Bill Text: TX HB624 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced


Bill Title: Relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-23 - Referred to Elections [HB624 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB624-Introduced.html
  82R4113 JRJ-F
 
  By: Bonnen H.B. No. 624
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 15, Election Code, is
  amended by adding Section 15.005 to read as follows:
         Sec. 15.005.  NOTICE OF IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.  
  (a)  The voter registrar of each county shall provide notice of the
  identification requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 and
  a detailed description of those requirements with each voter
  registration certificate issued under Section 13.142 or renewal
  registration certificate issued under Section 14.001.
         (b)  The secretary of state shall prescribe the wording of
  the notice to be included on the certificate under this section.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Election Code, is
  amended by adding Section 31.012 to read as follows:
         Sec. 31.012.  VOTER IDENTIFICATION EDUCATION.  (a)  The
  secretary of state and the voter registrar of each county that
  maintains a website shall provide notice of the identification
  requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 on each entity's
  respective website.  The secretary of state shall prescribe the
  wording of the notice to be included on the websites.
         (b)  The secretary of state, in cooperation with appropriate
  nonprofit organizations as determined by the secretary of state and
  with each party whose nominee for governor in the most recent
  gubernatorial general election received 20 percent or more of the
  total number of votes received by all candidates for governor in the
  election, shall establish a statewide effort to educate voters
  regarding the identification requirements for voting prescribed by
  Chapter 63. The secretary of state may use any available funds,
  including federal funds, for the purposes of this section.
         SECTION 3.  Section 32.111, Election Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  The training standards adopted under Subsection (a)
  must include provisions on the acceptance and handling of the
  identification presented by a voter to an election officer under
  Section 63.001.
         SECTION 4.  Section 32.114(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The county clerk shall provide one or more sessions of
  training using the standardized training program and materials
  developed and provided by the secretary of state under Section
  32.111 for the election judges and clerks appointed to serve in
  elections ordered by the governor or a county authority. Each
  election judge shall complete the training program. Each election
  clerk shall complete the part of the training program relating to
  the acceptance and handling of the identification presented by a
  voter to an election officer under Section 63.001.
         SECTION 5.  Effective January 1, 2012, Chapter 62, Election
  Code, is amended by adding Section 62.016 to read as follows:
         Sec. 62.016.  NOTICE OF ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION OUTSIDE
  POLLING PLACES. The presiding judge shall post in a prominent place
  on the outside of each polling location a list of the acceptable
  forms of photographic and nonphotographic identification. The list
  must be printed using a font that is at least 24-point.
         SECTION 6.  Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.001,
  Election Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), (d),
  and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
         (b)  On offering to vote, a voter must present one form of
  photo identification listed in Section 63.0101 [the voter's voter
  registration certificate] to an election officer at the polling
  place.
         (c)  On presentation of the documentation required by
  Subsection (b) [a registration certificate], an election officer
  shall determine whether the voter's name on the documentation 
  [registration certificate] is on the list of registered voters for
  the precinct.
         (d)  If 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.
         (f)  After determining whether to accept a voter, an election
  officer shall return the voter's documentation [registration
  certificate] to the voter.
         (g)  A voter shall be accepted for provisional voting only
  under Section 63.011 if the requirement for identification
  prescribed by Subsection (b) is not met.
         SECTION 7.  Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.007,
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 63.007.  VOTER WITH REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION [INCORRECT
  CERTIFICATE] WHO IS NOT ON LIST.  (a)  A voter who, when offering to
  vote, presents the documentation required under Section 63.001(b)
  [a voter registration certificate indicating that the voter is
  currently registered in a different precinct from the one in which
  the voter is offering to vote], and whose name is not on the
  precinct list of registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if
  the voter presents a voter registration certificate indicating that
  the voter is currently registered:
               (1)  in the precinct in which the voter is offering to
  vote; or
               (2)  in a different precinct from the one in which the
  voter is offering to vote and the voter executes an affidavit
  stating that the voter:
                     (A) [(1)]  is a resident of the precinct in which
  the voter is offering to vote or is otherwise entitled by law to
  vote in that precinct;
                     (B) [(2)]  was a resident of the precinct in which
  the voter is offering to vote at the time that information on the
  voter's residence address was last provided to the voter registrar;
                     (C) [(3)]  did not deliberately provide false
  information to secure registration in a precinct in which the voter
  does not reside; and
                     (D) [(4)]  is voting only once in the election.
         (b)  After the voter is accepted, an election officer shall:
               (1)  indicate beside the voter's name on the poll list
  that the voter was accepted under this section; and
               (2)  enter on the registration omissions list the
  precinct of the voter's registration as indicated by the voter's
  registration certificate.
         SECTION 8.  Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.009(a),
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A [Except as provided by Subsection (b), a] voter who
  does not present a voter registration certificate when offering to
  vote, and whose name is not on the list of registered voters for the
  precinct in which the voter is offering to vote, shall be accepted
  for provisional voting if the voter executes an affidavit in
  accordance with Section 63.011.
         SECTION 9.  Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.0101,
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 63.0101.  DOCUMENTATION OF PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION.  
  The following documentation is an acceptable form [as proof] of
  photo identification under this chapter:
               (1)  a driver's license or personal identification card
  issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety that has not
  expired or that expired no earlier than one year before the date of
  presentation [or a similar document issued to the person by an
  agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card
  has expired];
               (2)  a United States military identification card that
  contains the person's photograph [form of identification
  containing the person's photograph that establishes the person's
  identity];
               (3)  a [birth certificate or other document confirming
  birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes the
  person's identity;
               [(4)]  United States citizenship certificate [papers]
  issued to the person that contains the person's photograph;
               (4) [(5)]  a United States passport issued to the
  person;
               (5)  a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to
  the person by the Department of Public Safety that contains the
  person's photograph;
               (6)  a student identification card issued by a public
  or private institution of higher education that contains the
  person's photograph [official mail addressed to the person by name
  from a governmental entity]; or
               (7)  a valid identification card that contains the
  person's photograph and is issued by:
                     (A)  an agency or institution of the federal
  government;
                     (B)  an agency, institution, or political
  subdivision of this state; or
                     (C)  a tribal organization [copy of a current
  utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other
  government document that shows the name and address of the voter; or
               [(8)     any other form of identification prescribed by
  the secretary of state].
         SECTION 10.  Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.011(a)
  and (b), Election Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person to whom Section 63.001(g) [63.008(b)] or
  63.009(a) 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.
         (b)  A form for an affidavit required by this section must
  [shall] be printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot
  voted by the person may be placed and must include a space for
  entering the identification number of the provisional ballot voted
  by the person and a space for an election officer to indicate
  whether the person presented proof of identification as required by
  Section 63.001(b). The affidavit form may include space for
  disclosure of any necessary information to enable the person to
  register to vote under Chapter 13. The secretary of state shall
  prescribe the form of the affidavit under this section.
         SECTION 11.  Effective January 1, 2012, Section 65.054(b),
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A provisional ballot may be accepted only if:
               (1)  the board determines that, from the information in
  the affidavit or contained in public records, the person is
  eligible to vote in the election and has not previously voted in
  that election; and
               (2)  the voter presents proof of identification as
  required by Section 63.001(b):
                     (A)  at the time the ballot was cast; or
                     (B)  in the period prescribed under Section
  65.0541.
         SECTION 12.  Effective January 1, 2012, Subchapter B,
  Chapter 65, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 65.0541 to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 65.0541.  PRESENTATION OF IDENTIFICATION FOR CERTAIN
  PROVISIONAL BALLOTS. (a)  A voter who is accepted for provisional
  voting under Section 63.011 because the voter does not present
  proof of identification as required by Section 63.001(b) may, not
  later than the seventh business day after the date of the election,
  present proof of identification to the voter registrar for
  examination by the early voting ballot board.
         (b)  The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures as
  necessary to implement this section.
         SECTION 13.  Effective January 1, 2012, Section 521.422,
  Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), the [The] fee for
  a personal identification certificate is:
               (1)  $15 for a person under 60 years of age;
               (2)  $5 for a person 60 years of age or older; and
               (3)  $20 for a person subject to the registration
  requirements under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
         (d)  The department may not collect a fee for a personal
  identification certificate issued to a person who:
               (1)  executes an affidavit stating that the person:
                     (A)  is obtaining the personal identification
  certificate for the purpose of satisfying Section 63.001(b),
  Election Code; and
                     (B)  does not have another form of photo
  identification acceptable under Section 63.0101, Election Code;
  and
               (2)  is:
                     (A)  a registered voter in this state and presents
  a valid voter registration certificate; or
                     (B)  eligible for registration under Section
  13.001, Election Code, and submits a registration application to
  the department.
         SECTION 14.  Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.006,
  63.008, and 63.009(b), Election Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 15.  As soon as practicable:
               (1)  the secretary of state shall adopt the training
  standards and develop the training materials required to implement
  the change in law made by this Act to Section 32.111, Election Code;
  and
               (2)  the county clerk of each county shall provide a
  session of training under Section 32.114, Election Code, as amended
  by this Act, using the standards adopted and materials developed to
  implement the change in law made by this Act to Section 32.111,
  Election Code.
         SECTION 16.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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