84R3833 JRJ-D
By: Miller of Fort Bend H.B. No. 1563
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedures for registering to vote.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 13.002, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (j) to read as
follows:
(c) A registration application must include:
(1) the applicant's first name, middle name, if any,
last name, and former name, if any;
(2) the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth;
(3) a statement that the applicant is a United States
citizen;
(4) a statement that the applicant is a resident of the
county;
(5) a statement that the applicant has not been
determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
right to vote;
(6) a statement that the applicant has not been
finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon
eligible for registration under Section 13.001;
(7) the applicant's residence address or, if the
residence has no address, the address at which the applicant
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
applicant's residence;
(8) the following information:
(A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number
or the number of a personal identification card issued by the
Department of Public Safety;
(B) if the applicant has not been issued a number
described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's
social security number; or
(C) a statement by the applicant that the
applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A) or
(B);
(9) if the application is made by an agent, a statement
of the agent's relationship to the applicant; [and]
(10) the city and county in which the applicant
formerly resided; and
(11) a certified copy of a document providing proof
that the applicant is a United States citizen.
(j) The following documentation is acceptable as proof of
citizenship under Subsection (c)(11):
(1) a birth certificate or other document confirming
birth as a citizen of the United States that is admissible in a
court of law;
(2) United States citizenship documents issued to the
applicant;
(3) a United States passport issued to the applicant;
(4) a Bureau of Indian Affairs card number, tribal
treaty number, or tribal enrollment number issued to the applicant;
or
(5) a United States military record of service
indicating the applicant's name and the applicant's place of birth
within the United States.
SECTION 2. Section 13.071(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The registrar shall review each submitted application
for registration to determine whether it complies with Section
13.002 and indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen
eligible for registration.
SECTION 3. Section 13.072(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Unless the registrar challenges the applicant, the
registrar shall approve the application if:
(1) the registrar determines that an application
complies with Section 13.002 and indicates that the applicant is a
United States citizen eligible for registration; and
(2) for an applicant who has not included a statement
described by Section 13.002(c)(8)(C), the registrar verifies with
the secretary of state:
(A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number
or number of a personal identification card issued by the
Department of Public Safety; or
(B) the last four digits of the applicant's
social security number.
SECTION 4. Section 13.121(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The officially prescribed application form for
registration by mail must be in the form of [a] business reply mail
[postcard], unless another form or system is used under Subsection
(b), with postage paid by the state. The secretary of state shall
design the form to enhance the legibility of its contents.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application to register to vote submitted on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.