82R4113 JRJ-F
By: Bonnen H.B. No. 624
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 15, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 15.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 15.005. NOTICE OF IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) The voter registrar of each county shall provide notice of the
identification requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 and
a detailed description of those requirements with each voter
registration certificate issued under Section 13.142 or renewal
registration certificate issued under Section 14.001.
(b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the wording of
the notice to be included on the certificate under this section.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 31.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 31.012. VOTER IDENTIFICATION EDUCATION. (a) The
secretary of state and the voter registrar of each county that
maintains a website shall provide notice of the identification
requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 on each entity's
respective website. The secretary of state shall prescribe the
wording of the notice to be included on the websites.
(b) The secretary of state, in cooperation with appropriate
nonprofit organizations as determined by the secretary of state and
with each party whose nominee for governor in the most recent
gubernatorial general election received 20 percent or more of the
total number of votes received by all candidates for governor in the
election, shall establish a statewide effort to educate voters
regarding the identification requirements for voting prescribed by
Chapter 63. The secretary of state may use any available funds,
including federal funds, for the purposes of this section.
SECTION 3. Section 32.111, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The training standards adopted under Subsection (a)
must include provisions on the acceptance and handling of the
identification presented by a voter to an election officer under
Section 63.001.
SECTION 4. 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 5. Effective January 1, 2012, Chapter 62, Election
Code, is amended by adding Section 62.016 to read as follows:
Sec. 62.016. NOTICE OF ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION OUTSIDE
POLLING PLACES. The presiding judge shall post in a prominent place
on the outside of each polling location a list of the acceptable
forms of photographic and nonphotographic identification. The list
must be printed using a font that is at least 24-point.
SECTION 6. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.001,
Election Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), (d),
and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(b) On offering to vote, a voter must present one form of
photo identification listed in Section 63.0101 [the voter's voter
registration certificate] to an election officer at the polling
place.
(c) On presentation of the documentation required by
Subsection (b) [a registration certificate], an election officer
shall determine whether the voter's name on the documentation
[registration certificate] is on the list of registered voters for
the precinct.
(d) If 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 documentation [registration
certificate] to the voter.
(g) A voter shall be accepted for provisional voting only
under Section 63.011 if the requirement for identification
prescribed by Subsection (b) is not met.
SECTION 7. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.007,
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 63.007. VOTER WITH REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION [INCORRECT
CERTIFICATE] WHO IS NOT ON LIST. (a) A voter who, when offering to
vote, presents the documentation required under Section 63.001(b)
[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 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 from the one in which the
voter is offering to vote and the voter executes an affidavit
stating that the voter:
(A) [(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;
(B) [(2)] was a resident of the precinct in which
the voter is offering to vote at the time that information on the
voter's residence address was last provided to the voter registrar;
(C) [(3)] did not deliberately provide false
information to secure registration in a precinct in which the voter
does not reside; and
(D) [(4)] 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 on the registration omissions list the
precinct of the voter's registration as indicated by the voter's
registration certificate.
SECTION 8. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.009(a),
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A [Except as provided by Subsection (b), 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.
SECTION 9. Effective January 1, 2012, 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 form [as proof] of
photo identification under this chapter:
(1) a driver's license or personal identification card
issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety that has not
expired or that expired no earlier than one year before the date of
presentation [or a similar document issued to the person by an
agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card
has expired];
(2) a United States military identification card that
contains the person's photograph [form of identification
containing the person's photograph that establishes the person's
identity];
(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 certificate [papers]
issued to the person that contains the person's photograph;
(4) [(5)] a United States passport issued to the
person;
(5) a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to
the person by the Department of Public Safety that contains the
person's photograph;
(6) a student identification card issued by a public
or private institution of higher education that contains the
person's photograph [official mail addressed to the person by name
from a governmental entity]; or
(7) a valid identification card that contains the
person's photograph and is issued by:
(A) an agency or institution of the federal
government;
(B) an agency, institution, or political
subdivision of this state; or
(C) a tribal organization [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].
SECTION 10. Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.011(a)
and (b), Election Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A person to whom Section 63.001(g) [63.008(b)] or
63.009(a) 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
[shall] be printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot
voted by the person may be placed and must include a space for
entering the identification number of the provisional ballot voted
by the person and a space for an election officer to indicate
whether the person presented proof of identification as required by
Section 63.001(b). The affidavit form may include space for
disclosure of any necessary information to enable the person to
register to vote under Chapter 13. The secretary of state shall
prescribe the form of the affidavit under this section.
SECTION 11. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 65.054(b),
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) A provisional ballot may be accepted only if:
(1) the board determines that, 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; and
(2) the voter presents proof of identification as
required by Section 63.001(b):
(A) at the time the ballot was cast; or
(B) in the period prescribed under Section
65.0541.
SECTION 12. Effective January 1, 2012, Subchapter B,
Chapter 65, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 65.0541 to
read as follows:
Sec. 65.0541. PRESENTATION OF IDENTIFICATION FOR CERTAIN
PROVISIONAL BALLOTS. (a) A voter who is accepted for provisional
voting under Section 63.011 because the voter does not present
proof of identification as required by Section 63.001(b) may, not
later than the seventh business day after the date of the election,
present proof of identification to the voter registrar for
examination by the early voting ballot board.
(b) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures as
necessary to implement this section.
SECTION 13. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 521.422,
Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the [The] fee for
a personal identification certificate is:
(1) $15 for a person under 60 years of age;
(2) $5 for a person 60 years of age or older; and
(3) $20 for a person subject to the registration
requirements under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(d) The department may not collect a fee for a personal
identification certificate issued to a person who:
(1) executes an affidavit stating that the person:
(A) is obtaining the personal identification
certificate for the purpose of satisfying Section 63.001(b),
Election Code; and
(B) does not have another form of photo
identification acceptable under Section 63.0101, Election Code;
and
(2) is:
(A) a registered voter in this state and presents
a valid voter registration certificate; or
(B) eligible for registration under Section
13.001, Election Code, and submits a registration application to
the department.
SECTION 14. Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.006,
63.008, and 63.009(b), Election Code, are repealed.
SECTION 15. As soon as practicable:
(1) the secretary of state shall adopt the training
standards and develop the training materials required to implement
the change in law made by this Act to Section 32.111, Election Code;
and
(2) the county clerk of each county shall provide a
session of training under Section 32.114, Election Code, as amended
by this Act, using the standards adopted and materials developed to
implement the change in law made by this Act to Section 32.111,
Election Code.
SECTION 16. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.