The bill, S.B. No. 2000, amends the Election Code to establish specific early voting hours based on county population. For counties with a population of less than 70,000, early voting by personal appearance at the main polling place will be required to occur on each weekday of the early voting period for at least five hours, while still adhering to the time restrictions of not starting before 6 a.m. or ending after 10 p.m. In contrast, counties with a population of 70,000 or more must conduct early voting for at least 12 consecutive hours on the last Saturday of the early voting period and for at least six consecutive hours on the last Sunday, with similar time restrictions.

Additionally, the bill modifies existing language in the Election Code, specifically in Section 85.005 and Section 85.006(e), to clarify these new requirements. The changes include the insertion of provisions that specify the minimum hours for early voting based on county size and the deletion of previous language that may have conflicted with these new stipulations. The bill is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Election Code 85.005, Election Code 85.006 (Election Code 85)