HB 493 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

HB 493 amends Texas election law to clarify who cannot serve as a poll watcher. It requires poll watchers to sign an affidavit confirming they will not use recording devices during their service and that they have not been convicted of certain felonies (including first/second-degree felonies or election-related offenses). The bill directly affects individuals seeking to serve as poll watchers, making them ineligible if they meet these disqualification criteria. These changes take effect September 1, 2025.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2025

House Passage

Jun 2025

Senate Passage

Jun 2025

Signed into Law

Jun 2025

Introduced Feb 28, 2025 Signed Jun 20, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed → Enrolled · 3 edits · Jun 20, 2025

MINOR

The bill was transitioned from its Engrossed version to the Enrolled version, which is the final version approved by both legislative chambers and the Governor. The substantive policy content regarding poll watcher eligibility requirements and the effective date remained unchanged, with the primary differences being formatting, spacing, and the addition of certification signatures confirming the bill's passage and approval.

TECHNICAL

Formatting and spacing were standardized throughout the document to match the Enrolled version format.

Certification signatures and voting records from the House and Senate were added to confirm the bill's final passage and approval by the Governor.

Drafting marks, line numbers, and internal annotations from the Engrossed version were removed.

Floor votes · Senate May 26, 2025 · House May 13, 2025

How they voted

26–4

Passed

Total votes 30

May 26, 2025

D Democratic10

6 Yea 4 Nay

60% Yea

R Republican20

20 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 20, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor

executive

Jun 2, 2025

Upper · Passed

Signed in the Senate

upper

Jun 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Signed in the House

lower

Jun 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Senate adopts conference committee report

upper

Jun 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

House adopts conference committee report

lower

May 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

House requests conference committee-reported

upper

May 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

House requests conference committee

lower

May 28, 2025

Introduced

House refuses to concur in Senate amendments

lower

May 27, 2025

Introduced

Senate Amendments Analysis distributed

lower

May 27, 2025

Introduced

Senate Amendments distributed

lower

May 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

Senate passage as amended reported

lower

May 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

May 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed to 3rd reading as amended

upper

May 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amended

upper

May 26, 2025

Introduced

Amendment(s) offered

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 22, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

May 15, 2025

Committee

Referred to State Affairs

upper

May 15, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

May 14, 2025

Introduced

Received from the House

upper

May 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed to engrossment

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Left pending in committee

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

lower

Feb 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Elections

lower

Feb 28, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

4 primary · 2 co-sponsors