Texas Election Code 31.017 – Implementation of Administrative Oversight of County Election
(a) In a county with a population of more than 4 million, the secretary of state’s office may order administrative oversight of a county office administering elections or voter registration in the county if:
(1) an administrative election complaint is filed with the secretary of state by a person who participated in the relevant election as:
(A) a candidate;
(B) a county chair or state chair of a political party;
(C) a presiding judge;
(D) an alternate presiding judge; or
(E) the head of a specific-purpose political committee that supports or opposes a measure;
(2) the secretary of state has provided notice to the county election official with authority over election administration or voter registration under § 31.018; and
(3) the secretary of state, after conducting an investigation under § 31.019, has good cause to believe that a recurring pattern of problems with election administration or voter registration exists in the county, including any recurring:
(A) malfunction of voting system equipment that prevents a voter from casting a vote;
(B) carelessness or official misconduct in the distribution of election supplies;
(C) errors in the tabulation of results that would have affected the outcome of an election;
(D) violations of § 66.053;
(E) discovery of properly executed voted ballots after the canvass of an election that were not counted; or
(F) failure to conduct maintenance activities on the lists of registered voters as required under this code.
(b) The secretary of state shall make a determination on whether to implement administrative oversight under Subsection (a) not later than the 30th day after the earliest of:
(1) the day a response by the county election official with authority over election administration or voter registration is received by the secretary of state under § 31.018;
(2) the last day the county election official with authority over election administration or voter registration could provide a response to the secretary of state under § 31.018; or
(3) the day the report on the findings of an investigation is provided to the county election official with authority over election administration or voter registration under § 31.019.
Terms Used In Texas Election Code 31.017
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- County office: means an office of the county government that is voted on countywide. See Texas Election Code 1.005
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Election official: means :
(A) a county clerk;
(B) a permanent or temporary deputy county clerk;
(C) an elections administrator;
(D) a permanent or temporary employee of an elections administrator;
(E) an election judge;
(F) an alternate election judge;
(G) an early voting clerk;
(H) a deputy early voting clerk;
(I) an election clerk;
(J) the presiding judge of an early voting ballot board;
(K) the alternate presiding judge of an early voting ballot board;
(L) a member of an early voting ballot board;
(M) the chair of a signature verification committee;
(N) the vice chair of a signature verification committee;
(O) a member of a signature verification committee;
(P) the presiding judge of a central counting station;
(Q) the alternate presiding judge of a central counting station;
(R) a central counting station manager;
(S) a central counting station clerk;
(T) a tabulation supervisor;
(U) an assistant to a tabulation supervisor; and
(V) a chair of a county political party holding a primary election or a runoff primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005 - Measure: means a question or proposal submitted in an election for an expression of the voters' will. See Texas Election Code 1.005
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Population: means the population shown by the most recent federal decennial census. See Texas Government Code 311.005