ballot shall contain numbered positions to

which directors are to be elected at the election. The election materials will also include official

inner envelopes for use in sealing completed ballots, official return envelopes, ballot instructions,

and official transmittal envelopes for use by the election officer or director in mailing ballot

materials.

New language includes the steps a qualified elector voting in a conservancy district election shall

follow in filling out the ballot, the process the election officer or director shall follow in

processing received ballots, the steps election judges must follow in handling ballots, and the

process that challenger of an election ballot shall follow.

House Bill 33 – Page

2

The bill describes the recount procedure when electronic voting machines are not used and states

that the ballots shall be canvassed, recounted and disposed of in the manner provided by the

Election Code.

Lastly, the bill explains that when a qualified elector has not received a mailed ballot they may

execute, in the office of the conservancy district, a sworn affidavit stating that the elector did not

receive the ballot and a replacement ballot will be issued.

EO/mt