81R9446 JRJ-D
 
  By: Bonnen H.B. No. 3556
 
 
 
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.  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.
         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, 2010, 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 6.  Effective January 1, 2010, 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 the voter's voter registration
  certificate and either:
               (1)  one form of identification listed in Section
  63.0101(a); or
               (2)  two different forms of identification listed in
  Section 63.0101(b) [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 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. An election officer
  shall inform a voter who is not accepted for voting under this
  section of the voter's right to cast a provisional ballot under
  Section 63.011.
         SECTION 7.  Effective January 1, 2010, Section 63.006(a),
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A voter who, when offering to vote, presents 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's identity can be verified
  from the documentation presented under Section 63.001(b).
         SECTION 8.  Effective January 1, 2010, Section 63.007(a),
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A voter who, when offering to vote, presents 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's
  identity can be verified from the documentation presented under
  Section 63.001(b) and the voter executes an affidavit stating that
  the voter:
               (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;
               (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;
               (3)  did not deliberately provide false information to
  secure registration in a precinct in which the voter does not
  reside; and
               (4)  is voting only once in the election.
         SECTION 9.  Effective January 1, 2010, Section 63.008(a),
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A voter who does not present a voter registration
  certificate when offering to vote, but whose name is on the list of
  registered voters for the precinct in which the voter is offering to
  vote, shall be accepted for voting if the voter executes an
  affidavit stating that the voter does not have the voter's voter
  registration certificate in the voter's possession at the polling
  place at the time of offering to vote and the voter's identity can
  be verified from the identification presented under Section
  63.001(b)(1) or (2) [voter presents proof of identification in a
  form described by Section 63.0101].
         SECTION 10.  Effective January 1, 2010, Section 63.0101,
  Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 63.0101.  DOCUMENTATION OF PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION.
  (a) 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 two years 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 valid employee identification card that contains
  the person's photograph and is issued by an employer of the person
  in the ordinary course of the employer's business [birth
  certificate or other document confirming birth that is admissible
  in a court of law and establishes the person's identity];
               (4)  a United States citizenship certificate [papers]
  issued to the person that contains the person's photograph;
               (5)  a United States passport issued to the person;
               (6)  a student identification card issued by a public
  or private institution of higher education located in Texas that
  contains the person's photograph [official mail addressed to the
  person by name from a governmental entity];
               (7)  a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to
  the person by the Department of Public Safety; or
               (8)  a valid identification card that contains the
  person's photograph and is issued by:
                     (A)  an agency or institution of the federal
  government; or
                     (B)  an agency, institution, or political
  subdivision of this state.
         (b)  The following documentation is acceptable as proof of
  identification under this chapter:
               (1)  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;
               (2)  official mail addressed to the person by name from
  a governmental entity;
               (3)  a certified copy of 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 papers issued to the
  person;
               (5)  an original or certified copy of the person's
  marriage license or divorce decree;
               (6)  court records of the person's adoption, name
  change, or sex change;
               (7)  an identification card issued to the person by a
  governmental entity of this state or the United States for the
  purpose of obtaining public benefits, including veteran's
  benefits, Medicaid, or Medicare;
               (8)  a temporary driving permit issued to the person by
  the Department of Public Safety;
               (9)  a pilot's license issued to the person by the
  Federal Aviation Administration or another authorized agency of the
  United States;
               (10)  a library card that contains the person's name
  issued to the person by a public library located in this state; or
               (11)  a hunting or fishing license issued to a person by
  the Parks and Wildlife Department [or
               [(8)     any other form of identification prescribed by
  the secretary of state].
         SECTION 11.  Effective January 1, 2010, 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)(1) or (2). 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 12.  Effective January 1, 2010, 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)(1) or (2):
                     (A)  at the time the ballot was cast; or
                     (B)  in the period prescribed under Section
  65.0541.
         SECTION 13.  Effective January 1, 2010, 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)(1) or (2)
  may, not later than the 10th 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 14.  As soon as practicable after September 1, 2009:
               (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 15.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2009.