Relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of unlawfully publishing a vote.

89(R) SB 2363 - Senate Committee Report version - Bill Text

By: Creighton

S.B. No. 2363

(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2025; March 25, 2025, read

first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 5, 2025,

reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the

following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 1; May 5, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2363

By: Hall

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of unlawfully

publishing a vote.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 61.006, Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 61.006. UNLAWFULLY
PUBLISHING
[
DIVULGING
] VOTE. (a)

In this section:

(1)

"Effective consent" means consent by a person

legally authorized to act for the voter. Consent is not effective

if:

(A) induced by force, threat, or fraud;

(B)

given by a person the actor knows is not

legally authorized to act for the voter;

(C)

given by a person who by reason of youth,

mental disease or defect, or intoxication is known by the actor to

be unable to make reasonable decisions; or

(D)

given solely to detect the commission of an

offense.

(2)

"Publish" means to communicate information or make

information available to another person orally, in writing, or by

means of telecommunication or electronic communication.

(a-1)
A person commits an offense if the person

intentionally or
[
was in a polling place for any purpose other than

voting and
] knowingly
publishes
[
communicates to another person

information that the person obtained at the polling place about
]

how a voter has voted
without the effective consent of the voter
.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third

degree.

(c)
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this

section that the person published the voter's voting
[
This section

does not apply to
] information
pursuant to a state law that requires

the publication
[
presented in an official investigation or other

official proceeding in which the information is relevant
].

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only

to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.

An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is

governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,

and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For

purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the

effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred

before that date.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

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