Relating to election supplies and the conduct of elections; creating criminal offenses; increasing criminal penalties.
HB 1661 requires election authorities to provide each precinct with ballots equal to 25% more than the number of voters in the last election for that precinct (capped at registered voters unless using countywide polling), aiming to prevent shortages. It creates criminal penalties for intentionally failing to meet this requirement or to promptly supplement ballots upon polling place requests, classifying these offenses as Class A misdemeanors (punishable by up to a year in jail). The bill modifies Texas Election Code sections 51.005, 51.008, 51.010, 51.011, and 61.007 to establish these specific requirements and penalties. The law takes effect September 1, 2025, applying only to offenses committed on or after that date.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Mar 12, 2025
Signed Jun 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
2 edits
·
Jun 20, 2025
MINOR
This bill makes no substantive policy changes to election laws. The text appears to be a formatting error where unrelated digital content about TLO accessibility standards was accidentally inserted into the bill text. The core legislative content regarding election supplies, ballot counts, and criminal penalties remains unchanged from the original version.
TECHNICAL
Unrelated text about TLO digital content and WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards was inserted into the bill body, which is a formatting error rather than a legislative change
Original bill header information including sponsor names and bill number formatting was replaced with standard enrolled version formatting
Floor votes · Senate May 26, 2025 · House May 7, 2025
How they voted
24–6
Passed
Total votes 30
May 26, 2025
D
Democratic10
60% Nay
R
Republican20
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
49
Key actions
18
Committee
11
Amendments
2
Jun 20, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor
executive
May 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed in the Senate
upper
May 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed in the House
lower
May 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate passage reported
lower
May 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
May 23, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
May 23, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
May 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
May 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
May 13, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
May 13, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 8, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
May 7, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (98-40-5)
house
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
Apr 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Committee
Referred to Elections
lower
Mar 12, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
6 primary · 12 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Briscoe Cain
RRepublican
P
Cody Vasut
RRepublican
P
Mike Schofield
RRepublican
P
Paul Bettencourt
RRepublican
P
Terry Wilson
RRepublican
P
Valoree Swanson
RRepublican
Co
Andy Hopper
RRepublican
Co
Brent Money
RRepublican
Co
Cody Harris
RRepublican
Co
Daniel Alders
RRepublican
Co
David Lowe
RRepublican
Co
Helen Kerwin
RRepublican
Co
Hillary Hickland
RRepublican
Co
Joanne Shofner
RRepublican
Co
Lois Kolkhorst
RRepublican
Co
Richard Hayes
RRepublican
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