HB 2803 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to requiring an election judge to provide a watcher removed from a polling place a signed statement containing the reason for the removal.

HB 2803 requires election judges in Texas to provide a signed written statement explaining the reason when removing an election watcher from a polling place after the watcher has been officially accepted. The bill directly affects election judges, who must issue this statement, and election watchers, who receive the written justification for their removal. Key provisions mandate that the statement be provided at the time of removal, ensuring transparency in the process. The law takes effect on September 1, 2025, and applies to all polling places statewide.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 19, 2025 Last action May 19, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 2 edits · May 16, 2025
MINOR
The bill was updated from an introduced draft to an engrossed version, expanding the requirements for election judges. The main substantive change adds a new subsection (j) requiring the secretary of state to create a standardized form for the signed statement that must be provided to watchers when they are removed from polling places.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include a requirement for the secretary of state to prescribe a specific form for the removal statement, which was not present in the original version.
REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement for the secretary of state to create and prescribe a standardized form for the signed statement that must be given to watchers when removed from polling places.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was reformatted and reorganized from a draft version to a final engrossed version, with some text reordering and spacing adjustments.

Floor votes · House May 15, 2025

How they voted

1310
Passed · 15 other
Total votes 146
May 15, 2025
D Democratic60
53 Yea 7
88% Yea
R Republican86
78 Yea 8
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
27
Key actions
9
Committee
7
Amendments
2
May 19, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
May 19, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 19, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 16, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
lower
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
May 15, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (131-0-15)
house
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 2, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Committee
Referred to Elections
lower
Mar 19, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors