House Bill 1309 Summary

• Prohibits all mail-in absentee voting except for military personnel under the Armed Services Absentee Voting Law, effective July 1, 2023

• Bans Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) units and requires all elections to use paper ballots with hand counting within 30 days if ballots were scanned into optical mark reading (OMR) equipment

• Requires the Secretary of State to establish detailed chain of custody procedures for all ballots, with civil and criminal penalties for violations

• Establishes risk-limiting audit procedures for statewide elections beginning August 31, 2026, with a pilot program in at least 5 counties starting November 8, 2022, and requires manual recounts if audits fail to confirm reported results

• Prohibits emergency declarations from affecting election laws, procedures, dates, or schedules without approval of two-thirds of both legislative chambers before in-person voting begins