By: Bonnen of Galveston, et al. H.B. No. 1927
(Senate Sponsor - Huffman)
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2015;
May 6, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 21, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1927 By: Birdwell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedures for applying for a ballot to be voted by
mail; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 84.001(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) An applicant for a ballot to be voted by mail may apply
for ballots for the main election and any resulting runoff election
on the same application. If an [The timeliness of the application
for both elections is determined in relation to the main election.
However, if the] application for the main election and any
resulting runoff is not timely for the main election, it will be
considered timely for any resulting runoff if received not later
than the deadline, determined using the date of the runoff
election, for submitting a regular application for a ballot to be
voted by mail [the timeliness of the application for the runoff
election is determined in relation to that election].
SECTION 2. Section 84.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if:
(1) [, in the same election,] the person signs an
[early voting ballot] application for a ballot to be voted by mail
as a witness for more than one applicant in the same election; or
(2) the person signs an application for annual ballots
by mail as a witness for more than one applicant in the same
calendar year.
SECTION 3. Section 84.007, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read
as follows:
(b) An application must be submitted to the early voting
clerk by:
(1) mail;
(2) common or contract carrier; [or]
(3) telephonic facsimile machine, if a machine is
available in the clerk's office; or
(4) electronic transmission of a scanned application
containing an original signature.
(c) Except as provided by Section 86.0015(b), an [An]
application may [must] be submitted at any time in the year of the
election for which a ballot is requested, but not later than [on or
after the 60th day before election day and before] the close of
regular business in the early voting clerk's office or 12 noon,
whichever is later, on the 11th [ninth] day before election day
unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state or national
holiday, in which case the last day is the first preceding regular
business day.
(e) The early voting clerk shall designate an e-mail address
for receipt of an application under Subsection (b)(4). The
secretary of state shall include the e-mail addresses on the
secretary of state's website.
SECTION 4. Section 84.011(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The officially prescribed application form for an early
voting ballot must include:
(1) immediately preceding the signature space the
statement: "I certify that the information given in this
application is true, and I understand that giving false information
in this application is a crime.";
(2) a statement informing the applicant of the
offenses prescribed by Sections 84.003 and 84.004;
(3) spaces for entering an applicant's voter
registration number and county election precinct of registration,
with a statement informing the applicant that failure to furnish
that information does not invalidate the application; and
(4) on an application for a ballot to be voted by mail:
(A) a space for an applicant applying on the
ground of absence from the county of residence to indicate the date
on or after which the applicant can receive mail at the address
outside the county;
(B) a space for indicating the fact that an
applicant whose application is signed by a witness cannot make the
applicant's mark and a space for indicating the relationship or
lack of relationship of the witness to the applicant;
(C) a space for entering an applicant's telephone
number, with a statement informing the applicant that failure to
furnish that information does not invalidate the application;
(D) a space or box for an applicant applying on
the ground of age or disability to indicate that the address to
which the ballot is to be mailed is the address of a facility or
relative described by Section 84.002(a)(3), if applicable;
(E) a space or box for an applicant applying on
the ground of confinement in jail to indicate that the address to
which the ballot is to be mailed is the address of a relative
described by Section 84.002(a)(4), if applicable;
(F) a space for an applicant applying on the
ground of age or disability to indicate if the application is an
application under Section 86.0015;
(G) spaces for entering the signature, printed
name, and residence address of any person assisting the applicant;
(H) [(G)] a statement informing the applicant of
the condition prescribed by Section 81.005; and
(I) [(H)] a statement informing the applicant of
the requirement prescribed by Section 86.003(c).
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 84, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 84.038 to read as follows:
Sec. 84.038. CANCELLATION EFFECTIVE FOR SINGLE ELECTION.
The cancellation of an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
under Section 84.032(c), (d), or (e) is effective for a single
ballot only and does not cancel the application with respect to a
subsequent election, including a subsequent election to which the
same application applies under Section 84.001(e) or 86.0015(b).
SECTION 6. Section 86.0015, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 86.0015. ANNUAL BALLOTS BY MAIL [APPLYING FOR MORE
THAN ONE ELECTION IN SAME APPLICATION]. (a) This section applies
only to an application for a ballot to be voted by mail that:
(1) indicates [is submitted to the county clerk
indicating] the ground of eligibility is age or disability; and
(2) does not specify the election for which a ballot is
requested or has been marked by the applicant as an application for
more than one election.
(b) An application described by Subsection (a) is
considered to be an application for a ballot for each election,
including any ensuing runoff [in which the county clerk serves as
early voting clerk and]:
(1) in which the applicant is eligible to vote; and
(2) that occurs before the earlier of:
(A) except as provided by Subsection (b-2), the
end of the calendar year in which the application was submitted;
[or]
(B) the date the county clerk receives notice
from the voter registrar under Subsection (f) [(d)] that the voter
has changed residence to another county; or
(C) the date the voter's registration is canceled
[submitted a change in registration information].
(b-1) An application submitted under this section must be
submitted before the close of regular business in the early voting
clerk's office or 12 noon, whichever is later, on the 11th day
before election day unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
state or national holiday, in which case the last day is the first
preceding regular business day.
(b-2) An application is considered to be submitted in the
following calendar year for purposes of this section if:
(1) the applicant is eligible to vote in an election
occurring in January or February of the next calendar year; and
(2) the application is submitted in the last 60 days of
a calendar year but not earlier than the 60th day before the date of
the January or February election.
(c) In an election of a political subdivision located in a
county in which the county clerk is not the early voting clerk, the
county clerk shall provide the early voting clerk of the political
subdivision that is holding the election a list of voters in the
portion of the political subdivision located in the county who have
ballot applications on file under this section. The early voting
clerk shall provide a ballot to be voted by mail to each voter on the
list.
(d) The secretary of state shall provide a method by which
counties and political subdivisions located in the county can
exchange and update information on applications received under this
section.
(e) An application described by Subsection (a) shall be
preserved for the period for preserving the precinct election
records for the last election for which the application is
effective.
(f) [(d)] The voter registrar shall notify the county clerk
when a voter's voter registration has been canceled or a voter's
address or name has changed [following the receipt of a notice of a
change in registration information under Section 15.021]. The
county clerk must update any list of voters who have ballot
applications on file under this section based on the information
received from the voter registrar. A voter's ballot application on
file under this section may not be canceled if a correction in
registration information for the voter is a change of address
within the county in which the voter is registered or a change of
the voter's name.
SECTION 7. Section 86.006, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) A marked ballot voted under this chapter must be
returned to the early voting clerk in the official carrier
envelope. The carrier envelope may be delivered in another
envelope and must be transported and delivered only by:
(1) mail;
(2) [or by] common or contract carrier; or
(3) subject to Subsection (a-1), in-person delivery by
the voter who voted the ballot.
(a-1) The voter may deliver a marked ballot in person to the
early voting clerk's office only while the polls are open on
election day. A voter who delivers a marked ballot in person must
present an acceptable form of identification described by Section
63.0101.
SECTION 8. Section 84.009(b), Election Code, is repealed.
SECTION 9. Not later than January 1, 2016, the secretary of
state shall make the modifications to the official application form
for a ballot to be voted early by mail, as required by Section
84.011(a), Election Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 10. This Act applies only to an application for a
ballot to be voted by mail submitted on or after January 1, 2016.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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