Tex. Elec. Code § 1.012 · Chapter 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
PUBLIC INSPECTION OF ELECTION RECORDS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) Subject to Subsection (b), an election record that is public information shall be made available to the public during the regular business hours of the record's custodian.
(b) For the purpose of safeguarding the election records or economizing the custodian's time, the custodian may adopt reasonable rules limiting public access.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this code or Chapter 552, Government Code, all election records are public information.
(d) In this code, "election record" includes:
(1) anything distributed or received by government under this code;
(2) anything required by law to be kept by others for information of government under this code; or
(3) a certificate, application, notice, report, or other document or paper issued or received by government under this code.
(e) Except as provided by Subsections (f) and (g), an election record shall be available not later than the 15th day after election day in an electronic format for a fee of not more than $50.
(f) Beginning on the first day after the date the final canvass of an election is completed, the general custodian of election records shall make available for public inspection election records that are:
(1) images of voted ballots, if a county maintains images of voted ballots; or
(2) cast vote records.
(g) Beginning on the 61st day after election day, the general custodian of election records shall make available for public inspection election records that are original voted ballots.
(h) The custodian shall adopt procedures to ensure the redaction of any personally identifiable information of the voter contained on a ballot before making the voted ballot available for public inspection.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 5.95(88), eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 393, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1215 (S.B. 902), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 894 (H.B. 5180), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.1.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 d83397455394f6528be402c97afe08150d0c69d3d4e8cba6dd0c344410d59c95
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 7 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Elec. Code § 1.012. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Election Code
- Tex. Elec. Code § 66.006PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN REPORTS FROM ELECTRONIC DEVICES TO ACCEPT VOTERS.Printed as Section 1.012
- Tex. Elec. Code § 127.1232SECURITY OF VOTED BALLOTS.Printed as Section 1.012
- Tex. Elec. Code § 232.008FILING PERIOD FOR PETITION.Printed as Section 1.012
- Tex. Elec. Code § 233.006FILING PERIOD FOR PETITION.Printed as Section 1.012
- Tex. Elec. Code § 241.003PETITION.Printed as Section 1.012
- Tex. Elec. Code § 243.003PETITION.Printed as Section 1.012
- Tex. Elec. Code § 247.003FILING PERIOD FOR PETITION.Printed as Section 1.012
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.