84R8743 ADM-F

By: Schofield H.B. No. 1452

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the requirements for a person to vote in the precinct of the person's former residence.

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

SECTION 1. Section 63.0011, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (b-3) to read as follows:

(a) Before a voter may be accepted for voting, an election officer shall ask the voter if the voter's residence address on the precinct list of registered voters is current and whether the voter has changed residence [within the county]. If the voter's address is omitted from the precinct list under Section 18.005(c), the officer shall ask the voter if the voter's residence, if listed, on identification presented by the voter under Section 63.001(b) is current and whether the voter has changed residence [within the county].

(b-1) If the voter's address is not current because the voter has changed residence to a different county within 30 days of the date of the election, the voter may vote, if otherwise eligible, in the election precinct in which the voter is registered.

(b-2) In a joint election held in accordance with Chapter 271, if the voter's address is not current because the voter has changed residence within the county, the voter may vote, if otherwise eligible, in the election precinct in which the voter is registered. A voter eligible under this subsection shall receive a joint election ballot according to the voter's registered residence address, notwithstanding Section 11.001(a)(2) or any other provision of this code.

(b-3) The secretary of state shall adopt rules to ensure that a voter's pending registration is not canceled due to a vote cast by the voter voting under Subsection (b-1) or (b-2) in the precinct in which the voter is registered.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.