88R7353 LRM-F
By: Leo-Wilson H.B. No. 2123
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to verifying the citizenship of an applicant for voter
registration; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 13.002(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) A registration application must include:
(1) the applicant's first name, middle name, if any,
last name, and former name, if any;
(2) the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth;
(3) a statement that the applicant is a United States
citizen and, if the applicant is not registering under Subchapter
C, Chapter 20, a copy of one of the following documents or an
initialed acknowledgment by a volunteer deputy registrar that one
of the following documents has been presented:
(A) a United States passport or passport card
issued to the person;
(B) a certified copy of a birth certificate
issued by a United States state or territory, or the District of
Columbia;
(C) United States citizenship papers issued to
the person;
(D) identification issued by the agency of the
United States responsible for citizenship and immigration; or
(E) for citizens born abroad, a certificate of
report of birth or consular report of birth abroad issued by the
United States Department of State;
(4) a statement that the applicant is a resident of the
county;
(5) a statement that the applicant has not been
determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
right to vote;
(6) a statement that the applicant has not been
finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon
eligible for registration under Section 13.001;
(7) the applicant's residence address or, if the
residence has no address, the address at which the applicant
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
applicant's residence;
(8) the following information:
(A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number
or the number of a personal identification card issued by the
Department of Public Safety;
(B) if the applicant has not been issued a number
described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's
social security number; or
(C) a statement by the applicant that the
applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A) or
(B);
(9) if the application is made by an agent, a statement
of the agent's relationship to the applicant; and
(10) the city and county in which the applicant
formerly resided.
SECTION 2. Section 13.039, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 13.039. REVIEW OF APPLICATION. (a) On receipt of a
registration application, a volunteer deputy registrar shall
review it for completeness in the applicant's presence and verify
the applicant's citizenship using the citizenship document
required by Section 13.002(c)(3) by marking the application with an
initial.
(b) If the application does not contain all the required
information, such as [and] the required signature and proof of
citizenship, the volunteer deputy shall return the application to
the applicant for completion and resubmission.
(c) A volunteer deputy registrar commits an offense if the
volunteer deputy registrar fails to verify the citizenship of an
applicant under Subsection (a) or submits an application for voter
registration for an applicant who is not a citizen.
(d) If a voter registrar receives proof a volunteer deputy
registrar has committed an offense under this section, the voter
registrar shall:
(1) revoke the volunteer deputy's certification and
appointment;
(2) prohibit the volunteer deputy from reappointment
for at least five years; and
(3) report the incident to the county or district
attorney.
(e) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.