SB 618 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the unlawful altering of election procedures; providing a civil penalty.

SB 618 prohibits public and election officials from altering election procedures without legal authorization. If officials fail to comply after being notified by the Secretary of State, they face escalating daily fines: $1,000 per day for days 3-7 and $5,000 per day after day 7. The bill requires officials to immediately cease non-compliant actions and provides a process for the Secretary of State to investigate violations and refer cases to the Attorney General. These fines, collected into the general revenue fund, directly affect election officials who change procedures without proper legal approval.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2024

Committee Review

May 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Dec 13, 2024 Last action May 28, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 6 edits · Apr 24, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was reorganized and significantly expanded with new provisions for transparency, reporting requirements, and enforcement mechanisms. The text was reformatted from an older draft version to a clean engrossed version, while substantive content was added including new subsections for public reporting, complaint procedures, and grounds for removal of officials.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include new requirements for public reporting of violations, formal complaint procedures, and removal grounds for non-elected officials in political subdivisions.

REQUIREMENT

New subsection (h) requires the secretary of state to publish monthly reports on alleged violations including location, specific standards violated, dates, and investigation outcomes.

New subsection (j) establishes formal complaint procedures requiring complainants to send written complaints with specific details to the secretary of state.

Subsection (c) was modified to change 'two days' to 'two business days' for compliance timelines.

ENFORCEMENT

New subsection (g) adds grounds for removal of non-elected officials from political subdivisions who repeatedly violate election standards.

TECHNICAL

New subsections (h-1), (j-1), and (j-2) were added for updating investigation information, complaint reporting, and notification of corrective actions.

Header information was cleaned up, removing draft markings and updating bill identification from 'AASparks' to 'Sparks, et al.' and changing bill number format.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 23, 2025

How they voted

20–10

Passed

Total votes 30

Apr 23, 2025

D Democratic10

10 Nay

100% Nay

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

May 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

Returned to committee

lower

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report sent to Calendars

lower

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee report distributed

lower

May 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)

lower

Apr 28, 2025

Committee

Referred to Elections

lower

Apr 28, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

lower

Apr 25, 2025

Introduced

Received from the Senate

lower

Apr 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed to engrossment as amended

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amended

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Introduced

Amendment(s) offered

upper

Apr 23, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (20-10)

senate

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee report printed and distributed

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably as substituted

upper

Mar 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

Vote taken in committee

upper

Mar 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Left pending in committee

upper

Mar 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Testimony taken in committee

upper

Feb 3, 2025

Committee

Referred to State Affairs

upper

Feb 3, 2025

Introduced

Read first time

upper

2 primary · 18 co-sponsors