Texas 2021 - 87th 2nd C.S.

Texas Senate Bill SB73 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87S20100 MLH-F
2	2	By: West, et al. S.B. No. 73
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the procedures for voting after changing residence to
8	8	another county.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 12, Election Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Section 12.007 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 12.007. CERTAIN ELECTION OFFICERS ARE VOTER
13	13	REGISTRARS. An election officer serving a polling place is a deputy
14	14	voter registrar and has the same authority as a regular deputy
15	15	registrar.
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 15.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
17	17	read as follows:
18	18	(a) A voter registration certificate may contain an
19	19	explanation of the voter's rights or duties under this code,
20	20	including:
21	21	(1) the procedure by which the voter will receive a
22	22	renewal certificate;
23	23	(2) the necessity of notifying the registrar if the
24	24	voter changes residence;
25	25	(3) the necessity of applying for a new registration
26	26	if the voter changes residence to another county;
27	27	(4) the procedure for voting [period during which the
28	28	voter may vote a limited ballot] after changing residence to
29	29	another county;
30	30	(5) the procedure for voting without a certificate;
31	31	and
32	32	(6) the procedure for obtaining a replacement for a
33	33	lost or destroyed certificate.
34	34	SECTION 3. Section 16.031(a), Election Code, as effective
35	35	September 1, 2021, is amended to read as follows:
36	36	(a) The registrar shall cancel a voter's registration
37	37	immediately on receipt of:
38	38	(1) notice under Section 13.072(b), 15.021, or
39	39	18.0681(d) or a response under Section 15.053 that the voter's
40	40	residence is outside the county;
41	41	(2) an abstract of the voter's death certificate under
42	42	Section 16.001(a) or an abstract of an application indicating that
43	43	the voter is deceased under Section 16.001(b);
44	44	(3) an abstract of a final judgment of the voter's
45	45	total mental incapacity, partial mental incapacity without the
46	46	right to vote, conviction of a felony, or disqualification under
47	47	Section 16.002, 16.003, or 16.004;
48	48	(4) notice under Section 63.007 [112.012] that the
49	49	voter has voted [applied for] a provisional [limited] ballot in
50	50	another county;
51	51	(5) notice from a voter registration official in
52	52	another state that the voter has registered to vote outside this
53	53	state;
54	54	(6) notice from the early voting clerk under Section
55	55	101.053 that a federal postcard application submitted by an
56	56	applicant states a voting residence address located outside the
57	57	registrar's county; or
58	58	(7) notice from the secretary of state that the voter
59	59	has registered to vote in another county, as determined by the
60	60	voter's driver's license number or personal identification card
61	61	number issued by the Department of Public Safety or social security
62	62	number.
63	63	SECTION 4. Chapter 63, Election Code, is amended by adding
64	64	Section 63.007 to read as follows:
65	65	Sec. 63.007. PROVISIONAL VOTING FOR VOTER WHO CHANGED
66	66	COUNTY OF RESIDENCE. (a) After changing residence to another
67	67	county, a person shall be accepted for provisional voting under
68	68	this section if:
69	69	(1) the person would have been eligible to vote in the
70	70	county of former residence on election day if still residing in that
71	71	county;
72	72	(2) the person is registered to vote in the county of
73	73	former residence at the time the person:
74	74	(A) offers to vote in the county of new
75	75	residence; or
76	76	(B) submitted a voter registration application
77	77	in the county of new residence;
78	78	(3) a voter registration for the person in the county
79	79	of new residence is not effective on or before election day; and
80	80	(4) the person offers to vote in the person's new
81	81	county of residence:
82	82	(A) at any polling place during the early voting
83	83	period;
84	84	(B) at any polling place on election day if the
85	85	county participates in the program under Section 43.007; or
86	86	(C) at the polling place of the precinct in which
87	87	the person resides on election day if the county does not
88	88	participate in the program under Section 43.007.
89	89	(b) Not later than the 30th day after the election, the
90	90	voter registrar shall notify the voter registrar for the voter's
91	91	former county of residence that the voter was accepted for voting
92	92	under this section.
93	93	SECTION 5. Section 63.011, Election Code, is amended by
94	94	adding Subsection (a-2) and amending Subsections (b), (b-1), and
95	95	(c) to read as follows:
96	96	(a-2) A person to whom Section 63.007 applies may cast a
97	97	provisional ballot if the person would be eligible to vote in the
98	98	election, but for the requirement to be a registered voter, and
99	99	executes an affidavit stating:
100	100	"I am currently registered to vote in _________ (insert name
101	101	of county) County and have not cast a ballot in that county in this
102	102	election. I understand that doing so is a felony of the second
103	103	degree under Section 64.012, Election Code."
104	104	(b) A form for an affidavit required by this section must be
105	105	printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot voted by the
106	106	person may be placed and must include:
107	107	(1) a space for entering the identification number of
108	108	the provisional ballot voted by the person; [and]
109	109	(2) a space for an election officer to indicate
110	110	whether the person presented a form of identification described by
111	111	Section 63.0101; and
112	112	(3) for a provisional ballot voted by the person under
113	113	Section 63.007, a space for entering:
114	114	(A) the precinct number of the precinct in which
115	115	the voter voted; and
116	116	(B) the name of the county in which the voter is
117	117	registered to vote.
118	118	(b-1) The affidavit form shall [may] include space for
119	119	disclosure of any necessary information to enable the person to
120	120	register to vote under Chapter 13. The secretary of state shall
121	121	prescribe the form of the affidavit under this section.
122	122	(c) After executing the affidavit, the person shall be given
123	123	a provisional ballot for the election. An election officer shall
124	124	record the number of the ballot and, if applicable, the precinct
125	125	number on the space provided on the affidavit.
126	126	SECTION 6. Section 65.054, Election Code, is amended by
127	127	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
128	128	follows:
129	129	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a [A]
130	130	provisional ballot shall be accepted if the board determines that:
131	131	(1) from the information in the affidavit or contained
132	132	in public records, the person is eligible to vote in the election
133	133	and has not previously voted in that election;
134	134	(2) the person:
135	135	(A) meets the identification requirements of
136	136	Section 63.001(b) at the time the ballot was cast or in the period
137	137	prescribed under Section 65.0541;
138	138	(B) notwithstanding Chapter 110, Civil Practice
139	139	and Remedies Code, executes an affidavit under penalty of perjury
140	140	that states the voter has a religious objection to being
141	141	photographed and the voter has consistently refused to be
142	142	photographed for any governmental purpose from the time the voter
143	143	has held this belief; or
144	144	(C) executes an affidavit under penalty of
145	145	perjury that states the voter does not have any identification
146	146	meeting the requirements of Section 63.001(b) as a result of a
147	147	natural disaster that was declared by the president of the United
148	148	States or the governor, occurred not earlier than 45 days before the
149	149	date the ballot was cast, and caused the destruction of or inability
150	150	to access the voter's identification; and
151	151	(3) the voter has not been challenged and voted a
152	152	provisional ballot solely because the voter did not meet the
153	153	requirements for identification prescribed by Section 63.001(b).
154	154	(b-1) A provisional ballot cast under Section 63.007 shall
155	155	be accepted if the board determines from the information in the
156	156	affidavit or contained in public records that the person:
157	157	(1) is registered to vote in the county of the person's
158	158	former residence;
159	159	(2) has not previously voted in the election; and
160	160	(3) is eligible to vote in the election, but for the
161	161	requirement to be a registered voter.
162	162	SECTION 7. Section 65.055, Election Code, is amended by
163	163	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
164	164	(a-1) If the affidavit on the envelope of a provisional
165	165	ballot accepted under Section 65.054(b-1) contains the information
166	166	necessary to enable the person to register to vote under Chapter 13,
167	167	the voter registrar shall make a copy of the affidavit under
168	168	procedures prescribed by the secretary of state. The voter
169	169	registrar shall treat the copy as an application for registration
170	170	under Chapter 13.
171	171	SECTION 8. Section 111.001, Election Code, is amended to
172	172	read as follows:
173	173	Sec. 111.001. RESTRICTED BALLOT. In this subtitle,
174	174	"restricted ballot" means a ballot that is restricted to the
175	175	offices and propositions stating measures on which a person is
176	176	entitled to vote under Chapter [112,] 113[,] or 114.
177	177	SECTION 9. Section 111.009, Election Code, is amended to
178	178	read as follows:
179	179	Sec. 111.009. EXCLUDING VOTER FROM PRECINCT EARLY VOTING
180	180	LIST. The name of a person [voting a limited ballot by personal
181	181	appearance under Chapter 112 or] to whom a [limited or] federal
182	182	ballot to be voted by mail is provided under Chapter [112 or] 114 is
183	183	not required to be included on the precinct early voting list.
184	184	SECTION 10. Section 162.002, Election Code, is amended to
185	185	read as follows:
186	186	Sec. 162.002. ELIGIBILITY TO AFFILIATE. To be eligible to
187	187	affiliate with a political party, a person must be:
188	188	(1) a registered voter; or
189	189	(2) eligible to vote a provisional [limited] ballot
190	190	under Section 63.007 at the time of affiliating.
191	191	SECTION 11. Section 162.005, Election Code, is amended to
192	192	read as follows:
193	193	Sec. 162.005. AFFILIATION PROCEDURE: EARLY VOTING BY MAIL.
194	194	Subject to Section 162.004(a-1), the early voting clerk in a
195	195	general primary election shall provide an affiliation certificate
196	196	with each early voting [or limited] ballot to be voted by mail. The
197	197	certificate is not required to be provided to an applicant for a
198	198	runoff primary ballot unless the applicant requests it.
199	199	SECTION 12. Section 174.003, Election Code, is amended to
200	200	read as follows:
201	201	Sec. 174.003. DELEGATE TO BE QUALIFIED VOTER. In addition
202	202	to the requirement of party affiliation, to be eligible to serve as
203	203	a delegate to a county, senatorial district, or state convention
204	204	held under this chapter, a person must be a qualified voter of the
205	205	territory that the person is selected to represent or a resident of
206	206	that territory who is eligible to vote a provisional [limited]
207	207	ballot under Section 63.007.
208	208	SECTION 13. Section 174.024, Election Code, is amended to
209	209	read as follows:
210	210	Sec. 174.024. PARTICIPANT TO BE REGISTERED VOTER. In
211	211	addition to the requirement of party affiliation, to be eligible to
212	212	participate in a precinct convention held under this subchapter, a
213	213	person must be a registered voter of the precinct or a precinct
214	214	resident who is eligible to vote a provisional [limited] ballot
215	215	under Section 63.007.
216	216	SECTION 14. Section 181.065, Election Code, is amended to
217	217	read as follows:
218	218	Sec. 181.065. PARTICIPANT TO BE REGISTERED VOTER. To be
219	219	eligible to participate in a precinct convention held under this
220	220	chapter, a person must be a registered voter of the precinct or a
221	221	precinct resident who is eligible to vote a provisional [limited]
222	222	ballot under Section 63.007.
223	223	SECTION 15. Chapter 112, Election Code, is repealed.
224	224	SECTION 16. Not later than December 31, 2021, the secretary
225	225	of state shall adopt all necessary rules to implement this Act.
226	226	SECTION 17. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
227	227	this section, this Act takes effect January 31, 2022.
228	228	(b) Section 16 of this Act takes effect immediately if this
229	229	Act receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
230	230	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
231	231	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for Section 16 to
232	232	take effect immediately, that section takes effect on the 91st day
233	233	after the last day of the legislative session.