89R13835 LRM-D
By: Creighton S.B. No. 2494
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the acceptance of a voter.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 63.001(b), (d), and (e), Election Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (h), on offering to
vote, a voter must present to an election officer at the polling
place[:
[(1)] one form of photo identification listed in
Section 63.0101(a)[; or
[(2) one form of identification listed in Section
63.0101(b) accompanied by the declaration described by Subsection
(i)].
(d) If, as determined under Subsection (c), the voter's name
is on the precinct list of registered voters and the voter's
identity can be verified from the documentation presented under
Subsection (b), the voter shall be accepted for voting. [An
election officer may not question the reasonableness of an
impediment sworn to by a voter in a declaration described by
Subsection (i).]
(e) On accepting a voter, an election officer shall indicate
beside the voter's name on the list of registered voters that the
voter is accepted for voting. [If the voter executes a declaration
of reasonable impediment to meet the requirement for identification
under Subsection (b), the election officer must affix the voter's
voter registration number to the declaration either in numeric or
bar code form.]
SECTION 2. Section 63.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The secretary of state may prescribe forms that combine
the poll list, the signature roster, or any other form used in
connection with the acceptance of voters at polling places with
each other or with the list of registered voters. The secretary
shall prescribe any special instructions necessary for using the
combination forms. [The combination forms must include space for
an election officer to indicate whether a voter executed a
declaration of reasonable impediment under Section 63.001(i).]
SECTION 3. Section 272.011(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The secretary of state shall prepare the translation for
election materials required to be provided in a language other than
English or Spanish for the following state prescribed voter forms:
(1) voter registration application form required by
Section 13.002;
(2) the confirmation form required by Section 15.051;
(3) the voting instruction poster required by Section
62.011;
(4) [the reasonable impediment declaration required
by Section 63.001(b);
[(5)] the statement of residence form required by
Section 63.0011;
(5) [(6)] the provisional ballot affidavit required
by Section 63.011;
(6) [(7)] the application for a ballot by mail
required by Section 84.011;
(7) [(8)] the carrier envelope and voting
instructions required by Section 86.013; and
(8) [(9)] any other voter forms that the secretary of
state identifies as frequently used and for which state resources
are otherwise available.
SECTION 4. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Section 63.001(i), Election Code;
(2) Section 63.0013, Election Code; and
(3) Section 63.0101(b), Election Code.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.