| 1 | 1 | | By: Middleton S.B. No. 2716 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | relating to procedures for challenging voter registration based on |
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| 9 | 9 | | personal knowledge and publicly available records. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 16, Election Code, is amended by adding |
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| 12 | 12 | | Section 16.0011 to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 16.0011. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Personal knowledge" means knowledge of a fact |
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| 15 | 15 | | that a person has directly observed or experienced, rather than |
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| 16 | 16 | | knowledge that has been gained from another source, as defined in |
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| 17 | 17 | | Black's Law Dictionary. |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) "Publicly available materials" means information |
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| 19 | 19 | | accessible to the general public, including but not limited to |
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| 20 | 20 | | obituaries, property records, court filings, government-maintained |
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| 21 | 21 | | public databases, and official government notices, that provide |
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| 22 | 22 | | evidence relevant to a voter's eligibility under this code. |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 2. Section 16.091, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 24 | 24 | | read as follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | Sec. 16.091. CHALLENGE OF REGISTRATION. (a) A registered |
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| 26 | 26 | | voter of the county in which another voter is registered may |
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| 27 | 27 | | challenge the registration of that voter by submitting a written |
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| 28 | 28 | | statement to the registrar. The statement must: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) identify each voter being challenged; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) include the specific grounds for each challenge; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (3) be based on: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (A) the personal knowledge of the challenger, as |
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| 33 | 33 | | defined under Section 16.0011(1); or |
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| 34 | 34 | | (B) information derived from publicly available |
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| 35 | 35 | | materials, as defined under Section 16.0011(2); |
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| 36 | 36 | | and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (4) be accompanied by an affidavit executed by the |
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| 38 | 38 | | challenger under penalty of perjury, affirming that the challenge |
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| 39 | 39 | | is based on personal knowledge or publicly available materials and |
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| 40 | 40 | | not hearsay or speculative evidence. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (b) A challenger may submit multiple challenges under one |
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| 42 | 42 | | affidavit, provided that each challenge independently satisfies |
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| 43 | 43 | | the requirements of Subsection (a). |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 3. Section 16.092, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 45 | 45 | | read as follows: |
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| 46 | 46 | | Sec. 16.092. SWORN STATEMENT REQUIRED. (a) A challenge |
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| 47 | 47 | | under this subchapter must be made in writing and must: |
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| 48 | 48 | | (1) identify each voter being challenged; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) include the specific grounds for each challenge; |
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| 50 | 50 | | (3) be based on: |
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| 51 | 51 | | (A) the personal knowledge of the challenger, as |
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| 52 | 52 | | defined under Section 16.0011(1); or |
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| 53 | 53 | | (B) information derived from publicly available |
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| 54 | 54 | | materials, as defined under Section 16.0011(2); |
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| 55 | 55 | | and |
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| 56 | 56 | | (4) be accompanied by an affidavit executed by the |
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| 57 | 57 | | challenger under penalty of perjury, affirming that the challenge |
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| 58 | 58 | | is based on personal knowledge or publicly available materials and |
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| 59 | 59 | | not hearsay or speculative evidence. |
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| 60 | 60 | | (b) A challenger may submit multiple challenges under one |
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| 61 | 61 | | affidavit, provided that each challenge independently satisfies |
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| 62 | 62 | | the requirements of Subsection (a). |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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