Relating to the penalty for the crime of election fraud; increasing a criminal penalty.

SB 2877 increases penalties for election fraud in Texas by elevating the offense from a Class A misdemeanor to a second-degree felony under the Election Code. It directly affects individuals who commit acts like altering ballots, casting votes for deceased or ineligible voters, or destroying completed ballots without consent. The bill amends Section 276.013 to specify that such offenses become felonies unless committed by an elected official in their official capacity (then a state jail felony) or as an attempted offense (third-degree felony). This change applies only to offenses committed on or after the bill’s effective date, leaving prior offenses governed by existing law.