85R19839 ATP-F
 
  By: Raney, Cook, Parker, Ashby, Fallon, H.B. No. 543
      et al.
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 543:
 
  By:  Fallon C.S.H.B. No. 543
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the required vote by a presidential elector.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 192.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  To be eligible to serve as a presidential elector, a
  person must:
               (1)  be a qualified voter of this state; [and]
               (2)  not hold the office of United States senator,
  United States representative, or any other federal office of profit
  or trust; and
               (3)  meet all other eligibility requirements provided
  by this subchapter, and if representing a political party, by party
  rules.
         SECTION 2.  Section 192.003, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 192.003.  METHOD OF BECOMING ELECTOR AND ALTERNATE
  ELECTOR NOMINEE [CANDIDATE]. (a)  For each presidential elector
  position in this state, the state chair of a political party
  contesting the position in accordance with this section and party
  rules, or an independent or write-in candidate for president, shall
  submit to the secretary of state the names of two qualified
  individuals. One of the individuals must be designated "elector
  nominee" and the other "alternate elector nominee."
         (b)  Each political party that holds a national presidential
  nominating convention shall adopt rules providing for the selection
  of elector nominees and alternate elector nominees. The rules
  shall provide that a presidential nominee of that party, not later
  than the close of the national presidential nominating convention,
  shall provide a list of persons eligible for nomination as
  alternate elector nominee to the state chair of a political party.
  The state chair shall forward the names of these individuals to the
  secretary of state as the party's nominees for alternate elector
  nominee. If the presidential nominee does not timely provide the
  list required by this section, the party rules shall provide an
  alternate method of selection of alternate elector nominees, and
  any vacancy shall be filled as prescribed by Section 192.004. [To
  become a presidential elector candidate, a person must be nominated
  as a political party's elector candidate in accordance with party
  rules or named as an elector candidate by an independent or write-in
  candidate for president.]
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 192.0031 and 192.0032 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 192.0031.  PLEDGE. (a)  If required by political party
  rule, each elector nominee and alternate elector nominee of the
  political party shall execute the following pledge before a notary:
  "If selected for the position of elector, I agree to serve and to
  mark my ballots for President and Vice President for the nominees
  for those offices of the party that nominated me."
         (b)  Each elector nominee and alternate elector nominee of an
  independent or write-in presidential candidate shall execute the
  following pledge before a notary: "If selected for the position of
  elector as a nominee of an independent or write-in presidential
  candidate, I agree to serve and to mark my ballots for that
  candidate and for that candidate's vice-presidential running
  mate."
         (c)  The executed pledges, if required, must accompany the
  submission of the corresponding names to the secretary of state.
         Sec. 192.0032.  CERTIFICATION OF ELECTORS. In submitting
  this state's certificate of ascertainment as required by 3 U.S.C.
  Section 6, the secretary of state shall certify this state's
  electors and state in the certificate that: 
               (1)  the electors will serve as electors unless a
  vacancy occurs in the office of elector before the end of the
  meeting at which elector votes are cast, in which case a substitute
  elector will fill the vacancy; and 
               (2)  if a substitute elector is appointed to fill a
  vacancy, the secretary of state will submit an amended certificate
  of ascertainment stating the names on the final list of this state's
  electors.
         SECTION 4.  Section 192.004, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 192.004.  ELECTOR NOMINEE AND ALTERNATE ELECTOR NOMINEE
  [CANDIDATE] VACANCY. (a)  An elector nominee or alternate elector
  nominee [candidate] may withdraw from the presidential election
  before presidential election day, or if elected, may resign on or
  after the presidential election day, by delivering written notice
  of the withdrawal or resignation to:
               (1)  the secretary of state; and
               (2)  the state chair of the party that nominated the
  elector nominee or alternate elector nominee [candidate] or to the
  independent or write-in candidate for president who named the
  elector nominee or alternate elector nominee [candidate].
         (b)  If an elector nominee or alternate elector nominee
  [candidate] withdraws, dies, or is declared ineligible before
  presidential election day, a replacement elector nominee or
  alternate elector nominee [candidate] may be named by the party
  that nominated the elector nominee or alternate elector nominee
  [candidate] or by the independent or write-in candidate for
  president who named the elector nominee or alternate elector
  nominee [candidate].
         (c)  An independent or write-in candidate for president
  naming a replacement elector nominee or alternate elector nominee
  [candidate] must file with the secretary of state, before
  presidential election day, the name and residence address of the
  replacement nominee [candidate] and a written statement, signed by
  the replacement nominee [candidate], that the person consents to be
  a nominee, and the executed pledge if required under Section
  192.0031 [candidate].
         (d)  If a political party's rules do not provide the manner
  of choosing a replacement elector nominee or alternate elector
  nominee [candidate], the party's state executive committee may
  choose the replacement nominee [candidate]. The state chair of a
  political party naming a replacement elector nominee or alternate
  elector nominee [candidate] must file with the secretary of state,
  before presidential election day, the name and residence address of
  the replacement nominee, and the executed pledge if required under
  Section 192.0031 [candidate].
         SECTION 5.  Section 192.005, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 192.005.  VOTE REQUIRED FOR ELECTION. The set of
  elector nominees or alternate elector nominees [candidates] that is
  elected is the one that corresponds to the candidates for president
  and vice-president receiving the most votes.
         SECTION 6.  Section 192.006, Election Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
         (d)  If an elector or alternate elector resigns, dies, or is
  declared ineligible on or after presidential election day or if a
  vacancy occurs at the meeting of electors, the secretary of state
  shall appoint an individual as a substitute elector to fill that
  vacancy as follows: 
               (1)  if the alternate elector is present to vote, by
  appointing the alternate elector for the vacant position; 
               (2)  if the alternate elector for the vacant position
  is not present to vote, by appointing an elector chosen by lot from
  the alternate electors present to vote who were nominated by the
  same political party or presidential candidate; 
               (3)  if the number of alternate electors present to
  vote is insufficient to fill any vacant position under Subdivisions
  (1) and (2), by appointing any immediately available individual who
  is qualified to serve as an elector and chosen through nomination by
  and plurality vote of the remaining electors, including nomination
  and vote by a single elector if only one remains;
               (4)  if there is a tie between at least two nominees for
  substitute elector in a vote conducted under Subdivision (3), by
  appointing an elector chosen by lot from among those nominees; or 
               (5)  if all elector positions are vacant and cannot be
  filled under Subdivisions (1) through (4), by appointing a single
  presidential elector, with the remaining vacant positions to be
  filled under Subdivision (3) and, if necessary, Subdivision (4). 
         (e)  If required by political party rule, to qualify as a
  substitute elector under Subsection (d), an individual who has not
  executed the pledge under Section 192.0031 shall execute the
  following pledge: "I agree to serve and to mark my ballots for
  President and Vice President consistent with the pledge of the
  individual to whose elector position I have succeeded."
         SECTION 7.  Subchapter A, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
  amended by adding Section 192.0061 to read as follows:
         Sec. 192.0061.  ELECTOR VOTING. (a)  At the time designated
  for elector voting and after all vacant positions have been filled
  under Section 192.006, the chair shall provide each elector with a
  presidential and a vice-presidential ballot. The elector shall mark
  the elector's presidential and vice-presidential ballots with the
  elector's votes for the offices of president and vice-president,
  respectively, along with the elector's signature and the elector's
  legibly printed name.
         (b)  Each elector shall present both completed ballots to the
  chair, who shall examine the ballots and accept as cast all ballots
  of electors whose votes are consistent with the requirements of
  this chapter, including any pledges required to be executed under
  Section 192.0031 or 192.006(e).
         (c)  An elector who refuses to present a ballot, presents an
  unmarked ballot, presents a ballot marked in violation of any
  pledge executed by the elector under Section 192.0031 or
  192.006(e), or refuses or otherwise fails to vote for the
  candidates for president and vice-president receiving the most
  votes in this state in the general election:
               (1)  is ineligible to serve;
               (2)  may never serve as an elector or alternate elector
  in this state; and
               (3)  vacates the office of elector, creating a vacant
  position to be filled under Section 192.006. 
         (d)  The chair shall distribute ballots to and collect
  ballots from a substitute elector and repeat the process under this
  section of examining ballots, declaring and filling vacant
  positions as required, and recording appropriately completed
  ballots from the substituted electors, until all of this state's
  electoral votes have been cast and recorded.
         SECTION 8.  Section 192.007, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 192.007.  ELECTOR REPLACEMENT; ASSOCIATED CERTIFICATES
  [AFTER ELECTION]. (a)  After the vote of this state's electors is
  completed, if the final list of electors differs from any list that
  the secretary of state previously included on a certificate of
  ascertainment prepared and transmitted under 3 U.S.C. Section 6,
  the secretary of state immediately shall prepare an amended
  certificate of ascertainment and transmit it to the governor for
  the governor's signature [The electors meeting to vote for
  president and vice-president may appoint a replacement elector by a
  majority vote of the qualified electors present if:
               [(1)     the vacancy occurred before presidential
  election day and a replacement was not chosen under Section
  192.004;
               [(2)     on or after presidential election day, an elector
  is declared ineligible or dies; or
               [(3)     the vacancy is declared under Section
  192.006(c)].
         (b)  The electors shall prepare a certificate of vote. The
  electors on the final list shall sign the certificate. The electors
  shall process and transmit the signed certificate with the amended
  certificate of ascertainment under 3 U.S.C. Sections 9, 10, and 11
  [chair of the electors shall notify the secretary of state of the
  name and residence address of a replacement elector immediately on
  the replacement's appointment].
         SECTION 9.  If any provision of this Act or its application
  to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
  not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be
  given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
  this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.
         SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.