82R2858 JRJ-D

By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 401

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 12, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 12.007 to read as follows:

Sec. 12.007. TEXAS VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARD. (a) Each voter registrar shall issue Texas voter identification cards to registered voters to be used only for the purpose of meeting the identification requirements of Section 63.001(b). The voter registrar must provide at least one place in the county to accept applications for and issue Texas voter identification cards. The voter registrar may not charge an application fee or a fee for the issuance of a Texas voter identification card.

(b) A person who has a valid driver's license or personal identification card issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety is not eligible for a Texas voter identification card.

(c) The Texas voter identification card issued to a person must:

(1) be captioned "TEXAS VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARD";

(2) contain a prominent statement that under Texas law the card is valid only as identification for voting purposes;

(3) be laminated;

(4) contain a digital color photograph of the person; and

(5) include the following information relating to the person:

(A) full legal name;

(B) residence address;

(C) birth date;

(D) date the identification card was issued;

(E) sex;

(F) height;

(G) weight;

(H) eye color;

(I) the county where the identification card was issued, including a county number to be assigned for each county by the secretary of state; and

(J) any other information or identification as required by rule of the secretary of state.

(d) The application form for a Texas voter identification card must elicit the information required under Subsection (c) and any other information required by rule of the secretary of state. The application must be signed and sworn to by the applicant.

(e) The following information must be presented to and verified by the voter registrar before the voter registrar issues a Texas voter identification card to a person:

(1) a photo identification document, or an identification document that includes both the person's full legal name and date of birth;

(2) documentation showing the person's date of birth;

(3) evidence that the person is registered to vote in this state; and

(4) documentation showing the person's name and address of principal residence.

(f) A Texas voter identification card remains valid if the person to whom it was issued resides at the same address and remains qualified to vote. A person who changes residence within the state must surrender the card to the voter registrar of the new county of residence and may apply for and receive a Texas voter identification card issued by the new county of residence if the person is otherwise eligible under this section. A person who moves residence outside the state or who ceases to be qualified to vote must surrender the person's Texas voter identification card to the voter registrar who issued the card.

(g) The secretary of state shall provide each voter registrar with the necessary equipment, forms, supplies, and training for the production of the Texas voter identification cards and shall maintain the equipment.

(h) The secretary of state shall adopt rules for the administration of this section.

SECTION 2. Effective January 1, 2012, 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 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) A voter shall be accepted for provisional voting only under Section 63.011 if the requirement for identification prescribed by Subsection (b) is not met.

SECTION 3. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.007, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 63.007. VOTER WITH REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION [INCORRECT CERTIFICATE] WHO IS NOT ON LIST. (a) A voter who, when offering to vote, presents the documentation required under Section 63.001 [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 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) [(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;

(B) [(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;

(C) [(3)] did not deliberately provide false information to secure registration in a precinct in which the voter does not reside; and

(D) [(4)] 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) enter on the registration omissions list the precinct of the voter's registration as indicated by the voter's registration certificate.

SECTION 4. Section 63.009(a), 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 5. 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 that expired no earlier than one year 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 [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;

(4) [(5)] a United States passport issued to the person;

(5) a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety that contains the person's photograph;

(6) a student identification card issued by a public or private institution of higher education that contains the person's photograph [official mail addressed to the person by name from a governmental entity];

(7) a valid identification card that contains the person's photograph and is issued by:

(A) an agency or institution of the federal government;

(B) an agency, institution, or political subdivision of this state; or

(C) a tribal organization; or

(8) a Texas voter identification card issued under Section 12.007 [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 6. Effective January 1, 2012, 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). 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 7. Effective January 1, 2012, 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):

(A) at the time the ballot was cast; or

(B) in the period prescribed under Section 65.0541.

SECTION 8. Effective January 1, 2012, 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) may, not later than the seventh 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 9. Effective January 1, 2012, 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:

(1) executes an affidavit stating that the person:

(A) is obtaining the personal identification certificate for the purpose of satisfying Section 63.001(b), Election Code; and

(B) does not have another form of identification acceptable under Section 63.0101, Election Code; and

(2) is:

(A) a registered voter in this state and presents a valid voter registration certificate; or

(B) eligible for registration under Section 13.001, Election Code, and submits a registration application to the department.

SECTION 10. Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.006, 63.008, and 63.009(b), Election Code, are repealed.

SECTION 11. As soon as practicable after September 1, 2011, the secretary of state shall adopt the rules and training standards and develop the training materials required to implement the change in law made by this Act in adding Section 12.007, Election Code.

SECTION 12. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.