Is the information from a criminal background check confidential?
Section 129.051(g), Election Code does not address the issue of confidentiality. However, it is our understanding from DPS, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, as well as from the Texas statutes, that such information is confidential. We urge the general custodian of election records to take all steps necessary to protect the confidentiality of criminal background check information. It should not be accessible to the other people in your office. You may want to discuss with HR whether such information should be kept in the HR office with other employee records and you should certainly seek advice from the county attorney, particularly in the event an open records request is made for such information.
