BBH :
Cell Phones and Other Wireless Communication Devices Within a Room in Which Voting is Taking Place and Within 100 Feet of a Voting Station
House Bill 3909 (89th Leg., R.S., effective September 1, 2025) amended Section 61.014 of the Code to prohibit the use of wireless communication devices such as cell phones, tablets, or laptop computers within a room in which voting is taking place. As a result, our office updated the prescribed form on the Prohibition of Certain Devices Within a Room in Which Voting is Taking Place (Form 7-39).
Additionally, persons may not use any mechanical or electronic means of recording images or sound within 100 feet of a voting station. Tex. Elec. Code Section 61.014. A voting station is the area where the voter marks the ballot. This means that persons may use wireless communication devices such as cell phones, tablets, or laptop computers outside of a room in which voting is taking place, including in areas within 100 feet of the voting stations, as long as the devices are not used to record sound or images.
In the example provided below seen in Figure A, a person could therefore use their cell phone to check email while in the green circle, which includes an area within 100 feet of a voting station, but the cell phone must be put away once the person enters the room in which voting is taking place, which is the red box in Figure A. However, a person would be prohibited from taking photographs or recording video while in the green circle. The early voting clerk or the presiding judge, as appropriate, will need to use their discretion to determine whether a voter is unlawfully using their cell phone to record sound or images in the prohibited area.
2026-06-26 11:38:41