Texas 2021 - 87th 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HB280 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S10895 SLB-D
2	2	By: Allison H.B. No. 280
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to conduct constituting the criminal offense of election
8	8	fraud; increasing a criminal penalty; creating an offense.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 13.007, Election Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 13.007. FALSE STATEMENT ON APPLICATION. (a) A person
13	13	commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally:
14	14	(1) makes a false statement; or
15	15	(2) requests, commands, coerces, or attempts to induce
16	16	another person to make a false statement on a registration
17	17	application.
18	18	(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
19	19	degree [Class B misdemeanor].
20	20	(c) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
21	21	section also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor
22	22	may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. [For
23	23	purposes of this code, an offense under this section is considered
24	24	to be perjury, but may be prosecuted only under this section.]
25	25	SECTION 2. Section 64.012, Election Code, is amended by
26	26	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read
27	27	as follows:
28	28	(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or
29	29	intentionally:
30	30	(1) votes or attempts to vote in an election in which
31	31	the person knows the person is not eligible to vote;
32	32	(2) [knowingly] votes or attempts to vote more than
33	33	once in an election;
34	34	(3) [knowingly] votes or attempts to vote a ballot
35	35	belonging to another person, or by impersonating another person;
36	36	[or]
37	37	(4) [knowingly] marks or attempts to mark any portion
38	38	of another person's ballot without the consent of that person, or
39	39	without specific direction from that person how to mark the ballot;
40	40	or
41	41	(5) votes or attempts to vote in an election in this
42	42	state after voting in another state in an election in which a
43	43	federal office appears on the ballot and the election day for both
44	44	states is the same day.
45	45	(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
46	46	degree [unless the person is convicted of an attempt. In that case,
47	47	the offense is a state jail felony].
48	48	(c) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
49	49	section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor
50	50	may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.
51	51	SECTION 3. Sections 276.013(a) and (b), Election Code, are
52	52	amended to read as follows:
53	53	(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or
54	54	intentionally makes any effort to:
55	55	(1) influence the independent exercise of the vote of
56	56	another in the presence of the ballot or during the voting process;
57	57	(2) cause a voter to become registered, a ballot to be
58	58	obtained, or a vote to be cast under false pretenses; [or]
59	59	(3) cause any false or intentionally misleading
60	60	statement, representation, or information to be provided:
61	61	(A) to an election official; or
62	62	(B) on an application for ballot by mail, carrier
63	63	envelope, or any other official election-related form or document;
64	64	(4) cause the ballot not to reflect the intent of the
65	65	voter;
66	66	(5) cause a ballot to be voted for another person that
67	67	the person knows to be deceased or otherwise knows not to be a
68	68	qualified or registered voter;
69	69	(6) cause or enable a vote to be cast more than once in
70	70	the same election; or
71	71	(7) discard or destroy a voter's completed ballot
72	72	without the voter's consent.
73	73	(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
74	74	degree, unless:
75	75	(1) the person committed the offense while acting in
76	76	the person's capacity as an elected official, in which case the
77	77	offense is a state jail felony; or
78	78	(2) the person is convicted of an attempt, in which
79	79	case the offense is a felony of the third degree [Class A
80	80	misdemeanor].
81	81	SECTION 4. Chapter 276, Election Code, is amended by adding
82	82	Section 276.018 to read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 276.018. PERJURY IN CONNECTION WITH CERTAIN ELECTION
84	84	PROCEDURES. (a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to
85	85	deceive, the person knowingly or intentionally makes a false
86	86	statement or swears to the truth of a false statement:
87	87	(1) on a voter registration application; or
88	88	(2) previously made while making an oath, declaration,
89	89	or affidavit described by this code.
90	90	(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
91	91	degree.
92	92	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
93	93	an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
94	94	offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
95	95	by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
96	96	law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
97	97	section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
98	98	Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
99	99	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
100	100	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
101	101	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
102	102	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
103	103	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
104	104	legislative session.