Tex. Election Code § 33.056
This is the official text of Tex. Election Code § 33.056, part of Texas’s Election Code — governs how elections are conducted.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 33.056. OBSERVING ACTIVITY GENERALLY.
Official statutory text
(a) Except as provided by Section 33.057, a watcher is entitled to observe any activity conducted at the location at which the watcher is serving. A watcher is entitled to sit or stand near enough to see and hear the election officers conducting the observed activity, except as otherwise prohibited by this chapter.
(b) A watcher is entitled to sit or stand near enough to the member of a counting team who is announcing the votes to verify that the ballots are read correctly or to a member who is tallying the votes to verify that they are tallied correctly.
(c) A watcher is entitled to inspect the returns and other records prepared by the election officers at the location at which the watcher is serving.
(d) A watcher may not be prohibited from making written notes while on duty. Before permitting a watcher who made written notes at a precinct polling place to leave while the polls are open, the presiding officer may require the watcher to leave the notes with another person on duty at the polling place, selected by the watcher, for retention until the watcher returns to duty.
(e) Except as provided by Section 33.057(b), a watcher may not be denied free movement where election activity is occurring within the location at which the watcher is serving.
(f) In this code, a watcher who is entitled to "observe" an election activity is entitled to sit or stand near enough to see and hear the activity.
(b) A watcher is entitled to sit or stand near enough to the member of a counting team who is announcing the votes to verify that the ballots are read correctly or to a member who is tallying the votes to verify that they are tallied correctly.
(c) A watcher is entitled to inspect the returns and other records prepared by the election officers at the location at which the watcher is serving.
(d) A watcher may not be prohibited from making written notes while on duty. Before permitting a watcher who made written notes at a precinct polling place to leave while the polls are open, the presiding officer may require the watcher to leave the notes with another person on duty at the polling place, selected by the watcher, for retention until the watcher returns to duty.
(e) Except as provided by Section 33.057(b), a watcher may not be denied free movement where election activity is occurring within the location at which the watcher is serving.
(f) In this code, a watcher who is entitled to "observe" an election activity is entitled to sit or stand near enough to see and hear the activity.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.