Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3686 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R10178 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Swanson H.B. No. 3686
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the acceptance of a voter at a polling place; creating
8	8	an offense; increasing a criminal penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 63.001, Election Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (i) to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	(g) If the requirements for identification prescribed by
14	14	Subsection (b) are not met or the documentation presented by a voter
15	15	under Subsection (b) is not documentation listed under Section
16	16	63.0101 containing the voter's photograph, the voter may be
17	17	accepted for provisional voting only under Section 63.011. For a
18	18	voter who is not accepted for voting under this section, an election
19	19	officer [shall]:
20	20	(1) shall inform the voter of the voter's right to cast
21	21	a provisional ballot under Section 63.011; [and]
22	22	(2) shall provide the voter with written information,
23	23	in a form prescribed by the secretary of state, that:
24	24	(A) lists the requirements for identification;
25	25	(B) states the procedure for presenting
26	26	identification under Section 65.0541;
27	27	(C) includes a map showing the location where
28	28	identification must be presented; and
29	29	(D) includes notice that if all procedures are
30	30	followed and the voter is found to be eligible to vote and is voting
31	31	in the correct precinct, the voter's provisional ballot will be
32	32	accepted; and
33	33	(3) may, according to the policy of the county in which
34	34	the election officer serves, photograph the entire face of the
35	35	voter using secure equipment and software provided by the county
36	36	election board.
37	37	(i) A photograph of a voter obtained under Subsection (g)(3)
38	38	may not be used for the purposes of accepting a voter under
39	39	Subsection (b).
40	40	SECTION 2. Section 63.006(b), Election Code, is amended to
41	41	read as follows:
42	42	(b) After the voter is accepted, an election officer shall[:
43	43	[(1)] indicate beside the voter's name on the poll list
44	44	that the voter was accepted under this section[; and
45	45	[(2) enter the voter's name on the registration
46	46	omissions list].
47	47	SECTION 3. Section 63.012, Election Code, is amended to
48	48	read as follows:
49	49	Sec. 63.012. UNLAWFULLY ACCEPTING OR REFUSING TO ACCEPT
50	50	VOTER. (a) An election officer commits an offense if the officer
51	51	knowingly:
52	52	(1) permits an ineligible voter to vote other than as
53	53	provided by Section 63.011; [or]
54	54	(2) refuses to accept a person for voting whose
55	55	acceptance is required by this code; or
56	56	(3) permits an ineligible person to vote under Section
57	57	63.006.
58	58	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an [An] offense
59	59	under this section is a Class A [B] misdemeanor.
60	60	(c) If it is shown on the trial of an offense under
61	61	Subsection (a)(3) that the election officer has committed three or
62	62	more offenses under Subsection (a)(3), the offense is a state jail
63	63	felony.
64	64	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act to Section
65	65	63.012, Election Code, applies only to an offense committed on or
66	66	after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before
67	67	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at
68	68	the time of the offense, and the former law is continued in effect
69	69	for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was
70	70	committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
71	71	the offense occurred before that date.
72	72	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.