Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1926 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R13650 JRJ-F
2	2	By: Fallon S.B. No. 1926
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the procedures for accepting certain voters without
8	8	photo identification; providing for additional elements and
9	9	prosecutorial authority to related offenses.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Sections 63.001(b), (d), (e), (f), and (i),
12	12	Election Code, are amended to read as follows:
13	13	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (h), on offering to
14	14	vote, a voter must present to an election officer at the polling
15	15	place:
16	16	(1) one form of photo identification listed in Section
17	17	63.0101(a); or
18	18	(2) one form of identification listed in Section
19	19	63.0101(b) accompanied by the affidavit [declaration] described by
20	20	Subsection (i).
21	21	(d) If, as determined under Subsection (c), the voter's name
22	22	is on the precinct list of registered voters and the voter's
23	23	identity can be verified from the documentation presented under
24	24	Subsection (b), the voter shall be accepted for voting. [An
25	25	election officer may not question the reasonableness of an
26	26	impediment sworn to by a voter in a declaration described by
27	27	Subsection (i).]
28	28	(e) On accepting a voter, an election officer shall indicate
29	29	beside the voter's name on the list of registered voters that the
30	30	voter is accepted for voting. If the voter executes a [declaration
31	31	of] reasonable impediment affidavit to meet the requirement for
32	32	identification under Subsection (b), the election officer must
33	33	affix the voter's voter registration number to the affidavit
34	34	[declaration] either in numeric or bar code form.
35	35	(f) After determining whether to accept a voter, an election
36	36	officer shall return the voter's documentation to the voter. The
37	37	election officer may make photographic evidence of the voter's
38	38	documentation before returning it to the voter.
39	39	(i) If the requirement for identification prescribed by
40	40	Subsection (b)(1) is not met, an election officer shall notify the
41	41	voter that the voter may be accepted for provisional voting only
42	42	under Section 63.011 if the voter meets the requirement for
43	43	identification prescribed by Subsection (b)(2) and executes an
44	44	affidavit swearing [a declaration declaring] the voter has a
45	45	reasonable impediment to meeting the requirement for
46	46	identification prescribed by Subsection (b)(1). An election
47	47	officer shall indicate on the envelope in which the voter's
48	48	provisional ballot is placed that the voter was accepted for voting
49	49	under this subsection. A person is subject to prosecution for
50	50	perjury under Chapter 37, Penal Code, or Section 63.0013 for a false
51	51	statement or false information on the affidavit. The election
52	52	officer shall orally notify the voter that the voter may be
53	53	prosecuted for a crime if the voter's claims are not true or the
54	54	voter has been issued a form of identification listed in Section
55	55	63.0101(a) if the impediment indicated by the voter is an
56	56	impediment other than described by Subdivision (3)(D)
57	57	[declaration]. The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of
58	58	the affidavit [declaration]. The form shall include:
59	59	(1) a notice that a person is subject to prosecution
60	60	for perjury under Chapter 37, Penal Code, or Section 63.0013 for a
61	61	false statement or false information on the declaration;
62	62	(2) a statement that the voter swears or affirms that
63	63	the information contained in the declaration is true, that the
64	64	person described in the declaration is the same person appearing at
65	65	the polling place to sign the declaration, and that the voter faces
66	66	a reasonable impediment to procuring the identification prescribed
67	67	by Subsection (b)(1);
68	68	(3) a place for the voter to indicate one of the
69	69	following impediments:
70	70	(A) lack of transportation;
71	71	(B) lack of birth certificate or other documents
72	72	needed to obtain the identification prescribed by Subsection
73	73	(b)(1);
74	74	(C) work schedule;
75	75	(D) lost or stolen identification;
76	76	(E) disability or illness;
77	77	(F) family responsibilities; and
78	78	(G) the identification prescribed by Subsection
79	79	(b)(1) has been applied for but not received;
80	80	(4) a place for the voter to sign and date the
81	81	declaration;
82	82	(5) a place for the election judge to sign and date the
83	83	declaration;
84	84	(6) a place to note the polling place at which the
85	85	declaration is signed; and
86	86	(7) a place for the election judge to note which form
87	87	of identification prescribed by Subsection (b)(2) the voter
88	88	presented.
89	89	SECTION 2. Section 63.0013, Election Code, as added by
90	90	Chapter 410 (S.B. 5), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular
91	91	Session, 2017, is amended to read as follows:
92	92	Sec. 63.0013. FALSE STATEMENT ON [DECLARATION OF]
93	93	REASONABLE IMPEDIMENT AFFIDAVIT. (a) A person commits an offense
94	94	if the person intentionally makes a false statement or provides
95	95	false information on an affidavit [a declaration] executed under
96	96	Section 63.001(i) or encourages or enables another to do so.
97	97	(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
98	98	SECTION 3. Section 63.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
99	99	read as follows:
100	100	(a) The secretary of state may prescribe forms that combine
101	101	the poll list, the signature roster, or any other form used in
102	102	connection with the acceptance of voters at polling places with
103	103	each other or with the list of registered voters. The secretary
104	104	shall prescribe any special instructions necessary for using the
105	105	combination forms. The combination forms must include space for an
106	106	election officer to indicate whether a voter executed a
107	107	[declaration of] reasonable impediment affidavit under Section
108	108	63.001(i).
109	109	SECTION 4. Sections 63.011(a) and (b), Election Code, are
110	110	amended to read as follows:
111	111	(a) A person to whom Section 63.001(g) or (i) or 63.009
112	112	applies may cast a provisional ballot if the person executes an
113	113	affidavit stating that the person:
114	114	(1) is a registered voter in the precinct in which the
115	115	person seeks to vote; and
116	116	(2) is eligible to vote in the election.
117	117	(b) A form for an affidavit required by this section must be
118	118	printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot voted by the
119	119	person may be placed and must include:
120	120	(1) a space for entering the identification number of
121	121	the provisional ballot voted by the person; [and]
122	122	(2) a space for an election officer to indicate
123	123	whether the person presented a form of identification described by
124	124	Section 63.0101(a); and
125	125	(3) a space for an election officer to indicate
126	126	whether the person was accepted for voting under Section 63.001(i)
127	127	[63.0101].
128	128	SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 65, Election Code, is
129	129	amended by adding Section 65.0521 to read as follows:
130	130	Sec. 65.0521. DUTY OF SECRETARY OF STATE. The secretary of
131	131	state shall prescribe procedures to establish a web portal by which
132	132	the early voting ballot board of the county in which a provisional
133	133	ballot is cast may search information provided to the secretary of
134	134	state by the Department of Public Safety to verify that a voter who
135	135	was accepted for voting under Section 63.001(i) and cast a
136	136	provisional ballot has not been issued identification by the
137	137	Department of Public Safety if the impediment indicated by the
138	138	voter is an impediment other than described by Section
139	139	63.001(i)(3)(D).
140	140	SECTION 6. Section 65.054, Election Code, is amended by
141	141	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
142	142	follows:
143	143	(b) A provisional ballot shall be accepted if the board
144	144	determines that:
145	145	(1) from the information in the affidavit or contained
146	146	in public records, the person is eligible to vote in the election
147	147	and has not previously voted in that election;
148	148	(2) the person:
149	149	(A) meets the identification requirements of
150	150	Section 63.001(b)(1) [63.001(b)] at the time the ballot was cast or
151	151	in the period prescribed under Section 65.0541 or meets the
152	152	identification requirements of Section 63.001(b)(2) at the time the
153	153	ballot was cast and the board verifies the person under Section
154	154	65.0521;
155	155	(B) notwithstanding Chapter 110, Civil Practice
156	156	and Remedies Code, executes an affidavit under penalty of perjury
157	157	that states the voter has a religious objection to being
158	158	photographed and the voter has consistently refused to be
159	159	photographed for any governmental purpose from the time the voter
160	160	has held this belief; or
161	161	(C) executes an affidavit under penalty of
162	162	perjury that states the voter does not have any identification
163	163	meeting the requirements of Section 63.001(b) as a result of a
164	164	natural disaster that was declared by the president of the United
165	165	States or the governor, occurred not earlier than 45 days before the
166	166	date the ballot was cast, and caused the destruction of or inability
167	167	to access the voter's identification; and
168	168	(3) the voter has not been challenged and voted a
169	169	provisional ballot solely because the voter did not meet the
170	170	requirements for identification prescribed by Section 63.001(b)(1)
171	171	[63.001(b)].
172	172	(e) If the board determines that a voter who was accepted
173	173	for voting under Section 63.001(i) and cast a provisional ballot
174	174	has been issued identification by the Department of Public Safety
175	175	and Subsections (b)(2)(B) and (C) do not apply, the board shall
176	176	notify the county or district attorney and the attorney general for
177	177	prosecution.
178	178	SECTION 7. Section 272.011(b), Election Code, is amended to
179	179	read as follows:
180	180	(b) The secretary of state shall prepare the translation for
181	181	election materials required to be provided in a language other than
182	182	English or Spanish for the following state prescribed voter forms:
183	183	(1) voter registration application form required by
184	184	Section 13.002;
185	185	(2) the confirmation form required by Section 15.051;
186	186	(3) the voting instruction poster required by Section
187	187	62.011;
188	188	(4) the reasonable impediment affidavit [declaration]
189	189	required by Section 63.001(b);
190	190	(5) the statement of residence form required by
191	191	Section 63.0011;
192	192	(6) the provisional ballot affidavit required by
193	193	Section 63.011;
194	194	(7) the application for a ballot by mail required by
195	195	Section 84.011;
196	196	(8) the carrier envelope and voting instructions
197	197	required by Section 86.013; and
198	198	(9) any other voter forms that the secretary of state
199	199	identifies as frequently used and for which state resources are
200	200	otherwise available.
201	201	SECTION 8. Section 273.021, Election Code, is amended by
202	202	adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to read as
203	203	follows:
204	204	(a-1) The attorney general may prosecute an offense under
205	205	Section 63.0013 or an offense of perjury under Chapter 37, Penal
206	206	Code, if the offense was committed in relation to voting under
207	207	Section 63.001(i).
208	208	(b) The attorney general may appear before a grand jury in
209	209	connection with an offense the attorney general is authorized to
210	210	prosecute under Subsection (a) or (a-1).
211	211	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.