MASS EMAIL: 2023 Jury Reconstitution Questionnaire and Timelines

TO: Texas District & County Clerks

FROM: Elections Division, Texas Secretary of State

SUBJECT: MASS EMAIL: 2023 Jury Reconstitution Questionnaire and Timelines

DATE: August 31, 2023

District and County Clerks,

Pursuant to Section 62.001(g) of the Texas Government Code, our office is responsible for maintaining a combined list of persons exempted from jury service and to provide the reconstituted jury wheel to each county on or before December 31st of each year. The updated Jury Quick Reference Guide will soon be available on the DocShare site.

To begin this process, the Jury Questionnaire is now available for your response. The questionnaire must be submitted to our office no later than Friday, October 13, 2023. We need only one response per county so it may be necessary to coordinate your efforts.

Please select a date for your county reconstitution on or after Friday, November 10, 2023. As a reminder, reconstitution dates falling on a weekend or holiday must be processed the next business day. To change the date for your county, please submit the request in writing at least 2 business days prior to the requested date.

For online counties, we recommend that you run the Updated Mailing Addresses Report the day of your reconstitution. Counties failing to respond to the questionnaire will be reconstituted on January 15, 2024. We will no longer be contacting online counties who have juries pulled for a date after their requested reconstitution date.

For offline counties, please submit your annual Jury Wheel Import (if applicable) with exemptions, disqualifications or postponements no later than October 13, 2023. As a reminder, juror status (exemptions/disqualifications/postponements) can be submitted either through the TEAM application or through the Jury Wheel Import. Please contact your jury vendor to ensure that your county file has been submitted by the deadline.

Finally, for counties pulling juries electronically, Section 62.011 of the Texas Government Code specifies that any county adopting a plan for the selection of names of persons for jury service with the aid of electronic or mechanical equipment instead of drawing the names from a jury wheel, must designate the district clerk as the officer in charge of the selection process and define his/her duties. It is for this reason that you are receiving this email. If you are not the appropriate person for this inquiry, please feel free to forward this to the correct individual in your county. If you have not provided our office with a copy of that plan or have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

If you have any questions, please contact the TEAM Team at 1-800-252-2216, option 1 or email elections@sos.texas.gov. 

Julia Montes

Elections Division, Manager of the TEAM Program

Office of the Texas Secretary of State - Elections Division 800-252-8683

elections@sos.texas.gov | www.sos.state.tx.us/elections

The information contained in this email is intended to provide advice and assistance in election matters per §31.004 of the Texas Election Code.  It is not intended to serve as a legal opinion for any matter.  Please review the law yourself, and consult with an attorney when your legal rights are involved.

If you have any questions regarding this e-mail, please e-mail elections@sos.texas.gov