The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Texas HB 277 allows any qualified voter to vote early by mail and repeals specific mail-in ballot solicitation criminal offenses
Last action · August 20, 2025: FiledSponsor: John Bucy
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What This Bill Proposed
Texas House Bill 277 removes the requirement that voters state a specific statutory ground such as age or disability to qualify for early voting by mail, allowing any qualified voter to vote by mail. The measure also repeals certain criminal offenses related to the solicitation and distribution of mail-in ballot applications and applies to elections ordered on or after November 1, 2025.
Expands mail-in ballot eligibility to all registered voters regardless of age, health condition, or absence from the county, while altering application requirements and removing specific criminal penalties for application distribution.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Texas registered voters
Any qualified voter becomes eligible to vote early by mail without needing to meet prior statutory restrictions related to age, disability, or absence from the county.
Early voting clerks
Clerks must process mail-in ballot applications and issue ballots under revised eligibility and application criteria that omit specific statutory grounds.
Jail authorities
Authorities in charge of jails are granted discretion to allow mail-in ballot applications for confined applicants to be submitted via personal delivery by the jail authority or a designated subordinate.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be 65 or older or have a disability to vote early by mail under this bill?
What criminal offenses does the bill repeal?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
1 action- Aug 20, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Removal of Restrictive Voting Grounds
The bill shifts Texas election law from a categorical eligibility model for mail-in voting to a universal eligibility model for any qualified voter.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy90Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz75Current news / social attention level
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