Relating to the operation of an early voting ballot board and signature verification committee.

HB 4291 changes how Texas counties form early voting ballot boards, which handle signature verification for mail-in ballots. The bill requires these boards to have an equal number of members from the two political parties whose gubernatorial candidates received the most and second-most votes in the county, plus one additional member from the presiding judge's party. Board members must take an oath affirming they will handle ballots objectively and, in elections with party-aligned ballots, work only in the presence of a member from a different party. These changes apply to all counties and directly affect county election boards and early voting ballot board members during election periods.