Bill Text: TX HB279 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to requirements to vote, including presenting proof of identification; providing criminal penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-07-24 - Referred to Elections [HB279 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB279-Introduced.html
  85S10419 JRJ-D
 
  By: Reynolds H.B. No. 279
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to requirements to vote, including presenting proof of
  identification; providing criminal penalties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 15.022(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The registrar shall make the appropriate corrections in
  the registration records, including, if necessary, deleting a
  voter's name from the suspense list:
               (1)  after receipt of a notice of a change in
  registration information under Section 15.021;
               (2)  after receipt of a voter's reply to a notice of
  investigation given under Section 16.033;
               (3)  after receipt of any affidavits executed under
  Section 63.007 [63.006], following an election;
               (4)  after receipt of a voter's statement of residence
  executed under Section 63.0011;
               (5)  before the effective date of the abolishment of a
  county election precinct or a change in its boundary;
               (6)  after receipt of United States Postal Service
  information indicating an address reclassification;
               (7)  after receipt of a voter's response under Section
  15.053; or
               (8)  after receipt of a registration application or
  change of address under Chapter 20.
         SECTION 2.  Section 32.114(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The county clerk shall provide one or more sessions of
  training using the standardized training program and materials
  developed and provided by the secretary of state under Section
  32.111 for the election judges and clerks appointed to serve in
  elections ordered by the governor or a county authority. Each
  election judge shall complete the training program. [Each election
  clerk shall complete the part of the training program relating to
  the acceptance and handling of the identification presented by a
  voter to an election officer under Section 63.001.]
         SECTION 3.  Sections 63.001(b), (c), (d), and (f), Election
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  On [Except as provided by Subsection (h), on] offering
  to vote, a voter must present the voter's voter registration
  certificate to an election officer at the polling place [one form of
  identification described by Section 63.0101].
         (c)  On presentation of a registration certificate [the
  documentation required under Subsection (b)], an election officer
  shall determine whether the voter's name on the registration
  certificate [documentation] is on the list of registered voters for
  the precinct. [If in making a determination under this subsection
  the election officer determines under standards adopted by the
  secretary of state that the voter's name on the documentation is
  substantially similar to but does not match exactly with the name on
  the list, the voter shall be accepted for voting under Subsection
  (d) if the voter submits an affidavit stating that the voter is the
  person on the list of registered voters.]
         (d)  If [, as determined under Subsection (c),] the voter's
  name is on the precinct list of registered voters [and the voter's
  identity can be verified from the documentation presented under
  Subsection (b)], the voter shall be accepted for voting.
         (f)  After determining whether to accept a voter, an election
  officer shall return the voter's registration certificate
  [documentation] to the voter.
         SECTION 4.  Section 63.0011(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Before a voter may be accepted for voting, an election
  officer shall ask the voter if the voter's residence address on the
  precinct list of registered voters is current and whether the voter
  has changed residence within the county. If the voter's address is
  omitted from the precinct list under Section 18.005(c), the officer
  shall ask the voter if the voter's residence as [, if] listed [,] on
  the voter's voter registration certificate [identification
  presented by the voter under Section 63.001(b)] is current and
  whether the voter has changed residence within the county.
         SECTION 5.  Section 63.006, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 63.006.  VOTER WITH CORRECT CERTIFICATE [REQUIRED
  DOCUMENTATION] WHO IS NOT ON LIST. (a) A voter who, when offering to
  vote, presents a voter registration certificate indicating that the
  voter is currently registered in the precinct in which the voter is
  offering to vote, [the documentation required under Section
  63.001(b)] but whose name is not on the precinct list of registered
  voters, shall be accepted for voting [if the voter also presents a
  voter registration certificate indicating that the voter is
  currently registered:
               [(1)     in the precinct in which the voter is offering to
  vote; or
               [(2)     in a different precinct in the same county as the
  precinct in which the voter is offering to vote and the voter
  executes an affidavit stating that the voter:
                     [(A)     is a resident of the precinct in which the
  voter is offering to vote or is otherwise entitled by law to vote in
  that precinct;
                     [(B)     was a resident of the precinct in which the
  voter is offering to vote at the time the information on the voter's
  residence address was last provided to the voter registrar;
                     [(C)     did not deliberately provide false
  information to secure registration in a precinct in which the voter
  does not reside; and
                     [(D)  is voting only once in the election].
         (b)  After the voter is accepted, an election officer shall
  [:
               [(1)]  indicate beside the voter's name on the poll list
  that the voter was accepted under this section[; and
               [(2)     enter the voter's name on the registration
  omissions list].
         SECTION 6.  Chapter 63, Election Code, is amended by adding
  Sections 63.007 and 63.008 to read as follows:
         Sec. 63.007.  VOTER WITH INCORRECT CERTIFICATE WHO IS NOT ON
  LIST. (a) A voter who, when offering to vote, presents a voter
  registration certificate indicating that the voter is currently
  registered in a different precinct from the one in which the voter
  is offering to vote, and whose name is not on the precinct list of
  registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the voter
  executes an affidavit stating that the voter:
               (1)  is a resident of the precinct in which the voter is
  offering to vote or is otherwise entitled by law to vote in that
  precinct;
               (2)  was a resident of the precinct in which the voter
  is offering to vote at the time the information on the voter's
  residence address was last provided to the voter registrar;
               (3)  did not deliberately provide false information to
  secure registration in a precinct in which the voter does not
  reside; and
               (4)  is voting only once in the election.
         (b)  After the voter is accepted, an election officer shall
  indicate beside the voter's name on the poll list that the voter was
  accepted under this section.
         Sec. 63.008.  VOTER WITHOUT CERTIFICATE WHO IS ON LIST. (a) A
  voter who does not present a voter registration certificate when
  offering to vote, but whose name is on the list of registered voters
  for the precinct in which the voter is offering to vote, shall be
  accepted for voting if the voter executes an affidavit stating that
  the voter does not have the voter's voter registration certificate
  in the voter's possession at the polling place at the time of
  offering to vote and the voter presents proof of identification in a
  form described by Section 63.0101.
         (b)  If the requirements prescribed by Subsection (a) are not
  met, the voter may be accepted for provisional voting only under
  Section 63.011.
         SECTION 7.  Section 63.009, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 63.009.  VOTER WITHOUT CERTIFICATE WHO IS NOT ON LIST.
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a [A] voter who does not
  present a voter registration certificate when offering to vote, and
  whose name is not on the list of registered voters for the precinct
  in which the voter is offering to vote, shall be accepted for
  provisional voting if the voter executes an affidavit in accordance
  with Section 63.011.
         (b)  If an election officer can determine from the voter
  registrar that the person is a registered voter of the county and
  the person presents proof of identification, the affidavits
  required by Sections 63.007 and 63.008 are substituted for the
  affidavit required by Section 63.011 in complying with that
  section. After the voter is accepted under this subsection, an
  election officer shall also indicate beside the voter's name on the
  poll list that the voter was accepted under this section.
         SECTION 8.  Section 63.0101, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 63.0101.  DOCUMENTATION OF PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION. The
  following documentation is [an] acceptable as proof [form] of
  [photo] identification under this chapter:
               (1)  a driver's license[, election identification
  certificate,] or personal identification card issued to the person
  by the Department of Public Safety or a similar document issued to
  the person by an agency of another state, regardless of whether the
  license or card [that] has [not] expired [or that expired no earlier
  than 60 days before the date of presentation];
               (2)  a form of identification containing the person's
  photograph that establishes the person's identity [United States
  military identification card that contains the person's photograph
  that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days before
  the date of presentation];
               (3)  a birth certificate or other document confirming
  birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes the
  person's identity;
               (4)  United States citizenship papers [certificate
  issued to the person that contains the person's photograph];
               (5) [(4)]  a United States passport issued to the
  person [that has not expired or that expired no earlier than 60 days
  before the date of presentation];
               (6)  official mail addressed to the person by name from
  a governmental entity;
               (7)  a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
  government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows
  the name and address of the voter; or
               (8)  any other form of identification prescribed by the
  secretary of state [or
               [(5)     a license to carry a handgun issued to the person
  by the Department of Public Safety that has not expired or that
  expired no earlier than 60 days before the date of presentation].
         SECTION 9.  Sections 63.011(a) and (b), Election Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person to whom Section 63.008(b) or 63.009(a)
  [63.001(g) or 63.009] applies may cast a provisional ballot if the
  person executes an affidavit stating that the person:
               (1)  is a registered voter in the precinct in which the
  person seeks to vote; and
               (2)  is eligible to vote in the election.
         (b)  A form for an affidavit required by this section must be
  printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot voted by the
  person may be placed and must include[:
               [(1)]  a space for entering the identification number
  of the provisional ballot voted by the person[; and
               [(2)     a space for an election officer to indicate
  whether the person presented a form of identification described by
  Section 63.0101].
         SECTION 10.  Section 64.012(b), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third
  [second] degree unless the person is convicted of an attempt. In
  that case, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor [state jail felony].
         SECTION 11.  Section 65.054(b), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  A provisional ballot may [shall] be accepted only if the
  board determines that[:
               [(1)]  from the information in the affidavit or
  contained in public records, the person is eligible to vote in the
  election and has not previously voted in that election[;
               [(2)  the person:
                     [(A)     meets the identification requirements of
  Section 63.001(b) at the time the ballot was cast or in the period
  prescribed under Section 65.0541;
                     [(B)     notwithstanding Chapter 110, Civil Practice
  and Remedies Code, executes an affidavit under penalty of perjury
  that states the voter has a religious objection to being
  photographed and the voter has consistently refused to be
  photographed for any governmental purpose from the time the voter
  has held this belief; or
                     [(C)     executes an affidavit under penalty of
  perjury that states the voter does not have any identification
  meeting the requirements of Section 63.001(b) as a result of a
  natural disaster that was declared by the president of the United
  States or the governor, occurred not earlier than 45 days before the
  date the ballot was cast, and caused the destruction of or inability
  to access the voter's identification; and
               [(3)     the voter has not been challenged and voted a
  provisional ballot solely because the voter did not meet the
  requirements for identification prescribed by Section 63.001(b)].
         SECTION 12.  Section 66.0241, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 66.0241.  CONTENTS OF ENVELOPE NO. 4. Envelope no. 4
  must contain:
               (1)  the precinct list of registered voters;
               (2)  the registration correction list;
               (3)  any statements of residence executed under Section
  63.0011; and
               (4)  any affidavits executed under Section 63.007
  [63.006] or 63.011.
         SECTION 13.  (a)  The following sections of the Election
  Code are repealed:
               (1)  Section 13.002(i);
               (2)  Section 15.001(c);
               (3)  Section 15.005;
               (4)  Section 31.012(b);
               (5)  Section 32.111(c);
               (6)  Section 62.016;
               (7)  Sections 63.001(g) and (h);
               (8)  Section 63.0012; and
               (9)  Section 65.0541.
         (b)  Chapter 521A, Transportation Code, is repealed.
         (c)  Chapter 410 (S.B. 5), Acts of the 85th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 2017, is repealed.
         SECTION 14.  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 December 1, 2017.

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