89R14229 MPF-D
By: Schatzline H.B. No. 4059
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring a voter to be affiliated with a political
party to vote in that party's primary election; creating a criminal
offense; authorizing a civil penalty.
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;
(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; and
(11) the applicant's political party affiliation, if
any.
SECTION 2. Section 13.122(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) In addition to the other statements and spaces for
entering information that appear on an officially prescribed
registration application form, each official form must include:
(1) the statement: "I understand that giving false
information to procure a voter registration is perjury and a crime
under state and federal law.";
(2) a space for the applicant's registration number;
(3) a space for the applicant's Texas driver's license
number or number of a personal identification card issued by the
Department of Public Safety;
(4) a space for the applicant's telephone number;
(5) a space for the applicant's social security
number;
(6) a space for the applicant's sex;
(7) a statement indicating that the furnishing of the
applicant's telephone number and sex is optional;
(8) a space or box for indicating whether the
applicant or voter is submitting new registration information or a
change in current registration information;
(9) a statement instructing a voter who is using the
form to make a change in current registration information to enter
the voter's name and the changed information in the appropriate
spaces on the form;
(10) a statement that if the applicant declines to
register to vote, that fact will remain confidential and will be
used only for voter registration purposes;
(11) a statement that if the applicant does register
to vote, information regarding the agency or office to which the
application is submitted will remain confidential and will be used
only for voter registration purposes;
(12) a space or box for indicating whether the
applicant is interested in working as an election judge;
(13) a statement warning that a conviction for making
a false statement may result in imprisonment for up to the maximum
amount of time provided by law, a fine of up to the maximum amount
provided by law, or both the imprisonment and the fine; [and]
(14) a space for the applicant's political party
affiliation; and
(15) any other voter registration information
required by federal law or considered appropriate and required by
the secretary of state.
SECTION 3. Section 15.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each voter registration certificate issued must
contain:
(1) the voter's name in the form indicated by the
voter, subject to applicable requirements prescribed by Section
13.002 and by rule of the secretary of state;
(2) the voter's residence address or, if the residence
has no address, the address at which the voter receives mail and a
concise description of the location of the voter's residence;
(3) the year of the voter's birth;
(4) the number of the county election precinct in
which the voter resides;
(5) the voter's effective date of registration if an
initial certificate;
(6) the voter's registration number;
(7) an indication of the period for which the
certificate is issued;
(8) a statement explaining the circumstances under
which the voter will receive a new certificate;
(9) a space for indicating [stamping] the voter's
political party affiliation;
(10) a statement that voting with the certificate by a
person other than the person in whose name the certificate is issued
is a felony;
(11) a space for the voter's signature;
(12) a statement that the voter must sign the
certificate personally, if able to sign, immediately on receipt;
(13) a space for the voter to correct the information
on the certificate followed by a signature line;
(14) the statement: "If any information on this
certificate changes or is incorrect, correct the information in the
space provided, sign below, and return this certificate to the
voter registrar.";
(15) the registrar's mailing address and telephone
number; and
(16) the jurisdictional or distinguishing number for
the following territorial units in which the voter resides, as
determined by the voter registrar:
(A) congressional district;
(B) state senatorial district;
(C) state representative district;
(D) commissioners precinct;
(E) justice precinct;
(F) city election precinct; and
(G) school district election precinct.
SECTION 4. Section 63.011(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A person to whom Section 63.001(g), [or] 63.009, or
172.1115(c) applies may cast a provisional ballot if the person
executes an affidavit stating that the person:
(1) is a registered voter in the precinct in which the
person seeks to vote; and
(2) is eligible to vote in the election.
SECTION 5. Section 112.002, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) If the voter seeks a limited ballot for a party primary
election, the voter must indicate the political party the voter was
affiliated with at the address where the voter was previously
registered on the statement executed under Subsection (c). If the
early voting clerk can establish the voter's affiliation from the
previous registration, the voter is entitled to vote a limited
ballot in that party's primary.
SECTION 6. Section 162.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A person must be affiliated with a political party to be
eligible:
(1) to serve as a delegate to or otherwise participate
in a convention held by the party under this code;
(2) to be elected as a member of or be appointed to
fill a vacancy on a state executive committee;
(3) to be appointed to fill a vacancy on a county
executive committee;
(4) to vote in the party's primary election; or
(5) [(4)] for any other purpose within the party as
adopted by state party rules.
SECTION 7. Section 162.003, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 162.003. AFFILIATION PROCEDURE [BY VOTING IN PRIMARY].
(a) A person becomes affiliated with a political party by notifying
the registrar of the person's affiliation [when the person:
[(1) is accepted to vote in the party's primary
election; or
[(2) returns an early voting or limited primary ballot
voted by mail].
(b) At the time a person registers to vote the person may:
(1) affiliate with a political party that holds a
primary election or a political party that makes its nominations by
convention regardless of whether the party has a state
organization; or
(2) indicate no affiliation with any political party.
(c) A registered voter who does not indicate an affiliation
with a political party of this state shall be listed as
"independent" on the voter's registration certificate and on the
list of registered voters.
(d) A registered voter may change the voter's affiliation
status by notifying the registrar as provided by Section 15.021.
(e) A person may also indicate a party affiliation at the
time the person submits a federal postcard application under
Chapter 101.
(f) The secretary of state shall prescribe any additional
procedures necessary to implement this section.
SECTION 8. Section 162.010(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A [Except as provided by Subsection (b), a] party
affiliation expires on cancellation of a voter's registration or at
the time a change in affiliation takes effect under Section 15.025
[at the end of the voting year in which the person became
affiliated].
SECTION 9. Section 162.013, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 162.013. VOID VOTE. A vote in a primary election is
void if the voter is not affiliated with the political party holding
the primary [previously voted in a primary election of another
party or participated in a convention of another party during the
same voting year].
SECTION 10. Sections 162.014(a), (c), and (d), Election
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
votes or attempts to vote in a primary election or participates or
attempts to participate in a convention of a party without being
affiliated with that party [after having voted in a primary
election or participated in a convention of another party during
the same voting year].
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
degree if the conduct constituting an offense under Subsection (a)
consists of knowingly voting in a primary election of a party
without being affiliated with that party [after having voted in a
primary election of another party during the same voting year].
(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if
the conduct constituting an offense under Subsection (a) consists
of knowingly attempting to vote in a primary election of a party
without being affiliated with that party [after having voted in a
primary election of another party during the same voting year].
SECTION 11. Chapter 162, Election Code, is amended by
adding Section 162.0145 to read as follows:
Sec. 162.0145. UNLAWFULLY PERMITTING AN UNAFFILIATED VOTER
TO VOTE. An election official may be liable to this state for a
civil penalty if the official knowingly permits a voter who is not
affiliated with the political party holding a primary election to
vote in the primary election except for a voter accepted to vote
under Section 112.002 or 172.1115.
SECTION 12. Section 162.017(e), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) The preregistration process must [include the statement
described by Section 162.004(a) and] require a preregistering
attendee who is not affiliated with the party to affiliate with the
party in accordance with Section 162.003 [by taking the oath
described in Section 162.007(b)].
SECTION 13. Effective September 1, 2026, Subchapter E,
Chapter 172, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 172.1115
to read as follows:
Sec. 172.1115. AFFILIATION WITH PARTY REQUIRED. (a) The
signature roster for a primary election must state at the top of
each page "A person commits a criminal offense if the person
knowingly votes in a primary election or participates in a
convention of a party without being affiliated with that party."
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a person may not
be accepted for voting in a primary election of a political party
unless:
(1) the list of registered voters indicates that the
person is affiliated with that political party; or
(2) the voter's registration certificate indicates
that the voter is affiliated with that political party.
(c) A person who seeks to vote in a primary election but
cannot establish the person's party affiliation under Subsection
(b) may be accepted only for provisional voting under Section
63.011.
SECTION 14. Section 172.126(g), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) A separate set of ballot boxes or other suitable
containers approved by the secretary of state shall be used for each
party's primary, except that one set of ballot boxes or other
containers may be used in a joint primary using an electronic voting
system in which the ballots are deposited by the voters directly
into a unit of automatic tabulating equipment. [The lists of
registered voters and the voters' registration certificates shall
be marked and stamped to show the appropriate party affiliation for
each voter.] A separate list of registered voters shall be used for
each party's primary. The secretary of state by rule shall
prescribe requirements to ensure that one party's ballot is readily
distinguished from another's, which may include the use of
different colors of ink.
SECTION 15. The following provisions of the Election Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 162.004, 162.005, 162.006, 162.007,
162.008, and 162.009;
(2) Section 162.010(b);
(3) Section 172.1141; and
(4) Section 172.115(c).
SECTION 16. (a) Not later than October 1, 2025, the voter
registrar of each county shall mail to each registered voter in the
county notice of the affiliation requirement necessary to vote in a
party primary election. The notice must:
(1) inform the voter that to vote in a party primary
election the voter must be affiliated with that party;
(2) inform the voter of the process of affiliation
with the voter registrar and state that if a voter does not provide
an affiliation, the voter's next registration certificate will
indicate that the voter is "independent" and unable to vote in a
party's primary;
(3) include a postage paid postcard that may be
returned to the voter registrar to indicate the voter's
affiliation; and
(4) be in the form prescribed by the secretary of
state.
(b) If a registered voter does not indicate a party
affiliation before December 31, 2025, the voter registrar shall
list the voter's initial affiliation status as "independent."
(c) The change in law made by Section 15.001(a), Election
Code, as amended by this Act, requiring that each voter
registration certificate must indicate the political affiliation
of the voter applies only to a certificate effective for voting on
or after January 1, 2026.
SECTION 17. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.