Texas 2021 - 87th 2nd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB216 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	By: Bucy H.B. No. 216
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the procedures for voting after changing residence to
7	7	another county.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 12, Election Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Section 12.007 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 12.007. CERTAIN ELECTION OFFICERS ARE VOTER
12	12	REGISTRARS. An election officer serving a polling place is a deputy
13	13	voter registrar and has the same authority as a regular deputy
14	14	registrar.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 15.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
16	16	read as follows:
17	17	(a) A voter registration certificate may contain an
18	18	explanation of the voter's rights or duties under this code,
19	19	including:
20	20	(1) the procedure by which the voter will receive a
21	21	renewal certificate;
22	22	(2) the necessity of notifying the registrar if the
23	23	voter changes residence;
24	24	(3) the necessity of applying for a new registration
25	25	if the voter changes residence to another county;
26	26	(4) the procedure for voting [period during which the
27	27	voter may vote a limited ballot] after changing residence to
28	28	another county;
29	29	(5) the procedure for voting without a certificate;
30	30	and
31	31	(6) the procedure for obtaining a replacement for a
32	32	lost or destroyed certificate.
33	33	SECTION 3. Section 16.031(a), Election Code, as effective
34	34	September 1, 2021, is amended to read as follows:
35	35	(a) The registrar shall cancel a voter's registration
36	36	immediately on receipt of:
37	37	(1) notice under Section 13.072(b), 15.021, or
38	38	18.0681(d) or a response under Section 15.053 that the voter's
39	39	residence is outside the county;
40	40	(2) an abstract of the voter's death certificate under
41	41	Section 16.001(a) or an abstract of an application indicating that
42	42	the voter is deceased under Section 16.001(b);
43	43	(3) an abstract of a final judgment of the voter's
44	44	total mental incapacity, partial mental incapacity without the
45	45	right to vote, conviction of a felony, or disqualification under
46	46	Section 16.002, 16.003, or 16.004;
47	47	(4) notice under Section 63.007 [112.012] that the
48	48	voter has voted [applied for] a provisional [limited] ballot in
49	49	another county;
50	50	(5) notice from a voter registration official in
51	51	another state that the voter has registered to vote outside this
52	52	state;
53	53	(6) notice from the early voting clerk under Section
54	54	101.053 that a federal postcard application submitted by an
55	55	applicant states a voting residence address located outside the
56	56	registrar's county; or
57	57	(7) notice from the secretary of state that the voter
58	58	has registered to vote in another county, as determined by the
59	59	voter's driver's license number or personal identification card
60	60	number issued by the Department of Public Safety or social security
61	61	number.
62	62	SECTION 4. Chapter 63, Election Code, is amended by adding
63	63	Section 63.007 to read as follows:
64	64	Sec. 63.007. PROVISIONAL VOTING FOR VOTER WHO CHANGED
65	65	COUNTY OF RESIDENCE. (a) After changing residence to another
66	66	county, a person shall be accepted for provisional voting under
67	67	this section if:
68	68	(1) the person would have been eligible to vote in the
69	69	county of former residence on election day if still residing in that
70	70	county;
71	71	(2) the person is registered to vote in the county of
72	72	former residence at the time the person:
73	73	(A) offers to vote in the county of new
74	74	residence; or
75	75	(B) submitted a voter registration application
76	76	in the county of new residence;
77	77	(3) a voter registration for the person in the county
78	78	of new residence is not effective on or before election day; and
79	79	(4) the person offers to vote in the person's new
80	80	county of residence:
81	81	(A) at any polling place during the early voting
82	82	period;
83	83	(B) at any polling place on election day if the
84	84	county participates in the program under Section 43.007; or
85	85	(C) at the polling place of the precinct in which
86	86	the person resides on election day if the county does not
87	87	participate in the program under Section 43.007.
88	88	(b) Not later than the 30th day after the election, the
89	89	voter registrar shall notify the voter registrar for the voter's
90	90	former county of residence that the voter was accepted for voting
91	91	under this section.
92	92	SECTION 5. Section 63.011, Election Code, is amended by
93	93	adding Subsection (a-2) and amending Subsections (b), (b-1), and
94	94	(c) to read as follows:
95	95	(a-2) A person to whom Section 63.007 applies may cast a
96	96	provisional ballot if the person would be eligible to vote in the
97	97	election, but for the requirement to be a registered voter, and
98	98	executes an affidavit stating:
99	99	"I am currently registered to vote in _________ (insert name
100	100	of county) County and have not cast a ballot in that county in this
101	101	election. I understand that doing so is a felony of the second
102	102	degree under Section 64.012, Election Code."
103	103	(b) A form for an affidavit required by this section must be
104	104	printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot voted by the
105	105	person may be placed and must include:
106	106	(1) a space for entering the identification number of
107	107	the provisional ballot voted by the person; [and]
108	108	(2) a space for an election officer to indicate
109	109	whether the person presented a form of identification described by
110	110	Section 63.0101; and
111	111	(3) for a provisional ballot voted by the person under
112	112	Section 63.007, a space for entering:
113	113	(A) the precinct number of the precinct in which
114	114	the voter voted; and
115	115	(B) the name of the county in which the voter is
116	116	registered to vote.
117	117	(b-1) The affidavit form shall [may] include space for
118	118	disclosure of any necessary information to enable the person to
119	119	register to vote under Chapter 13. The secretary of state shall
120	120	prescribe the form of the affidavit under this section.
121	121	(c) After executing the affidavit, the person shall be given
122	122	a provisional ballot for the election. An election officer shall
123	123	record the number of the ballot and, if applicable, the precinct
124	124	number on the space provided on the affidavit.
125	125	SECTION 6. Section 65.054, Election Code, is amended by
126	126	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
127	127	follows:
128	128	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a [A]
129	129	provisional ballot shall be accepted if the board determines that:
130	130	(1) from the information in the affidavit or contained
131	131	in public records, the person is eligible to vote in the election
132	132	and has not previously voted in that election;
133	133	(2) the person:
134	134	(A) meets the identification requirements of
135	135	Section 63.001(b) at the time the ballot was cast or in the period
136	136	prescribed under Section 65.0541;
137	137	(B) notwithstanding Chapter 110, Civil Practice
138	138	and Remedies Code, executes an affidavit under penalty of perjury
139	139	that states the voter has a religious objection to being
140	140	photographed and the voter has consistently refused to be
141	141	photographed for any governmental purpose from the time the voter
142	142	has held this belief; or
143	143	(C) executes an affidavit under penalty of
144	144	perjury that states the voter does not have any identification
145	145	meeting the requirements of Section 63.001(b) as a result of a
146	146	natural disaster that was declared by the president of the United
147	147	States or the governor, occurred not earlier than 45 days before the
148	148	date the ballot was cast, and caused the destruction of or inability
149	149	to access the voter's identification; and
150	150	(3) the voter has not been challenged and voted a
151	151	provisional ballot solely because the voter did not meet the
152	152	requirements for identification prescribed by Section 63.001(b).
153	153	(b-1) A provisional ballot cast under Section 63.007 shall
154	154	be accepted if the board determines from the information in the
155	155	affidavit or contained in public records that the person:
156	156	(1) is registered to vote in the county of the person's
157	157	former residence;
158	158	(2) has not previously voted in the election; and
159	159	(3) is eligible to vote in the election, but for the
160	160	requirement to be a registered voter.
161	161	SECTION 7. Section 65.055, Election Code, is amended by
162	162	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
163	163	(a-1) If the affidavit on the envelope of a provisional
164	164	ballot accepted under Section 65.054(b-1) contains the information
165	165	necessary to enable the person to register to vote under Chapter 13,
166	166	the voter registrar shall make a copy of the affidavit under
167	167	procedures prescribed by the secretary of state. The voter
168	168	registrar shall treat the copy as an application for registration
169	169	under Chapter 13.
170	170	SECTION 8. Section 111.001, Election Code, is amended to
171	171	read as follows:
172	172	Sec. 111.001. RESTRICTED BALLOT. In this subtitle,
173	173	"restricted ballot" means a ballot that is restricted to the
174	174	offices and propositions stating measures on which a person is
175	175	entitled to vote under Chapter [112,] 113[,] or 114.
176	176	SECTION 9. Section 111.009, Election Code, is amended to
177	177	read as follows:
178	178	Sec. 111.009. EXCLUDING VOTER FROM PRECINCT EARLY VOTING
179	179	LIST. The name of a person [voting a limited ballot by personal
180	180	appearance under Chapter 112 or] to whom a [limited or] federal
181	181	ballot to be voted by mail is provided under Chapter [112 or] 114 is
182	182	not required to be included on the precinct early voting list.
183	183	SECTION 10. Section 162.002, Election Code, is amended to
184	184	read as follows:
185	185	Sec. 162.002. ELIGIBILITY TO AFFILIATE. To be eligible to
186	186	affiliate with a political party, a person must be:
187	187	(1) a registered voter; or
188	188	(2) eligible to vote a provisional [limited] ballot
189	189	under Section 63.007 at the time of affiliating.
190	190	SECTION 11. Section 162.005, Election Code, is amended to
191	191	read as follows:
192	192	Sec. 162.005. AFFILIATION PROCEDURE: EARLY VOTING BY MAIL.
193	193	Subject to Section 162.004(a-1), the early voting clerk in a
194	194	general primary election shall provide an affiliation certificate
195	195	with each early voting [or limited] ballot to be voted by mail. The
196	196	certificate is not required to be provided to an applicant for a
197	197	runoff primary ballot unless the applicant requests it.
198	198	SECTION 12. Section 174.003, Election Code, is amended to
199	199	read as follows:
200	200	Sec. 174.003. DELEGATE TO BE QUALIFIED VOTER. In addition
201	201	to the requirement of party affiliation, to be eligible to serve as
202	202	a delegate to a county, senatorial district, or state convention
203	203	held under this chapter, a person must be a qualified voter of the
204	204	territory that the person is selected to represent or a resident of
205	205	that territory who is eligible to vote a provisional [limited]
206	206	ballot under Section 63.007.
207	207	SECTION 13. Section 174.024, Election Code, is amended to
208	208	read as follows:
209	209	Sec. 174.024. PARTICIPANT TO BE REGISTERED VOTER. In
210	210	addition to the requirement of party affiliation, to be eligible to
211	211	participate in a precinct convention held under this subchapter, a
212	212	person must be a registered voter of the precinct or a precinct
213	213	resident who is eligible to vote a provisional [limited] ballot
214	214	under Section 63.007.
215	215	SECTION 14. Section 181.065, Election Code, is amended to
216	216	read as follows:
217	217	Sec. 181.065. PARTICIPANT TO BE REGISTERED VOTER. To be
218	218	eligible to participate in a precinct convention held under this
219	219	chapter, a person must be a registered voter of the precinct or a
220	220	precinct resident who is eligible to vote a provisional [limited]
221	221	ballot under Section 63.007.
222	222	SECTION 15. Chapter 112, Election Code, is repealed.
223	223	SECTION 16. Not later than December 31, 2021, the secretary
224	224	of state shall adopt all necessary rules to implement this Act.
225	225	SECTION 17. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
226	226	this section, this Act takes effect January 31, 2022.
227	227	(b) Section 16 of this Act takes effect immediately if this
228	228	Act receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
229	229	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
230	230	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for Section 16 to
231	231	take effect immediately, that section takes effect on the 91st day
232	232	after the last day of the legislative session.