Good News regarding election laws
The Texas Legislature made some changes to election laws during the regular 89th Texas Legislative Session. Two bills, passed in with bipartisan support, are set to take effect in September, thus in time for the November 2025 election. Senate Bill 2964 allows election officials to call and email voters to notify them of errors before their application or ballot is processed. The errors can be corrected by voters by mail or in person. These actions should reduce the number of people who have their application rejected. It will also reduce the large number of mail-in ballots that were being rejected due to errors.
House Bill 2259 requires that the instructions on a vote-by-mail application to be printed in larger font, to make them more legible for people with disabilities and elderly voters. It also requires the application to be available in various languages, “appropriate to the demographic composition of this state.”
Curbside voting will be more restricted
Under current law, if a voter is “physically unable to enter the polling place” the voter can ask that an election worker bring a ballot to the entrance of the polling place or to a car parked at a designated spot. The law requires all polling sites to offer such curbside voting.
In the past, some election officials noticed more and more voters using curbside voting. House Bill 511 addresses the potential misuse of the practice. Anyone using curbside voting is now required to sign a form swearing under penalty of perjury that they are unable to enter the polling place without personal assistance or due to a likelihood of injuring their health.
In addition, the bill requires election officials to ask anyone providing transportation to a user of curbside voting and whether they have done so for multiple voters. The transportation provider will need to sign a form, with their name and address, stating that they are assisting a voter.
Proof of citizenship won’t be required to register to vote in Texas
Senate Bill 16 was among the most sweeping proof-of-citizenship proposals for voters introduced anywhere in the country, applying not only to new applicants for voter registration but also to all 18.6 million voters currently on the rolls. Voting rights advocates warned that the bill would disenfranchise eligible voters, and discourage future voters by making registration and voting more burdensome. Senate Bill 16 and its companion in the House missed a key deadline and died without a full House vote.
Changes in early voting effective in 2027
Senate Bill 2753 retains the required 12-day early voting period, but starts it later, and eliminates a three-day gap between the end of early voting and Election Day.
That schedule gives voters an extra weekend of access to early voting. Plus, the bill requires that voting be available for nine hours on Sundays, instead of six, and that voting be open on any holidays during the early voting period.
Now all votes will be counted after the polls close on election day. Partial vote tallies from the early ballots were typically released shortly after polls closed. Election administrators indicate that the total results may be reported later. When there were days between early voting days and election day, officials could tally early votes prior to election day.
Some election officials have stated that the changes would require hiring additional election workers and longer work hours, more voting equipment and possibly additional polling locations. The state didn’t allocate additional funding, so counties will have to cover those costs.
The bill directs the Texas Secretary of State to consult with counties and report to the Legislature on whether they are prepared to implement the changes by August 2027.
Georgia Kimmel, Public Policy Chair
AAUW West Harris County & AAUW Texas