ELECTION CODE
CHAPTER 124. VOTING SYSTEM BALLOT
SUBCHAPTER A. VOTING SYSTEM BALLOT GENERALLY
§ 124.001. STRAIGHT-PARTY ARRANGEMENT. In an election
in which voters are entitled to cast straight-party votes, the
voting system ballot and ballot label shall be arranged to permit
the voters to do so.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.002. MANNER OF INDICATING PARTY
ALIGNMENT. (a) In an election in which a candidate's name is to
appear on the ballot as the nominee of a political party, the voting
system ballot and ballot label, as applicable, shall be arranged:
(1) in party columns in the same manner as for a
regular paper ballot on which a party nominee appears; or
(2) by listing the office titles in a vertical column
in the same manner as for a regular paper ballot on which a party
nominee does not appear, except that the nominees' party alignments
shall be indicated next to their names.
(b) The order in which party nominees listed by office title
appear on a voting system ballot or ballot label is determined in
accordance with the same priorities and in the same manner as for
party nominees listed in party columns, with the changes
appropriate to the circumstances.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.003. SEPARATE LISTING OF UNOPPOSED CANDIDATES;
BLOC VOTING. (a) Any unopposed candidates may be listed
separately under the heading "Uncontested Races" on a voting system
ballot or ballot label.
(b) In an election in which the ballots indicate political
party alignment, the party alignment of the candidates listed under
the uncontested races heading shall be indicated next to the
candidate's name.
(c) Candidates listed under the uncontested races heading
may be arranged in a manner requiring voting on them as one or more
blocs, but only if an additional ballot or ballot label would
otherwise be necessary to accommodate all the candidates and
propositions to be listed.
(d) The requirement that the ballot or ballot label be
arranged to permit straight-party voting does not apply to
candidates listed under the uncontested races heading.
(e) Section 2.056 supersedes this section to the extent of
any conflict.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1061, § 3.
§ 124.004. SAMPLE BALLOT. The secretary of state may
prescribe standards regarding the form, content, preparation, and
use of sample ballots for voting systems.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.005. SPECIMEN BALLOT. (a) The secretary of
state may prescribe standards regarding the form, content,
preparation, availability, and use of specimen ballots in elections
using voting systems. The standards are not required to be
consistent with those prescribed by this code for elections using
regular paper ballots.
(b) The secretary of state may provide, with respect to
elections in which voting systems are used:
(1) alternatives to the use of specimen ballots; or
(2) that specimen ballots are not required.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.006. IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVISIONAL BALLOT SYSTEM.
The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of a provisional
ballot and the necessary procedures to implement the casting of a
provisional ballot as described by Section 63.011 and the
verification and processing of provisional ballots under
Subchapter B, Chapter 65, for each voting system used in this state.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1078, § 20, eff. Sept. 1,
1997. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1315, § 50, eff. Jan.
1, 2004.
SUBCHAPTER B. MECHANICAL VOTING MACHINE BALLOT
§ 124.031. FORM OF MECHANICAL MACHINE BALLOT
LABEL. (a) The printed matter on a mechanical machine ballot
label must appear on a white or light-colored background in plain,
dark type.
(b) The ballot label may contain a distinctive designating
number, which may contain letters as well as numerals, for each
candidate and for each side of each proposition that corresponds to
the number of the registering counter for the same candidate or
proposition.
(c) The ballot label must contain a marking that indicates
the identity of the voting machine to which it is attached.
(d) The party columns on the ballot label may be arranged
vertically or horizontally.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.032. NUMBER OF MACHINES FOR LISTING BALLOT. In an
election in which mechanical voting machines are used, a voter must
be able to use a single machine to vote on all races and measures to
be voted on in the election unless the number of items to be voted on
exceeds the capacity of a single machine. In that case, as many
additional machines as are necessary may be used as long as all
candidates for a particular office may be voted on using the same
machine.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.033. PAPER WRITE-IN BALLOT. (a) The authority
adopting mechanical voting machines for use in an election may
provide by resolution, order, or other official action for the use
of the paper write-in ballot prescribed by this section instead of
the method of write-in voting that the mechanical voting machines
are designed to use if an additional voting machine would otherwise
be necessary to accommodate all the candidates and propositions to
be listed.
(b) In addition to any other instructions prescribed by the
secretary of state, the paper write-in ballot must contain the
following instruction: "Do not cast a vote on the voting machine
for any office for which you are casting this write-in ballot."
(c) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the
paper write-in ballot consistent with this section. The ballot
must provide as many write-in spaces as there are offices for which
write-in campaigns have been conducted.
(d) A notice informing voters of the availability of the
paper write-in ballot shall be posted in a prominent location in
each polling place at which the ballot is used.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.034. PAPER BALLOT FOR PRECINCT OFFICES. (a) The
authority adopting mechanical voting machines for use in an
election may provide by resolution, order, or other official action
for voting by paper ballot on any precinct offices at a polling
place using mechanical voting machines if an additional voting
machine would otherwise be necessary to accommodate all the
candidates and propositions to be listed.
(b) The paper ballot for precinct offices must conform to
the applicable standards governing regular paper ballots, except
that the ballot shall be limited to the precinct offices specified
in the official action providing for use of the ballot.
(c) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the
ballot for precinct offices consistent with this section.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
SUBCHAPTER C. ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM BALLOT
§ 124.061. FORM OF PUNCH-CARD BALLOT
LABEL. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the punch-card
ballot label may be any size, composition, and texture that is
suitable for the electronic voting system in which it is used.
(b) A punch-card ballot label may comprise as many separate
sheets as are necessary to list the candidates and propositions
stating measures to be voted on in an election. If more than one
sheet is used, the first sheet of the sequence shall indicate the
fact that the ballot is continued on one or more additional sheets.
Sheets in the same sequence may be identified by any method that
will facilitate voting or ballot processing and not confuse the
voters.
(c) The order of the candidates' and propositions'
punch-hole spaces and corresponding numbers on the ballot label
must be the same as the order in which the candidates' names and the
propositions are to appear on the ballot under Chapter 52.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1054, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
§ 124.062. FORM OF ELECTRONIC SYSTEM BALLOT. (a) The
electronic system ballot may be any size, composition, color, and
texture that is suitable for the electronic voting system in which
it is used, but the ballot may not be the same color as sample
ballots.
(b) The secretary of state may authorize the use of
electronic system ballots that comprise two or more separate parts
and may prescribe conditions and limitations under which the
multipart ballots may be used. A voting system using a multipart
ballot must comply with the same standards as a voting system using
a ballot consisting of only a single part.
(c) The electronic system ballot may contain one or more
printed code markings or punched holes if necessary for the proper
voting and processing of the ballot.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.0621. NO WRITE-IN SPACE PROVIDED ON CERTAIN
BALLOTS. If no candidate's name is to appear for a particular
office on the list of write-in candidates in an election in which
write-in votes may be counted only for names appearing on the list,
a write-in space is not required for that office on an electronic
system ballot on which a voter indicates a vote by making a mark on
the ballot.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 472, § 35, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 497, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
§ 124.063. INSTRUCTIONS REQUIRED ON BALLOT. (a) An
electronic system ballot on which a voter indicates a vote by
punching a hole in the ballot must contain the following
instruction if candidates are to be voted on: "Vote for the
candidate of your choice in each race by making a punch hole in the
space provided adjacent to the name of that candidate." If a
proposition appears on the ballot, the ballot must contain the
following instruction: "Make a punch hole in the space provided
beside the statement indicating the way you desire to vote."
(b) An electronic system ballot on which a voter indicates a
vote by making a mark on the ballot must comply with Subsection (a),
with the substitution of "mark" for "punch hole."
(c) The instructions prescribed by Subsections (a) and (b)
shall be changed appropriately if the election has only one race,
more than one candidate is to be elected in a race, or other
circumstances require an alteration of the instructions.
(d) An electronic system ballot on which a voter indicates a
vote by punching a hole in the ballot must contain the following
instruction following the other required instructions: "Check your
ballot after voting to make sure that the holes are actually punched
through."
(e) The electronic system ballot must contain instructions
for casting a write-in vote. The secretary of state shall prescribe
the wording of the instructions.
(f) The electronic system ballot for an election in which
straight-party voting is allowed must contain the instruction
prescribed by Section 52.071(b) with the language relating to
placing an "X" in the party square changed as appropriate to
accommodate the method by which the voter indicates a vote.
(g) The instructions required by this section may be placed
on the punch-card ballot label instead of on the punch-card ballot.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 472, § 36, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, § 47, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
§ 124.064. SEPARATE BALLOT PART FOR WRITE-IN
VOTING. (a) The electronic system ballot may include a separate
part for write-in voting.
(b) The separate write-in part may be an envelope or any
other form authorized by this code for electronic system ballots
and must otherwise conform to standards prescribed by the secretary
of state regarding its style, form, and content.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 124.065. PAPER BALLOT FOR OFFICE OF PRECINCT
CHAIR. (a) The authority adopting an electronic voting system
for use in a primary election may provide by resolution, order, or
other official action for voting by paper ballot for the party
office of precinct chair.
(b) The paper ballot for precinct chair must conform to the
applicable standards governing regular paper ballots, except that
the ballot shall be limited to the office of precinct chair.
(c) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the
ballot for precinct chair consistent with this section.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, § 85, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 124.066. CONSULTATION WITH PROGRAMMER ON BALLOT
PREPARATION. In an election in which a programmer is appointed to
program automatic tabulating equipment for processing electronic
system ballots, the authority responsible for having the official
ballot prepared shall confer with the programmer on the proper
preparation of the ballots before having them prepared.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
