By: Fraser, et al. S.B. No. 178
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to requirements to vote, including presenting proof of
  identification; providing criminal penalties.
         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.  Subsection (a), Section 15.022, Election Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The registrar shall make the appropriate corrections in
  the registration records, including, if necessary, deleting a
  voter's name from the suspense list:
               (1)  after receipt of a notice of a change in
  registration information under Section 15.021;
               (2)  after receipt of a voter's reply to a notice of
  investigation given under Section 16.033;
               (3)  after receipt of a registration omissions list and
  any affidavits executed under Section 63.006. [63.007], following
  an election;
               (4)  after receipt of a voter's statement of residence
  executed under Section 63.0011;
               (5)  before the effective date of the abolishment of a
  county election precinct or a change in its boundary;
               (6)  after receipt of United States Postal Service
  information indicating an address reclassification;
               (7)  after receipt of a voter's response under Section
  15.053; or
               (8)  after receipt of a registration application or
  change of address under Chapter 20.
         SECTION 3.  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 shall conduct a statewide effort
  to educate voters regarding the identification requirements for
  voting prescribed by Chapter 63.
         SECTION 4.  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 5.  Subsection (a), Section 32.114, 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 6.  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 identification. The notice and list must be printed using
  a font that is at least 24-point.
         SECTION 7.  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 to an election
  officer at the polling place one form of 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)  If the requirements for identification prescribed by
  Subsection (b) are not met, the voter may be accepted for
  provisional voting only under Section 63.011. For a voter who is
  not accepted for voting under this section, an election officer
  shall:
               (1)  inform the voter of the voter's right to cast a
  provisional ballot under Section 63.011; and
               (2)  provide the voter with written information, in a
  form prescribed by the secretary of state, that:
                     (A)  lists the requirements for identification;
                     (B)  states the procedure for presenting
  identification under Section 65.0541;
                     (C)  includes a map showing the location where
  identification must be presented; and
                     (D)  includes notice that even if all procedures
  are followed, there is no guarantee a provisional ballot will be
  accepted.
         SECTION 8.  Subsection (a), Section 63.0011, Election Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Before a voter may be accepted for voting, an election
  officer shall ask the voter if the voter's residence address on the
  precinct list of registered voters is current and whether the voter
  has changed residency within the county. If the voter's address is
  omitted for the precinct list under Section 18.005(c), the officer
  shall ask the voter if the voter's residence, if [as] listed, on
  identification presented by the voter under Section 63.001(b) [the
  voter's voter registration certificate] is current and whether the
  voter has changed residence within the county.
         SECTION 9.  Chapter 63, Election Code, is amended by adding
  Section 63.0012 to read as follows:
         Sec. 63.0012.  NOTICE OF IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS TO
  CERTAIN VOTERS. (a)  An election officer shall distribute written
  notice of the identification that will be required to vote in
  elections held after January 1, 2012, and information on obtaining
  identification without a fee under Section 521.422, Transportation
  Code, to each voter who, when offering to vote, presents a form of
  identification that will not be sufficient for acceptance as a
  voter under this chapter beginning with those elections.
         (b)  The secretary of state shall prescribe the wording of
  the notice and establish guidelines for distributing the notice.
         (c)  This section expires September 1, 2013.
         SECTION 10.  Section 63.006, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec 63.006.  VOTER WITH REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION [CORRECT
  CERTIFICATE] WHO IS NOT ON LIST. (a)  A voter who, when offering to
  vote, presents the documentation required under Subsection
  63.001(b) [a voter registration certificate indicating that the
  voter is currently registered in the precinct in which the voter is
  offering to vote], but whose name is not on the precinct list of
  registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the voter also
  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)(i)  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; or
                           (ii)  was a resident of the precinct in which
  the voter is offering to vote at the time the information on the
  voter's residence address was last provided to the voter registrar;
                     (B)  did not deliberately provide false
  information to secure registration in a precinct in which the voter
  does not reside; and
                     (C)  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)  if applicable, enter on the registration omissions
  list the precinct of the voter's registration as indicated by the
  voter's registration certificate.
         SECTION 11.  Subsection (a), Section 63.009, 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 12.  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 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 that has not expired [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; or
               (4) [(5)]  a United States passport issued to the
  person that has not expired [;
               (6)  official mail addressed to the person by name from
  a governmental entity;
               (7)  a 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 13.  Section 63.011, Election Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (b) 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 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 a form of identification described by Section
  63.0101. 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 14.  Subsection (b), Section 64.012, Election Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the second
  [third] degree unless the person is convicted of an attempt. In
  that case, the offense is a state jail felony [Class A misdemeanor].
         SECTION 15.  Subsection (b), Section 65.054, Election Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A provisional ballot shall [may] be accepted [only] if
  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 the voter
  meets the identification requirements of Section 63.001(b) in the
  period prescribed under Section 65.0541.
         SECTION 16.  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 meet the
  identification requirements of Section 63.001(b) may, not later
  than the sixth 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 17.  Section 66.0241, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 66.0241.  CONTENTS OF ENVELOPE NO. 4. Envelope No. 4
  must contain:
               (1)  the precinct list of registered voters;
               (2)  the registration correction list;
               (3)  the registration omission list;
               (4)  any statements of residence executed under Section
  63.0011; and
               (5)  any affidavits executed under Section 63.006
  [63.007] or 63.011.
         SECTION 18.  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 states that the
  person is obtaining the personal identification certificate for the
  purpose of satisfying Section 63.001(b)(1), Election Code, and:
               (1)  who is a registered voter in this state and
  presents a valid voter registration certificate; or
               (2)  who is eligible for registration under Section
  13.001, Election Code, and submits a registration application to
  the department.
         SECTION 19.  Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.007,
  63.008, and 63.009(b), Election Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 20.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act:
               (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, using the
  standards adopted and materials developed to implement the change
  in law made by this Act to Section 32.111, Election Code.
         SECTION 21.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
  only to an offense committed on or after January 1, 2012. For
  purposes of this section, an offense is committed before January 1,
  2012, if any element of the offense occurs before that date.
         (b)  An offense committed before January 1, 2012, is covered
  by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 22.  State funds disbursed under Chapter 19,
  Election Code, for the purpose of defraying expenses of the voter
  registrar's office in connection with voter registration may also
  be used for additional expenses related to coordinating voter
  registration drives or other activities designed to expand voter
  registration. This section expires January 1, 2013.
         SECTION 23.  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
  section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2012.
         (b)  The changes in law made by Sections 1,3,4,5, 9, 20, and
  22 of this Act take effect September 1, 2011.