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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to conduct constituting the criminal offense of illegal |
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voting; increasing a criminal penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 64.012(a) and (b), Election Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or |
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intentionally: |
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(1) votes or attempts to vote in an election in which |
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the person knows of a particular circumstance that makes the person |
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[is] not eligible to vote; |
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(2) votes or attempts to vote more than once in an |
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election; |
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(3) votes or attempts to vote a ballot belonging to |
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another person, or by impersonating another person; |
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(4) marks or attempts to mark any portion of another |
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person's ballot without the consent of that person, or without |
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specific direction from that person how to mark the ballot; or |
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(5) votes or attempts to vote in an election in this |
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state after voting in another state in an election in which a |
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federal office appears on the ballot and the election day for both |
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states is the same day. |
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(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
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degree unless the person is convicted of an attempt. In that case, |
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the offense is a state jail felony [Class A misdemeanor]. |
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SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former |
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law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this |
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Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |