Bill Text: TX HB221 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to accommodating voters with a disability.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-08-27 - Referred to Constitutional Rights & Remedies [HB221 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB221-Introduced.html
| By: Bucy | H.B. No. 221 | |
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| relating to accommodating voters with a disability. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 63.0015, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (f) to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (b) An election officer shall [ |
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| mobility problem that substantially impairs a person's ability to | ||
| ambulate who is offering to vote before accepting others offering | ||
| to vote at the polling place who arrived before the person. | ||
| (c) Notice of the priority given to persons with a mobility | ||
| problem that substantially impairs a person's ability to ambulate | ||
| shall be posted: | ||
| (1) at [ |
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| polling place where it can be read by persons waiting to vote; | ||
| (2) on the Internet website of the secretary of state; | ||
| and | ||
| (3) on each Internet website relating to elections | ||
| maintained by a county. | ||
| (d) The notice required by Subsection (c) must read: | ||
| "Pursuant to Section 63.0015, Election Code, an election officer | ||
| shall [ |
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| mobility problem that substantially impairs the person's ability to | ||
| move around. A person assisting an individual with a mobility | ||
| problem may also, at the individual's request, be given voting | ||
| order priority. Disabilities and conditions that may qualify you | ||
| for voting order priority include paralysis, lung disease, the use | ||
| of portable oxygen, cardiac deficiency, severe limitation in the | ||
| ability to walk due to arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic | ||
| condition, wheelchair confinement, arthritis, foot disorder, the | ||
| inability to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest, or use of a | ||
| brace, cane, crutch, or other assistive device." | ||
| (f) All procedures and accommodations related to voting | ||
| available for voters with disabilities, including voting under | ||
| Section 64.009, shall be posted in an accessible manner on the | ||
| county clerk's Internet website. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 64.009, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: | ||
| (e) At each polling place two parking spaces shall be | ||
| reserved for voting under this section. The spaces may not be | ||
| parking spaces designated specifically for persons with | ||
| disabilities. The parking spaces must be clearly marked for use by a | ||
| voter who is unable to enter the polling place with a sign. The sign | ||
| must have a telephone number that a voter may call or text to | ||
| request assistance from election officials at the polling place. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 84.011(a), Election Code, as effective | ||
| September 1, 2021, is amended to read as follows: | ||
| (a) The officially prescribed application form for an early | ||
| voting ballot must include: | ||
| (1) immediately preceding the signature space the | ||
| statement: "I certify that the information given in this | ||
| application is true, and I understand that giving false information | ||
| in this application is a crime."; | ||
| (2) a statement informing the applicant of the | ||
| offenses prescribed by Sections 84.003 and 84.004; | ||
| (3) spaces for entering an applicant's voter | ||
| registration number and county election precinct of registration, | ||
| with a statement informing the applicant that failure to furnish | ||
| that information does not invalidate the application; and | ||
| (4) on an application for a ballot to be voted by mail: | ||
| (A) a space for an applicant applying on the | ||
| ground of absence from the county of residence to indicate the date | ||
| on or after which the applicant can receive mail at the address | ||
| outside the county; | ||
| (B) a space for indicating the fact that an | ||
| applicant whose application is signed by a witness cannot make the | ||
| applicant's mark and a space for indicating the relationship or | ||
| lack of relationship of the witness to the applicant; | ||
| (C) a space for entering an applicant's telephone | ||
| number, with a statement informing the applicant that failure to | ||
| furnish that information does not invalidate the application; | ||
| (D) a space or box for an applicant applying on | ||
| the ground of age or disability to indicate that the address to | ||
| which the ballot is to be mailed is the address of a facility or | ||
| relative described by Section 84.002(a)(3), if applicable; | ||
| (E) a space or box for an applicant applying on | ||
| the ground of confinement in jail or involuntary civil commitment | ||
| to indicate that the address to which the ballot is to be mailed is | ||
| the address of a relative described by Section 84.002(a)(4) or (7), | ||
| if applicable; | ||
| (F) a space for an applicant applying on the | ||
| ground of age or disability to indicate if the application is an | ||
| application under Section 86.0015; | ||
| (G) spaces for entering the signature, printed | ||
| name, and residence address of any person assisting the applicant; | ||
| (H) a statement informing the applicant of the | ||
| condition prescribed by Section 81.005; [ |
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| (I) a statement informing the applicant of the | ||
| requirement prescribed by Section 86.003(c); and | ||
| (J) a space or box for an applicant applying on | ||
| the ground of disability to indicate that the voter would like to | ||
| receive a ballot under Section 86.0035. | ||
| SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 84, Election Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 84.0121 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 84.0121. CLERK TO POST APPLICATION FORM ONLINE. (a) | ||
| The early voting clerk shall post the official application form for | ||
| an early voting ballot on the clerk's Internet website in a format | ||
| that allows a person to easily complete the application directly on | ||
| the website before printing. | ||
| (b) The early voting clerk may use the application form | ||
| provided by the secretary of state under Section 84.013 or the early | ||
| voting clerk's own application form. | ||
| SECTION 5. Section 84.013, Election Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 84.013. APPLICATION FORMS FURNISHED BY SECRETARY OF | ||
| STATE. (a) The secretary of state shall maintain a supply of the | ||
| official application forms for ballots to be voted by mail and shall | ||
| furnish the forms in reasonable quantities without charge to | ||
| individuals or organizations requesting them for distribution to | ||
| voters. | ||
| (b) The secretary of state shall provide a printable | ||
| application for a ballot by mail in a format that complies with | ||
| Section 84.0121(a) to the early voting clerk for use under that | ||
| section. | ||
| SECTION 6. Section 86.003, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the [ |
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| balloting materials for voting by mail shall be provided to the | ||
| voter by mail. A ballot provided by any other method may not be | ||
| counted. | ||
| (e) If a voter is eligible for early voting by mail on the | ||
| ground of disability, the balloting materials may be provided in | ||
| accordance with Section 86.0035. | ||
| SECTION 7. Chapter 86, Election Code, is amended by adding | ||
| Section 86.0035 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 86.0035. DIGITAL REMOTE VOTING. (a) In this section, | ||
| "tactile marking" means a method of identifying certain materials | ||
| based on touch, and includes a hole punch, a cut corner, or a | ||
| tactile sticker. | ||
| (b) The secretary of state shall implement a program to | ||
| allow a voter eligible for early voting on the ground of disability | ||
| to remotely receive and mark an early voting ballot to be voted by | ||
| mail using assistive technology equipment. | ||
| (c) The program implemented under this section must allow a | ||
| voter to receive and mark an early voting ballot to be voted by mail | ||
| without assistance. | ||
| (d) Section 86.010 applies to a voter voting a ballot under | ||
| this section. | ||
| (e) Subject to Subsection (h), a voter receiving and marking | ||
| a ballot under this section shall print the marked ballot and return | ||
| it in a manner provided by Section 86.006. | ||
| (f) If a voter receives a ballot under this section, the | ||
| early voting clerk shall provide an official ballot envelope and | ||
| carrier envelope to the voter by mail. The ballot envelope and | ||
| carrier envelope must include tactile marking to help the voter | ||
| identify and distinguish between the envelopes. | ||
| (g) A ballot under this section may not be rejected under | ||
| Subchapter C, Chapter 87, on the sole basis that: | ||
| (1) the marked ballot is printed on regular paper; or | ||
| (2) the voter's signature is not in the correct | ||
| location on the carrier envelope, if the voter's signature is | ||
| clearly visible and determined to be the signature of the voter. | ||
| (h) The secretary of state shall adopt rules and procedures | ||
| to implement this section. Rules adopted under this subsection may | ||
| include rules providing for an additional secure method of | ||
| returning a ballot under this section. | ||
| SECTION 8. Section 104.004(e), Election Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (e) If the voter is physically unable to enter the early | ||
| voting polling place without personal assistance or a likelihood of | ||
| injuring the voter's health, the clerk shall deliver the balloting | ||
| materials to the voter at the polling place entrance or curb | ||
| following the procedures prescribed by Section 64.009. | ||
| SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
