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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the offense of unacknowledged assistance to a voter in |
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completing an application for a ballot to be voted by mail. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 84.003(b), (c), and (d), Election Code, |
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are amended to read as follows: |
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(b) A person who acts as a witness for an applicant for an |
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early voting ballot application commits an offense if the person |
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knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011. A person who [in the
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presence of the applicant] otherwise assists an applicant in |
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completing an early voting ballot application commits an offense if |
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the person knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011(d) in the |
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same manner as a witness. |
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(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third |
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degree [Class A misdemeanor]. |
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(d) Subsection (b) does not apply if: |
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(1) the person is related to the applicant within the |
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second degree by affinity or the third degree by consanguinity, as |
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determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Government Code, or is |
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registered to vote at the same address as the applicant; or |
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(2) the person provides the applicant with a blank |
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application form for the applicant to complete and the person does |
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not provide on the form any information particular to that |
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applicant. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |