| 1 | 1 | | 81R10313 JRJ-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 3948 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to certain voting requirements and procedures. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. In enacting this legislation, the legislature |
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| 10 | 10 | | intends to express a broad consensus of the members and presiding |
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| 11 | 11 | | officers toward ensuring and enhancing two equally important and |
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| 12 | 12 | | compatible tenets of our democracy: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (1) the inviolability of the basic right of each voter |
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| 14 | 14 | | to be able to cast a ballot in any election in which the voter is |
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| 15 | 15 | | eligible to vote; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2) the integrity of the electoral process, to the end |
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| 17 | 17 | | that each vote cast by an eligible voter in an election be counted |
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| 18 | 18 | | and given equal weight without dilution by votes cast by persons not |
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| 19 | 19 | | eligible to vote in the election. |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 2. (a) On offering to vote in an election, a voter |
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| 21 | 21 | | must present to an election officer at the polling place the voter's |
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| 22 | 22 | | voter registration certificate and one or more forms of |
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| 23 | 23 | | identification, including photo or nonphoto identification, to |
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| 24 | 24 | | help ensure a reliable and efficient voting process that protects |
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| 25 | 25 | | against and discourages voting fraud and other forms of unlawful |
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| 26 | 26 | | voting, prevents the votes of ineligible voters from being counted, |
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| 27 | 27 | | and facilitates and allows the votes of eligible voters to be |
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| 28 | 28 | | counted. To these ends, voter affidavits and other alternative |
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| 29 | 29 | | voting procedures shall be executed and followed if necessary to |
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| 30 | 30 | | implement appropriate exceptions or modifications to the |
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| 31 | 31 | | identification requirements to further balance the goals of |
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| 32 | 32 | | facilitating eligible voter participation and preventing voting |
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| 33 | 33 | | fraud and other forms of unlawful voting. Provisional voting shall |
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| 34 | 34 | | be required, as appropriate and necessary, for certain voters to |
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| 35 | 35 | | vote when the applicable identification requirements and related |
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| 36 | 36 | | voting requirements are not met. The secretary of state shall |
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| 37 | 37 | | prescribe appropriate procedures as necessary to implement this |
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| 38 | 38 | | subsection. |
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| 39 | 39 | | (b) To facilitate the balancing of the goals, as described |
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| 40 | 40 | | by Subsection (a) of this section, of ensuring a reliable and |
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| 41 | 41 | | efficient voting process that protects against and discourages |
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| 42 | 42 | | voting fraud and other forms of unlawful voting, preventing the |
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| 43 | 43 | | votes of ineligible voters from being counted, and facilitating and |
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| 44 | 44 | | allowing the votes of eligible voters to be counted, related voting |
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| 45 | 45 | | procedures and processes shall be added or modified as appropriate. |
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| 46 | 46 | | Notification of the identification requirements and related |
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| 47 | 47 | | procedures described by Subsection (a) of this section shall be |
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| 48 | 48 | | provided to voters on appropriate documents during the voter |
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| 49 | 49 | | registration process, on the websites of the secretary of state and |
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| 50 | 50 | | voter registrars who maintain websites, and on a posting outside |
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| 51 | 51 | | each polling location. The identification requirements and related |
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| 52 | 52 | | procedures shall be included in the training standards for election |
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| 53 | 53 | | officers and in the training programs provided by local election |
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| 54 | 54 | | officials. The secretary of state shall prescribe appropriate |
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| 55 | 55 | | procedures as necessary to implement this subsection. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (c) The Department of Public Safety may not collect a fee |
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| 57 | 57 | | for a personal identification certificate if the person is a voter |
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| 58 | 58 | | or applicant for voter registration and is obtaining the |
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| 59 | 59 | | certificate for the purpose of satisfying the identification |
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| 60 | 60 | | requirements described by Subsection (a) of this section. |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict with the Election |
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| 62 | 62 | | Code or other law, this Act prevails. |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this |
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| 64 | 64 | | section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2010. |
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| 65 | 65 | | (b) The changes in law made by Section 2(b) of this Act |
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| 66 | 66 | | regarding training standards, training programs, and notification |
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| 67 | 67 | | requirements on websites and during the voter registration process |
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| 68 | 68 | | take effect September 1, 2009. |
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