Tex.
Election Code Section 86.013
Official Carrier Envelope
(a)
“Carrier Envelope for Early Voting Ballot,” the name and official title of the early voting clerk as addressee, and the clerk’s official mailing address must be printed on the face of each official carrier envelope for a ballot to be voted by mail.(b)
Spaces must appear on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope for:(1)
indicating the identity and date of the election;(2)
entering the signature, printed name, and residence address of a person other than the voter who deposits the carrier envelope in the mail or with a common or contract carrier; and(3)
indicating the relationship of that person to the voter.(c)
A certificate in substantially the following form must be printed on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope in a manner that requires the voter to sign across the flap of the envelope:(d)
The following textual material, as prescribed by the secretary of state, must be printed on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope or on a separate sheet accompanying the carrier envelope when it is provided:(1)
the prohibition prescribed by Section 86.006 (Method of Returning Marked Ballot)(b);(2)
the conditions for delivery by common or contract carrier prescribed by Sections 81.005 (Common or Contract Carrier) and 86.006 (Method of Returning Marked Ballot);(3)
the requirements for the legal execution and delivery of the carrier envelope, including the prohibition on compensation for depositing carrier envelopes containing ballots voted by other persons under Section 86.0052 (Compensation for Carrier Envelope Action Prohibited);(4)
the prohibition prescribed by Section 86.006 (Method of Returning Marked Ballot)(e); and(5)
the offenses prescribed by Sections 86.006 (Method of Returning Marked Ballot)(f) and 86.010 (Unlawfully Assisting Voter Voting Ballot by Mail)(f).(e)
The following notice must be printed on the reverse side of the official carrier envelope, near the space provided for the voter’s signature: “This envelope must be sealed by the voter before it leaves the voter’s hands. Do not sign this envelope unless the ballot has been marked by you or at your direction.”(f)
The oath of a person assisting a voter must be included on the official carrier envelope as part of the certificate prescribed by Subsection (c).(g)
The secretary of state by rule shall require that a notice informing voters of the telephone number established under Section 31.0055 (Voting Rights Hotline) and the purpose of the telephone number be printed on:(1)
the official carrier envelope; or(2)
an insert enclosed with the balloting materials for voting by mail sent to the voter.
Source:
Section 86.013 — Official Carrier Envelope, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/EL/htm/EL.86.htm#86.013 (accessed Apr. 13, 2024).
