|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the procedures for registering to vote. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 13.002, Election Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(c) A registration application must include: |
|
|
(1) the applicant's first name, middle name, if any, |
|
|
last name, and former name, if any; |
|
|
(2) the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth; |
|
|
(3) a statement that the applicant is a United States |
|
|
citizen; |
|
|
(4) a statement that the applicant is a resident of the |
|
|
county; |
|
|
(5) a statement that the applicant has not been |
|
|
determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment of a court; |
|
|
(6) a statement that the applicant has not been |
|
|
finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon |
|
|
eligible for registration under Section 13.001; |
|
|
(7) the applicant's residence address or, if the |
|
|
residence has no address, the address at which the applicant |
|
|
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the |
|
|
applicant's residence; |
|
|
(8) the following information: |
|
|
(A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number |
|
|
or the number of a personal identification card issued by the |
|
|
Department of Public Safety or a statement by the applicant that the |
|
|
applicant has not been issued a driver's license or personal |
|
|
identification card; or |
|
|
(B) if the applicant has not been issued a number |
|
|
described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's |
|
|
social security number or a statement by the applicant that the |
|
|
applicant has not been issued a social security number; |
|
|
(9) if the application is made by an agent, a statement |
|
|
of the agent's relationship to the applicant; [and] |
|
|
(10) the city and county in which the applicant |
|
|
formerly resided; and |
|
|
(11) a certified copy of a document providing proof |
|
|
that the applicant is a United States citizen. |
|
|
(e) The following documentation is acceptable as proof of |
|
|
citizenship under Subsection (c)(11): |
|
|
(1) a birth certificate or other document confirming |
|
|
birth that is admissible in a court of law; |
|
|
(2) United States citizenship papers issued to the |
|
|
applicant; or |
|
|
(3) an unexpired United States passport issued to the |
|
|
applicant. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 13.121(a), Election Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
(a) The officially prescribed application form for |
|
|
registration by mail must be in the form of [a] business reply mail |
|
|
[postcard], unless another form or system is used under Subsection |
|
|
(b), with postage paid by the state. The secretary of state shall |
|
|
design the form to enhance the legibility of its contents. |
|
|
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act to Section |
|
|
13.002, Election Code, applies only to an application for voter |
|
|
registration that is submitted on or after the effective date of |
|
|
this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |