86R3244 JRJ-D
By: E. Johnson of Dallas H.B. No. 79
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to voter registration procedures.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 13.002(a) and (b), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person desiring to register to vote must submit an
application to the registrar of the county in which the person
resides. Except as provided by Subsection (e), an application must
be submitted by personal delivery, by mail, electronically through
the official Internet website of this state in accordance with
Section 13.009, or by telephonic facsimile machine in accordance
with Sections 13.143(d) and (d-2).
(b) Except as provided by Section 13.009, a [A] registration
application must be in writing and signed by the applicant.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 13, Election Code, is
amended by adding Sections 13.009 and 13.010 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.009. ELECTRONIC VOTER REGISTRATION. (a) In this
section, "digital signature" means an electronic identifier
intended by the person using it to have the same force and effect as
the use of a manual signature.
(b) An electronically transmitted application for voter
registration issued or received by a registrar is considered signed
if a digital signature is transmitted with the document.
(c) The secretary of state shall implement a program to
allow a person to complete and submit a voter registration
application electronically through the official Internet website
of this state. The Internet websites of the secretary of state and
the Department of Public Safety must also provide a link to the
location of the application on the official Internet website of
this state.
(d) An applicant for electronic voter registration must:
(1) attest to the truth of the information provided on
the application by affirmatively accepting the information as true;
and
(2) submit a digital signature.
(e) An electronically transmitted application for voter
registration submitted under this section is considered for all
purposes an application submitted by mail under this title.
(f) An electronically transmitted application for voter
registration is a written document for all purposes and exempt from
any additional writing requirement under this code.
(g) The use of a digital signature under this section is
subject to criminal laws pertaining to fraud and computer crimes,
including Chapters 32 and 33, Penal Code.
(h) The secretary of state shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this section, including rules to provide for additional
security measures necessary to ensure the accuracy and integrity of
applications for voter registration submitted electronically.
Sec. 13.010. VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC SAFETY. (a) The voter registrar of each county shall
automatically register any county resident who is eligible to vote
as provided by Section 13.001 and:
(1) is issued a Texas driver's license or a personal
identification card by the Department of Public Safety; or
(2) makes a change to a Texas driver's license or
personal identification card issued by the Department of Public
Safety.
(b) A driver's license or personal identification card
transaction with an indication provided by Section 20.062(b) or
20.063(c) that the transaction is not for voter registration
purposes is not subject to this section.
SECTION 3. Section 20.061, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 20.061. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVISIONS. The other
provisions of this chapter apply to the Department of Public Safety
except provisions that conflict with this subchapter or Section
13.010.
SECTION 4. Section 20.062(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The department shall prescribe and use a change of
address form and procedure that combines department and voter
registration functions. The form must allow a licensee or
cardholder to indicate that [whether] the change of address is not
[also to be used] for voter registration purposes.
SECTION 5. Section 20.063, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 20.063. REGISTRATION PROCEDURES. (a) The Department
of Public Safety shall consider an application made in person, by
mail, or online at the department's Internet website [provide to
each person who applies in person at the department's offices] for
an original or renewal of a driver's license, a personal
identification card, or a duplicate or corrected license or card by
a person who is eligible to vote as provided by Section 13.001 an
application for [opportunity to complete a] voter registration.
The date of application is considered to be the date of submission
to the voter registrar for the purpose of determining the effective
date of registration [application form].
(b) The Department of Public Safety shall consider a change
of address that relates to [When the department processes] a
license or card and that is submitted to [for renewal by mail,] the
department [shall deliver to the applicant by mail a voter
registration application form.
[(c) A change of address that relates to a license or card
and that is submitted to the department] in person, [or] by mail, or
online at the department's Internet website [serves] as a change in
[of address for] voter registration [unless the licensee or
cardholder indicates that the change is not for voter registration
purposes]. The date of submission of a change of address to a
department employee is considered to be the date of submission to
the voter registrar for the purpose of determining the effective
date of registration [only].
(c) The registration of an eligible [(d) If a completed]
voter as required by Subsections (a) and (b) is automatic unless the
person indicates that the transaction is not for voter
registration purposes [application submitted to a department
employee does not include the applicant's correct driver's license
number or personal identification card number, a department
employee shall enter the appropriate information on the
application. If a completed application does not include the
applicant's correct residence address or mailing address, a
department employee shall obtain the appropriate information from
the applicant and enter the information on the application].
SECTION 6. Section 20.065(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Each weekday the department is regularly open for
business, the department shall electronically transfer to the
secretary of state the name and information designated by the
secretary of state for [of each person who completes a] voter
registration for each individual who is eligible to vote as
provided by Section 13.001 and applies in person, by mail, or online
at the department's Internet website for an original or renewal of a
driver's license, a personal identification card, or a duplicate or
corrected license or card [application submitted to the
department]. The secretary shall prescribe procedures necessary to
implement this subsection.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.