Tex. Election Code § 85.032
This is the official text of Tex. Election Code § 85.032, 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.
§ 85.032. SECURITY OF EARLY VOTING BALLOT BOX.
Official statutory text
(a) The procedure for rotating two ballot boxes applicable to a precinct polling place does not apply to an early voting polling place. Once locked for use in an election, the early voting ballot box may not be unlocked except as provided by this subtitle.
(b) The ballot box in which voters deposit their marked early voting ballots must have two locks, each with a different key, and must be designed and constructed so that the box can be sealed to detect any unauthorized opening of the box and that the ballot slot can be sealed to prevent any unauthorized deposit in the box. The seals for the boxes must be serially numbered for each election. The procedures prescribed by Sections 127.064, 127.065, 127.066, and 127.068 governing the use of sealed ballot boxes in electronic voting system elections apply to the use of sealed ballot boxes under this title to the extent those procedures can be made applicable. The secretary of state shall prescribe any procedures necessary to implement the use of sealed ballot boxes in early voting.
(c) During the period for early voting by personal appearance, the early voting clerk shall keep the key to one of the locks to the early voting ballot box, and the custodian of keys to ballot boxes for preserving voted ballots after the election shall keep the key to the second lock.
(d) Each custodian shall retain possession of the key entrusted to the custodian until it is delivered to the presiding judge of the central counting station.
(d) Each custodian shall retain possession of the key entrusted to the custodian until it is delivered to, as applicable, the presiding judge of:
(1) the central counting station;
(2) the early voting ballot board; or
(3) an election day polling place.
(e) A sealed case may be used for transferring voted early voting ballots in accordance with procedures approved by the secretary of state.
(f) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures providing for the security of the voted early voting ballots from the last day of voting by personal appearance at a polling place until the day the ballots are counted.
(g) Voted early voting ballots to be counted manually shall be kept in a separate ballot box from voted early voting ballots to be counted using automatic tabulating equipment.
(b) The ballot box in which voters deposit their marked early voting ballots must have two locks, each with a different key, and must be designed and constructed so that the box can be sealed to detect any unauthorized opening of the box and that the ballot slot can be sealed to prevent any unauthorized deposit in the box. The seals for the boxes must be serially numbered for each election. The procedures prescribed by Sections 127.064, 127.065, 127.066, and 127.068 governing the use of sealed ballot boxes in electronic voting system elections apply to the use of sealed ballot boxes under this title to the extent those procedures can be made applicable. The secretary of state shall prescribe any procedures necessary to implement the use of sealed ballot boxes in early voting.
(c) During the period for early voting by personal appearance, the early voting clerk shall keep the key to one of the locks to the early voting ballot box, and the custodian of keys to ballot boxes for preserving voted ballots after the election shall keep the key to the second lock.
(d) Each custodian shall retain possession of the key entrusted to the custodian until it is delivered to the presiding judge of the central counting station.
(d) Each custodian shall retain possession of the key entrusted to the custodian until it is delivered to, as applicable, the presiding judge of:
(1) the central counting station;
(2) the early voting ballot board; or
(3) an election day polling place.
(e) A sealed case may be used for transferring voted early voting ballots in accordance with procedures approved by the secretary of state.
(f) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures providing for the security of the voted early voting ballots from the last day of voting by personal appearance at a polling place until the day the ballots are counted.
(g) Voted early voting ballots to be counted manually shall be kept in a separate ballot box from voted early voting ballots to be counted using automatic tabulating equipment.
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.