SECTION 81.174. Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelope Transfer Procedures

(a) Transfer of Early Voting Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes during Early Voting Period.

(1) During the early-voting-by-personal-appearance period, upon the request of the voter registrar, the general custodian of election records may request that the early voting clerk, as well as the deputy early voting clerk at branch locations, deliver to the general custodian of election records the early voting Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.

(2) In an election where the early voting clerk is not designated as the general custodian of election records, the general custodian of election records may permit the early voting clerk to deliver the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.

(3) The delivery must occur at a place designated by the general custodian of election records.

(4) The Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes must be stored and transferred in a closed and sealed transfer case provided by the general custodian of election records.

(5) The early voting clerk and the deputy early voting clerk shall accompany such delivery with the Early Voting List of Provisional Voters specific to such Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.

(6) The general custodian of election records shall unseal and open the transfer case and verify that the number of provisional voters on the Early Voting List of Provisional Voters matches the number of Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes contained in the transfer case.

(7) The general custodian of election records shall sign the Early Voting List of Provisional Voters evidencing the number of provisional voters per precinct and the number of Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes to be forwarded to the voter registrar.

(8) The general custodian of election records shall prepare a Summary of Provisional Ballots listing each precinct and the number of Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes for each precinct.

(9) The custodian shall place the following items in a transfer case:

(A) the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes;

(B) the Early Voting List of Provisional Voters;

(C) blank Verification of Provisional Ballots and Serial Numbers forms; and

(D) seals sufficient to secure the transfer case(s) when the voter registrar returns the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes to the custodian.

(10) The custodian shall seal the transfer case. The seal number shall be placed on the Summary of Provisional Ballots.

(11) If the general custodian of election records does not request delivery of the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes during the early voting period, the early voting clerk and the deputy early voting clerk shall deliver the closed and sealed container for completed Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes and the Early Voting List of Provisional Voters to the custodian upon completion of the early-voting-by-personal-appearance period. Upon delivery, the general custodian shall complete steps outlined in paragraphs (6) - (10) of this subsection.

(b) Transfer to Voter Registrar of Early Voting Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.

(1) The general custodian of election records shall post a Notice of Delivery of Provisional Ballots of the early voting Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes at least 24 hours before the first such delivery to the voter registrar.

(2) If the voter registrar requests delivery of the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes during the early voting period, the custodian may deliver, at one or more times during regular business hours, the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes cast during early voting to the voter registrar in a closed and sealed transfer case accompanied by the Summary of Provisional Ballots, after following the procedures set forth in subsection (a)(5) - (10) of this section.

(3) If the voter registrar does not request delivery of the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes during the early voting period, the custodian shall deliver the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes cast during early voting to the voter registrar in a closed and sealed transfer case no later than the first business day after the completion of early voting and after following the procedures set forth in subsection (a)(5) - (10) of this section.

(4) The voter registrar shall sign the Early Voting List of Provisional Voters, the Summary of Provisional Ballots, and the Verification of Provisional Ballots and Serial Numbers to verify receipt of the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.

(c) Transfer of Election Day Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes to General Custodian of Election Records.

(1) After the election day polls have closed, the election judge shall enter the number of Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes cast on the Register of Official Ballots and on the List of Provisional Voters.

(2) The election judge shall place a copy of the List of Provisional Voters form inside Envelope No. 2.

(3) In an election in which a precinct tabulator is utilized, any ballots stamped "provisional" that are not contained in a Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelope may not be counted and are not transferred to the voter registrar. The ballots shall be treated as irregularly marked ballots under the procedure set out in §127.157 of the Texas Election Code.

(4) The closed and sealed container for completed Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes shall be delivered by the election judge or the judge's designee to the general custodian of election records.

(5) The general custodian of election records shall unseal and open the secure container with the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.

(6) The general custodian of election records or central counting station personnel, if applicable under §127.157 of the Code, shall verify that the number of Provisional Voters on the List of Provisional Voters matches the number of Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes recorded on the ballot register.

(7) The general custodian of election records shall sign the List of Provisional Voters evidencing the number of provisional voters per precinct and the number of Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes to be forwarded to the voter registrar.

(8) The general custodian of election records shall prepare a Summary of Provisional Ballots listing each precinct and the number of Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes received by that precinct.

(9) The general custodian of election records shall place the following items in a closed transfer case:

(A) the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes;

(B) the corresponding List of Provisional Voters; and

(C) blank Verification of Provisional Ballots and Serial Numbers forms, and seals sufficient to secure the transfer case(s) when the voter registrar returns the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes to the custodian.

(10) The general custodian of election records shall seal each transfer case that contains Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes and their corresponding List of Provisional Voters prior to delivery to the voter registrar. The numbers on the seal shall be recorded on the Summary of Provisional Ballots.

(11) A poll watcher, if available, may sign the Summary of Provisional Ballots.

(d) Transfer to Voter Registrar of Election Day Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes.

(1) The general custodian of election records shall deliver the transfer case(s) containing the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes and the List of Provisional Voters for each precinct, along with the Summary of Provisional Ballots, on the next business day after the election.

(2) The general custodian of election records must also include with the delivery blank Verification of Provisional Ballots and Serial Numbers forms and seals sufficient to secure the transfer case(s) for when the voter registrar returns the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes to the custodian after the voter registrar's review.

(3) If the voter registrar wishes to take possession of the transfer case(s) containing the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes from the general custodian of election records on election night, the voter registrar must inform the custodian and post a Notice of Delivery of Provisional Ballots no later than 24 hours before election day. If the voter registrar makes this determination, the voter registrar must go to the custodian's office and take possession on election night.

(4) Upon receipt of the transfer case(s) containing the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes, the voter registrar shall sign the Summary of Provisional Ballots and the Verification of Provisional Ballots and Serial Numbers to verify such receipt, that the box was intact, and that the seal was not broken.

(5) The voter registrar shall break the seal of the transfer case(s) containing the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes and remove the Provisional Ballot Affidavit Envelopes in order to begin the voter registrar's review.

Source Note: The provisions of this §81.174 adopted to be effective April 3, 2014, 39 TexReg 2264