| 1 | 1 | | 88R7353 LRM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Leo-Wilson H.B. No. 2123 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to verifying the citizenship of an applicant for voter |
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| 8 | 8 | | registration; creating a criminal offense. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 13.002(c), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (c) A registration application must include: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (1) the applicant's first name, middle name, if any, |
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| 14 | 14 | | last name, and former name, if any; |
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| 15 | 15 | | (2) the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth; |
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| 16 | 16 | | (3) a statement that the applicant is a United States |
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| 17 | 17 | | citizen and, if the applicant is not registering under Subchapter |
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| 18 | 18 | | C, Chapter 20, a copy of one of the following documents or an |
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| 19 | 19 | | initialed acknowledgment by a volunteer deputy registrar that one |
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| 20 | 20 | | of the following documents has been presented: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (A) a United States passport or passport card |
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| 22 | 22 | | issued to the person; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (B) a certified copy of a birth certificate |
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| 24 | 24 | | issued by a United States state or territory, or the District of |
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| 25 | 25 | | Columbia; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (C) United States citizenship papers issued to |
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| 27 | 27 | | the person; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (D) identification issued by the agency of the |
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| 29 | 29 | | United States responsible for citizenship and immigration; or |
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| 30 | 30 | | (E) for citizens born abroad, a certificate of |
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| 31 | 31 | | report of birth or consular report of birth abroad issued by the |
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| 32 | 32 | | United States Department of State; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (4) a statement that the applicant is a resident of the |
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| 34 | 34 | | county; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (5) a statement that the applicant has not been |
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| 36 | 36 | | determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate |
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| 37 | 37 | | jurisdiction to be: |
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| 38 | 38 | | (A) totally mentally incapacitated; or |
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| 39 | 39 | | (B) partially mentally incapacitated without the |
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| 40 | 40 | | right to vote; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (6) a statement that the applicant has not been |
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| 42 | 42 | | finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon |
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| 43 | 43 | | eligible for registration under Section 13.001; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (7) the applicant's residence address or, if the |
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| 45 | 45 | | residence has no address, the address at which the applicant |
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| 46 | 46 | | receives mail and a concise description of the location of the |
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| 47 | 47 | | applicant's residence; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (8) the following information: |
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| 49 | 49 | | (A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number |
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| 50 | 50 | | or the number of a personal identification card issued by the |
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| 51 | 51 | | Department of Public Safety; |
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| 52 | 52 | | (B) if the applicant has not been issued a number |
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| 53 | 53 | | described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's |
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| 54 | 54 | | social security number; or |
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| 55 | 55 | | (C) a statement by the applicant that the |
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| 56 | 56 | | applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A) or |
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| 57 | 57 | | (B); |
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| 58 | 58 | | (9) if the application is made by an agent, a statement |
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| 59 | 59 | | of the agent's relationship to the applicant; and |
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| 60 | 60 | | (10) the city and county in which the applicant |
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| 61 | 61 | | formerly resided. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 2. Section 13.039, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 63 | 63 | | read as follows: |
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| 64 | 64 | | Sec. 13.039. REVIEW OF APPLICATION. (a) On receipt of a |
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| 65 | 65 | | registration application, a volunteer deputy registrar shall |
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| 66 | 66 | | review it for completeness in the applicant's presence and verify |
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| 67 | 67 | | the applicant's citizenship using the citizenship document |
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| 68 | 68 | | required by Section 13.002(c)(3) by marking the application with an |
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| 69 | 69 | | initial. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (b) If the application does not contain all the required |
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| 71 | 71 | | information, such as [and] the required signature and proof of |
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| 72 | 72 | | citizenship, the volunteer deputy shall return the application to |
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| 73 | 73 | | the applicant for completion and resubmission. |
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| 74 | 74 | | (c) A volunteer deputy registrar commits an offense if the |
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| 75 | 75 | | volunteer deputy registrar fails to verify the citizenship of an |
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| 76 | 76 | | applicant under Subsection (a) or submits an application for voter |
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| 77 | 77 | | registration for an applicant who is not a citizen. |
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| 78 | 78 | | (d) If a voter registrar receives proof a volunteer deputy |
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| 79 | 79 | | registrar has committed an offense under this section, the voter |
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| 80 | 80 | | registrar shall: |
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| 81 | 81 | | (1) revoke the volunteer deputy's certification and |
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| 82 | 82 | | appointment; |
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| 83 | 83 | | (2) prohibit the volunteer deputy from reappointment |
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| 84 | 84 | | for at least five years; and |
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| 85 | 85 | | (3) report the incident to the county or district |
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| 86 | 86 | | attorney. |
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| 87 | 87 | | (e) An offense under this section is a state jail felony. |
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| 88 | 88 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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