By: Menéndez S.B. No. 2451

(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2023; March 23, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; April 6, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 0; April 6, 2023, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2451 By: Menéndez

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to personal information entered on the carrier envelope of a ballot to be voted by mail.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 86.002, Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d-1) and amending Subsection (g) to read as follows:

(d-1) The secretary of state shall prescribe instructions to be printed on the balloting materials for marking the ballot envelope with the information required under Subsection (g). The instructions must:

(1) be printed in at least a 10-point font;

(2) except as provided by Subdivision (3), not include the text "V.U.I.D." or the words "voter registration number"; and

(3) contain the statement: "A voter registration number (V.U.I.D.) does not satisfy the requirement to enter the number of an election identification certificate and should not be printed on the carrier envelope."

(g) The carrier envelope must include a space, at least one half inch in height and two inches in width, that is hidden from view when the envelope is sealed for the voter to enter the following information:

(1) the number of the voter's driver's license, election identification certificate, or personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety;

(2) if the voter has not been issued a number described by Subdivision (1), the last four digits of the voter's social security number; or

(3) a statement by the applicant that the applicant has not been issued a number described by Subdivision (1) or (2).

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

* * * * *