ELECTION CODE
CHAPTER 43. POLLING PLACES
SUBCHAPTER A. NUMBER AND LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES
§ 43.001. ONE POLLING PLACE IN EACH PRECINCT. Each
election precinct established for an election shall be served by a
single polling place located within the boundary of the precinct.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 43.002. DESIGNATION OF LOCATION: GENERAL OR SPECIAL
ELECTION USING COUNTY PRECINCTS. (a) For a general or special
election in which the use of county election precincts is required,
the county clerk shall recommend the location of the polling place
for each county election precinct, except as provided by Subsection
(b). The commissioners court shall designate the recommended
location as the polling place unless the court finds good cause to
reject the recommendation. In that case, the commissioners court
shall designate another location.
(b) If county election precincts are consolidated, the
commissioners court shall designate the location of the polling
place for the consolidated precinct.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 43.003. DESIGNATION OF LOCATION: PRIMARY
ELECTION. The county chair of a political party holding a primary
election shall designate the location of the polling place for each
election precinct in the primary unless the precinct is one that is
consolidated. In that case, the county executive committee shall
designate the location.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, § 43, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 43.004. DESIGNATION OF LOCATION: ELECTIONS OF OTHER
POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS. The governing body of each political
subdivision authorized to hold elections, other than a county,
shall designate the location of the polling place for each of its
election precincts.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 43.005. DESIGNATION OF LOCATION: CERTAIN SPECIAL
ELECTIONS. The authority establishing election precincts under
Section 42.062 shall designate the location of the polling place
for each precinct.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
§ 43.006. CONFLICTS WITH OTHER LAW. A law outside this
subchapter supersedes this subchapter to the extent of any
conflict.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.
SUBCHAPTER B. BUILDING FOR USE AS POLLING PLACE
§ 43.031. POLLING PLACE IN PUBLIC BUILDING. (a) In
this subchapter, "public building" means a building owned or
controlled by the state or a political subdivision.
(b) Each polling place shall be located inside a building.
(c) The building selected for a polling place shall be a
public building if practicable. The entity that owns or controls a
public building shall make the building available for use as a
polling place in any election that covers territory in which the
building is located. If more than one authority requests the use of
the building for the same day and simultaneous use is
impracticable, the entity that owns or controls the building shall
determine which authority may use the building.
(d) If a suitable public building is unavailable, the
polling place may be located in some other building, including a
building on a federal military base or facility with the permission
of the post or base commander, and any charge for its use is an
election expense. A polling place may not be located in a building
under this subsection unless electioneering is permitted on the
building's premises outside the prescribed limits within which
electioneering is prohibited, except that a polling place may be
located in a building at which electioneering is not permitted if it
is the only building available for use as a polling place in the
election precinct.
(e) A polling place may not be located at the residence of a
person who is:
(1) a candidate for an elective office, including an
office of a political party; or
(2) related within the third degree by consanguinity
or the second degree by affinity, as determined under Chapter 573,
Government Code, to a candidate described by Subdivision (1).
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 976, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1350, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999,
76th Leg., ch. 1316, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th
Leg., ch. 516, § 1, June 20, 2003.
§ 43.032. BUILDING ACQUIRED BY COUNTY FOR POLLING
PLACE. (a) If a public building is unavailable for use as the
polling place for a county election precinct, the commissioners
court may purchase or construct a building in the precinct for that
purpose.
(b) The commissioners court may permit a building purchased
or constructed under Subsection (a) to be used with or without
charge for purposes other than as a polling place.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 976, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
§ 43.033. CONSIDERATION FOR USE OF PUBLIC BUILDING AS
POLLING PLACE. (a) No charge, including a charge for personnel,
utilities, or other expenses incurred before or after regular
business hours, may be made for the use of a public building for a
polling place if the day of the election is a day on which the
building is normally open for business. If the day of the election
is a day on which the building is not normally open for business, a
charge may be made only for reimbursement for the actual expenses
resulting from use of the building in the election.
(b) The reimbursing authority is entitled to an itemized
statement of expenses before making remittance.
(c) A person commits an offense if the person assesses a
charge for the use of a public building for a polling place in
violation of Subsection (a). An offense under this subsection is a
Class C misdemeanor.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 481, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts
1989, 71st Leg., ch. 976, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1993,
73rd Leg., ch. 728, § 12, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
§ 43.034. ACCESSIBILITY OF POLLING PLACE TO THE ELDERLY
AND PERSONS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. (a) Each polling place
shall be accessible to and usable by the elderly and persons with
physical disabilities. To be considered accessible, a polling place
must meet the standards established under Article 9102, Revised
Statutes, including the following standards:
(1) the polling place must be on the ground-level
floor or be accessible from the ground-level floor by an elevator
with doors that provide an opening of at least 36 inches in width;
(2) doors, entrances, and exits used to enter or leave
the polling place must have a minimum width of 32 inches;
(3) any curb adjacent to the main entrance to a polling
place must have curb cuts or temporary nonslip ramps;
(4) any stairs necessary to enter or leave the polling
place must have a handrail on each side of the stairs and a nonslip
ramp; and
(5) the polling place may not have a barrier that
impedes the path of a person with physical disabilities to the
voting station.
(b) The commissioners court shall provide a polling place
that complies with Subsection (a) in each county election precinct.
The site shall be made available for use as a polling place on every
day that an election may be held within the precinct by any
authority that holds elections. The commissioners court may make
expenditures from either the general fund or the permanent
improvement fund to bring an existing county-owned site into
compliance with Subsection (a).
(c) The governing body of each political subdivision that
holds elections shall cooperate with the commissioners court in its
respective county in implementing this section and is subject to
the same requirements for compliance as prescribed by Subsection
(b). If the authority holding an election rejects a
county-designated polling place that is available and chooses to
use a different site of its own designation, it shall provide a
polling place that complies with Subsection (a) at its own expense.
A political party that is holding a primary election may not reject
an available county-designated polling place without the prior
consent of the secretary of state.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 622, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts
1999, 76th Leg., ch. 809, § 1, 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
SUBCHAPTER C. INFORMATION REGARDING LOCATION OF POLLING PLACE
§ 43.061. NOTICE OF CHANGE OF LOCATION OF POLLING
PLACE. (a) This section applies only to a general or special
election that is ordered by the governor or the county judge.
(b) If the location of a polling place changes after notice
of an election is given under Section 4.003, the county clerk shall
give notice of the change not later than the earlier of:
(1) 24 hours after the location is changed; or
(2) 24 hours before the polls open on election day.
(c) Notice required by Subsection (b) must be given by:
(1) notifying each candidate whose name appears on the
ballot in the election or, in the case of an office filled by voters
of more than one county, notifying the county chair or, for an
independent candidate, the county judge of the county in which the
change occurs; or
(2) posting the notice in a listing used specifically
to inform the public of changes to the location of a polling place
on any Internet website that the county clerk maintains to provide
information on elections held in the county.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 802, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
§ 43.062. NOTICE AT PREVIOUS POLLING PLACE. If the
location of the polling place for an election precinct is different
from the location used for the precinct in the preceding election
ordered by the same authority, the authority responsible for giving
notice of the election shall, if possible, post notice at the
entrance to the previous polling place stating that the location
has changed and providing the location of the new polling place.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 802, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
§ 43.063. USE OF COMPUTERIZED INFORMATION. In an
election in which detailed poll location information is available
at a polling place through a computer, an election officer shall
provide that information to assist voters in determining the
correct polling place location for the voter's election precinct.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 802, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
