Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB452 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R1724 ATP-D
2	2	By: Allen H.B. No. 452
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to early voting by mail by any qualified voter.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 82.005, Election Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 82.005. ELIGIBILITY FOR EARLY VOTING [BY PERSONAL
12	12	APPEARANCE]. Any qualified voter is eligible for early voting by
13	13	mail or personal appearance.
14	14	SECTION 2. Section 84.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
15	15	read as follows:
16	16	(a) To be entitled to vote an early voting ballot by mail, a
17	17	person [who is eligible for early voting] must make an application
18	18	for an early voting ballot to be voted by mail as provided by this
19	19	title.
20	20	SECTION 3. Section 84.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
21	21	read as follows:
22	22	(a) An early voting ballot application must include:
23	23	(1) the applicant's name and the address at which the
24	24	applicant is registered to vote;
25	25	(2) for an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
26	26	by an applicant who will be absent from the applicant's [on the
27	27	ground of absence from the] county of residence on election day, the
28	28	address outside the applicant's county of residence to which the
29	29	ballot is to be mailed;
30	30	(3) for an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
31	31	by an applicant who is 65 years of age or older on election day or
32	32	has a sickness or physical condition that requires the applicant to
33	33	reside in a hospital or nursing home or other long-term care
34	34	facility, or with a relative [on the ground of age or disability],
35	35	the address of the hospital, nursing home or other long-term care
36	36	facility, or retirement center, or of a person related to the
37	37	applicant within the second degree by affinity or the third degree
38	38	by consanguinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code,
39	39	if the applicant is living at that address and that address is
40	40	different from the address at which the applicant is registered to
41	41	vote;
42	42	(4) for an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
43	43	by an applicant who is confined [on the ground of confinement] in
44	44	jail as described by Section 84.009(a), the address of the jail or
45	45	of a person related to the applicant within the degree described by
46	46	Subdivision (3); and
47	47	(5) [for an application for a ballot to be voted by
48	48	mail on any ground,] an indication of each election for which the
49	49	applicant is applying for a ballot[; and
50	50	[(6) an indication of the ground of eligibility for
51	51	early voting].
52	52	SECTION 4. Section 84.009, Election Code, is amended by
53	53	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
54	54	follows:
55	55	(a) This section applies only to an applicant who, at the
56	56	time the application for a ballot to be voted by mail is submitted,
57	57	is confined in jail:
58	58	(1) serving a misdemeanor sentence for a term that
59	59	ends on or after election day;
60	60	(2) pending trial after denial of bail;
61	61	(3) without bail pending an appeal of a felony
62	62	conviction; or
63	63	(4) pending trial or appeal on a bailable offense for
64	64	which release on bail before election day is unlikely.
65	65	(a-1) On request of the applicant, an application for a
66	66	ballot to be voted by mail [on the ground of confinement in jail]
67	67	may be submitted to the early voting clerk, at the discretion of the
68	68	authority in charge of the jail, by personal delivery by the jail
69	69	authority or by a designated subordinate of the authority.
70	70	SECTION 5. Section 84.011(a), Election Code, is amended to
71	71	read as follows:
72	72	(a) The officially prescribed application form for an early
73	73	voting ballot must include:
74	74	(1) immediately preceding the signature space the
75	75	statement: "I certify that the information given in this
76	76	application is true, and I understand that giving false information
77	77	in this application is a crime.";
78	78	(2) a statement informing the applicant of the
79	79	offenses prescribed by Sections 84.003 and 84.004;
80	80	(3) spaces for entering an applicant's voter
81	81	registration number and county election precinct of registration,
82	82	with a statement informing the applicant that failure to furnish
83	83	that information does not invalidate the application; and
84	84	(4) on an application for a ballot to be voted by mail:
85	85	(A) a space for an applicant [applying on the
86	86	ground of absence from the county of residence] to indicate whether
87	87	the applicant will be absent from the applicant's county of
88	88	residence on election day and, if applicable, the date on or after
89	89	which the applicant can receive mail at the address outside the
90	90	county;
91	91	(B) a space for indicating the fact that an
92	92	applicant whose application is signed by a witness cannot make the
93	93	applicant's mark and a space for indicating the relationship or
94	94	lack of relationship of the witness to the applicant;
95	95	(C) a space for entering an applicant's telephone
96	96	number, with a statement informing the applicant that failure to
97	97	furnish that information does not invalidate the application;
98	98	(D) a space or box for an applicant who is 65
99	99	years of age or older on election day or has a sickness or physical
100	100	condition that requires the applicant to reside in a hospital or
101	101	nursing home or other long-term care facility, or with a relative,
102	102	[applying on the ground of age or disability] to indicate that the
103	103	address to which the ballot is to be mailed is the address of a
104	104	facility or relative described by Section 84.002(a)(3), if
105	105	applicable;
106	106	(E) a space or box for an applicant confined
107	107	[applying on the ground of confinement] in jail as described by
108	108	Section 84.009(a) to indicate that the address to which the ballot
109	109	is to be mailed is the address of a relative described by Section
110	110	84.002(a)(4), if applicable;
111	111	(F) spaces for entering the signature, printed
112	112	name, and residence address of any person assisting the applicant;
113	113	(G) a statement informing the applicant of the
114	114	condition prescribed by Section 81.005; and
115	115	(H) a statement informing the applicant of the
116	116	requirement prescribed by Section 86.003(c).
117	117	SECTION 6. Sections 86.001(b) and (c), Election Code, are
118	118	amended to read as follows:
119	119	(b) If the application complies with the applicable
120	120	requirements prescribed by this title [applicant is entitled to
121	121	vote an early voting ballot by mail], the clerk shall provide an
122	122	official ballot to the applicant as provided by this chapter.
123	123	(c) Except as provided by Section 86.008, if the applicant
124	124	is not entitled to vote in the election [by mail], the clerk shall
125	125	reject the application, enter on the application "rejected" and the
126	126	reason for and date of rejection, and deliver written notice of the
127	127	reason for the rejection to the applicant at both the residence
128	128	address and mailing address on the application. A ballot may not be
129	129	provided to an applicant whose application is rejected.
130	130	SECTION 7. Section 86.003(c), Election Code, is amended to
131	131	read as follows:
132	132	(c) The address to which the balloting materials must be
133	133	addressed is the address at which the voter is registered to vote,
134	134	or the registered mailing address if different, unless the
135	135	application to vote early by mail indicates that the voter [ground
136	136	for voting by mail is]:
137	137	(1) will be absent from the voter's [absence from the]
138	138	county of residence on election day, in which case the address must
139	139	be an address outside the voter's county of residence;
140	140	(2) is confined [confinement] in jail as described by
141	141	Section 84.009(a), in which case the address must be the address of
142	142	the jail or of a relative described by Section 84.002(a)(4); or
143	143	(3) is 65 years of age or older on election day or has a
144	144	sickness or physical condition that requires the applicant to
145	145	reside in a hospital or nursing home or other long-term care
146	146	facility, or with a relative, [age or disability] and [the voter] is
147	147	living at a hospital, nursing home or other long-term care
148	148	facility, or retirement center, or with a relative described by
149	149	Section 84.002(a)(3), in which case the address must be the address
150	150	of that facility or relative.
151	151	SECTION 8. Section 86.004(b), Election Code, is amended to
152	152	read as follows:
153	153	(b) For the general election for state and county officers,
154	154	the balloting materials for a voter who indicates on the
155	155	application for a ballot to be voted by mail or the federal postcard
156	156	application that the voter seeks [is eligible] to vote early by mail
157	157	as a consequence of the voter's being outside the United States
158	158	shall be mailed on or before the later of the 45th day before
159	159	election day or the seventh calendar day after the date the clerk
160	160	receives the application. However, if it is not possible to mail
161	161	the ballots by the deadline of the 45th day before election day, the
162	162	clerk shall notify the secretary of state within 24 hours of knowing
163	163	that the deadline will not be met. The secretary of state shall
164	164	monitor the situation and advise the clerk, who shall mail the
165	165	ballots as soon as possible in accordance with the secretary of
166	166	state's guidelines.
167	167	SECTION 9. Section 87.041(b), Election Code, is amended to
168	168	read as follows:
169	169	(b) A ballot may be accepted only if:
170	170	(1) the carrier envelope certificate is properly
171	171	executed;
172	172	(2) neither the voter's signature on the ballot
173	173	application nor the signature on the carrier envelope certificate
174	174	is determined to have been executed by a person other than the
175	175	voter, unless signed by a witness;
176	176	(3) [the voter's ballot application states a legal
177	177	ground for early voting by mail;
178	178	[(4)] the voter is registered to vote, if registration
179	179	is required by law;
180	180	(4) [(5) the address to which the ballot was mailed to
181	181	the voter, as indicated by the application, was outside the voter's
182	182	county of residence, if the ground for early voting is absence from
183	183	the county of residence;
184	184	[(6)] for a voter to whom a statement of residence form
185	185	was required to be sent under Section 86.002(a), the statement of
186	186	residence is returned in the carrier envelope and indicates that
187	187	the voter satisfies the residence requirements prescribed by
188	188	Section 63.0011; and
189	189	(5) [(7)] the address to which the ballot was mailed
190	190	to the voter is an address [that is otherwise] required by Sections
191	191	84.002 and 86.003.
192	192	SECTION 10. Section 102.001(a), Election Code, is amended
193	193	to read as follows:
194	194	(a) A qualified voter is eligible to vote a late ballot as
195	195	provided by this chapter if the voter has a sickness or physical
196	196	condition [described by Section 82.002] that prevents the voter
197	197	from appearing at the polling place on election day without a
198	198	likelihood of needing personal assistance or of injuring the
199	199	voter's health and originates on or after the day before the last
200	200	day for submitting an application for a ballot to be voted by mail.
201	201	SECTION 11. Sections 82.001, 82.002, 82.003, 82.004,
202	202	84.002(b), and 112.002(b), Election Code, are repealed.
203	203	SECTION 12. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
204	204	to an election ordered on or after September 1, 2009.
205	205	SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.