This section gives recount participants rights to be present and observe, sets watcher appointment and certificate rules, and restricts recording devices during the recount.
Sec. 213.013. REPRESENTATION OF PARTIES AND POLITICAL PARTIES AT RECOUNT. (a) Each person entitled to notice of the recount under Section 213.009 is entitled to be present at a recount. (b) In a recount of an election on an office, each candidate for the office is entitled to be present at the recount and have watchers present in the number corresponding to the number of counting teams designated for the recount. If only one counting team is designated or the recount is conducted on automatic tabulating equipment, each candidate is entitled to two watchers. (c) In a recount of an election on an office for which a political party has a nominee or for which a candidate is aligned with a political party, the party is entitled to have watchers present in the same number prescribed for candidates under Subsection (b). (d) In a recount of an election on a measure, watchers may be appointed by the campaign treasurer or assistant campaign treasurer of a specific-purpose political committee that supports or opposes the measure in the number corresponding to the number of counting teams designated for the recount. If only one counting team is designated or the recount is conducted on automatic tabulating equipment, each eligible specific-purpose political committee is entitled to two watchers. (e) A watcher appointed to serve at a recount must deliver a certificate of appointment to the recount committee chair at the time the watcher reports for service. A watcher who presents himself or herself for service at any time immediately before or during the recount and submits a proper certificate of appointment must be accepted for service unless the number of appointees to which the appointing authority is entitled have already been accepted. (f) The certificate must be in writing and must include: (1) the printed name and the signature of the watcher; (2) the election subject to the recount; (3) the time and place of the recount; (4) the measure, candidate, or political party being represented; (5) the signature and the printed name of the person making the appointment; and (6) an indication of the capacity in which the appointing authority is acting. (g) If the watcher is accepted for service, the recount committee chair shall keep the certificate and deliver it to the recount coordinator after the recount for preservation under Section 211.007. If the watcher is not accepted for service, the recount committee chair shall return the certificate to the watcher with a signed statement of the reason for the rejection. (h) Each person entitled to be present at a recount is entitled to observe any activity conducted in connection with the recount. The person is entitled to sit or stand conveniently near the officers conducting the observed activity and near enough to an officer who is announcing the votes or examining or processing the ballots to verify that the ballots are counted or processed correctly or to an officer who is tallying the votes to verify that they are tallied correctly. Rules concerning a watcher's rights, duties, and privileges are otherwise the same as those prescribed by this code for poll watchers to the extent they can be made applicable. (i) No device capable of recording images or sound is allowed inside the room in which the recount is conducted, or in any hallway or corridor in the building in which the recount is conducted within 30 feet of the entrance to the room, while the recount is in progress unless the person entitled to be present at the recount agrees to disable or deactivate the device. However, on request of a person entitled to appoint watchers to serve at the recount, the recount committee chair shall permit the person to photocopy under the chair's supervision any ballot, including any supporting materials, challenged by the person or person's watcher. The person must pay a reasonable charge for making the copies and, if no photocopying equipment is available, may supply that equipment at the person's expense. The person shall provide a copy on request to another person entitled to appoint watchers to serve at the recount. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 59, Sec. 13, eff. Oct. 20, 1987; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 75, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, Sec. 218, eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1235 (S.B. 1970), Sec. 21, eff. September 1, 2009. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1164 (H.B. 2817), Sec. 37, eff. September 1, 2011.