| 1 | 1 | | 86R9110 ADM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Dean H.B. No. 1817 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to assistance provided to a person applying for an early |
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| 8 | 8 | | voting ballot or voting an early voting ballot by mail; increasing a |
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| 9 | 9 | | criminal penalty. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 84.003(c), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony |
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| 14 | 14 | | [Class A misdemeanor]. |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 2. Sections 86.010(c) and (e), Election Code, are |
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| 16 | 16 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (c) The person assisting the voter must sign a written oath |
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| 18 | 18 | | [prescribed by Section 64.034] that is part of the certificate on |
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| 19 | 19 | | the official carrier envelope. The text of the oath must read as |
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| 20 | 20 | | follows: |
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| 21 | 21 | | "I swear (or affirm) that I will not suggest, by word, sign, |
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| 22 | 22 | | or gesture, how the voter should vote; I will confine my assistance |
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| 23 | 23 | | to answering the voter's questions, to stating propositions on the |
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| 24 | 24 | | ballot, and to naming candidates and, if listed, their political |
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| 25 | 25 | | parties; I will prepare the voter's ballot as the voter directs; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | I am not the voter's employer, an agent of the voter's employer, or |
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| 27 | 27 | | an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs. I |
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| 28 | 28 | | understand that if I violate these requirements, I am committing a |
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| 29 | 29 | | criminal offense." |
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| 30 | 30 | | (e) A person who assists a voter to prepare a ballot to be |
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| 31 | 31 | | voted by mail shall enter the person's signature, printed name, |
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| 32 | 32 | | [and] residence address, and the manner in which the person |
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| 33 | 33 | | assisted the voter on the official carrier envelope of the voter. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 3. Section 86.013(b), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 35 | 35 | | read as follows: |
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| 36 | 36 | | (b) Spaces must appear on the reverse side of the official |
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| 37 | 37 | | carrier envelope for: |
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| 38 | 38 | | (1) indicating the identity and date of the election; |
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| 39 | 39 | | [and] |
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| 40 | 40 | | (2) entering the signature, printed name, and |
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| 41 | 41 | | residence address of a person other than the voter who deposits the |
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| 42 | 42 | | carrier envelope in the mail or with a common or contract carrier; |
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| 43 | 43 | | and |
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| 44 | 44 | | (3) indicating the manner of any assistance provided |
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| 45 | 45 | | by a person assisting the voter. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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