ELECTION CODE
CHAPTER 4. NOTICE OF ELECTION
§ 4.001. NOTICE REQUIRED. Notice of each general and
special election shall be given as provided by this chapter.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 4.002. AUTHORITY RESPONSIBLE FOR GIVING
NOTICE. Except as otherwise provided by law, the following
authority shall give notice of an election:
(1) the county judge of each county wholly or partly in
the territory covered by the election, for an election ordered by
the governor;
(2) the presiding officer of the governing body of a
political subdivision, for an election ordered by the presiding
officer or the governing body; and
(3) the authority ordering the election, for an
election ordered by any other authority.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 4.003. METHOD OF GIVING NOTICE. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (c), notice of an election must be given by
any one or more of the following methods:
(1) by publishing the notice at least once, not
earlier than the 30th day or later than the 10th day before election
day:
(A) in a newspaper published in the territory
that is covered by the election and is in the jurisdiction of the
authority responsible for giving the notice; or
(B) in a newspaper of general circulation in the
territory if none is published in the jurisdiction of the authority
responsible for giving the notice;
(2) by posting, not later than the 21st day before
election day, a copy of the notice at a public place in each
election precinct that is in the jurisdiction of the authority
responsible for giving the notice; or
(3) by mailing, not later than the 10th day before
election day, a copy of the notice to each registered voter of the
territory that is covered by the election and is in the jurisdiction
of the authority responsible for giving the notice.
(b) In addition to any other notice given for an election
under Subsection (a), not later than the 21st day before election
day, the authority responsible for giving notice of the election
shall post a copy of the notice, which must include the location of
each polling place, on the bulletin board used for posting notices
of the meetings of the governing body of the political subdivision
that the authority serves. For each precinct that is combined to
form a consolidated precinct under Section 42.008, not later than
the 10th day before election day, the authority shall also post, at
the polling place used in the preceding general election, notice of
the precinct's consolidation and the location of the polling place
in the consolidated precinct. A notice posted under this
subsection must remain posted continuously through election day.
(c) In addition to any other notice given, notice of an
election ordered by a commissioners court or by an authority of a
city or school district must be given by the method prescribed by
Subsection (a)(1).
(d) If other law prescribes the method of giving notice of
an election, that law supersedes this section, except that
Subsection (c) applies regardless of the notice requirements
prescribed by other law with respect to an election covered by that
subsection.
(e) The authority responsible for giving notice of the
election shall deliver to the secretary of state a copy of the
notice of a consolidated precinct required by Subsection (b) not
later than the date of the election.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 479, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts
1989, 71st Leg., ch. 114, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
§ 4.004. CONTENTS OF NOTICE. (a) The notice of a
general or special election must state:
(1) the nature and date of the election;
(2) except as provided by Subsection (c), the location
of each polling place;
(3) the hours that the polls will be open; and
(4) any other information required by other law.
(b) The notice of a special election must also state each
office to be filled or the proposition stating each measure to be
voted on. This subsection does not apply to an election on a
proposed constitutional amendment.
(c) If notice of an election is given by posting the notice
in the various election precincts, the notice posted in a precinct
is not required to state the location of the polling places in other
precincts.
(d) If precincts are consolidated under Section 42.008, the
notice must state which precincts have been combined to form each
consolidated precinct in addition to the locations of the polling
places in the consolidated precincts.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 479, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
§ 4.005. RECORD OF NOTICE. (a) If notice of an
election is given by publication, the authority responsible for
giving the notice shall retain a copy of the published notice that
contains the name of the newspaper and the date of publication.
(b) For each notice posted under Section 4.003(a)(2) or (b),
the person posting the notice shall make a record at the time of
posting stating the date and place of posting. The person shall
sign the record and deliver it to the authority responsible for
giving the election notice after the last posting is made.
(c) If notice of an election is given under Section
4.003(a)(3), the authority responsible for giving the notice shall:
(1) retain a copy of the notice and enter on the copy
the date or dates the mailing occurred; and
(2) prepare a list of the names and addresses of the
persons to whom the notice was mailed.
(d) The authority responsible for giving the election
notice shall preserve the records required by this section for the
period for preserving the precinct election records.
(e) If other law prescribes the method of preserving the
notice of an election, that law supersedes this section.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, § 7.01, eff. Aug. 28, 1989.
§ 4.006. FAILURE TO GIVE NOTICE OF GENERAL
ELECTION. Failure to give notice of a general election does not
affect the validity of the election.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 4.007. NOTICE TO ELECTION JUDGE. Not later than the
15th day before election day or the seventh day after the date the
election is ordered, whichever is later, the authority responsible
for giving notice of the election shall deliver to the presiding
judge of each election precinct in which the election is to be held
in the authority's jurisdiction a written notice of:
(1) the nature and date of the election;
(2) the location of the polling place for the precinct
served by the judge;
(3) the hours that the polls will be open;
(4) the judge's duty to hold the election in the
precinct specified by the notice; and
(5) the maximum number of clerks that the judge may
appoint for the election.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
