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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to accepting voters with certain disabilities. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 63.0013(b), (c), and (d), Election |
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Code, as added by Chapter 980 (H.B. 658), Acts of the 85th |
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Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, are amended to read as follows: |
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(b) An election officer shall [may] accept a person with a |
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mobility problem that substantially impairs a person's ability to |
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ambulate who is offering to vote before accepting others offering |
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to vote at the polling place who arrived before the person. |
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(c) Notice of the priority given to persons with a mobility |
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problem that substantially impairs a person's ability to ambulate |
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shall be posted: |
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(1) at [one or more locations in] each entrance to a |
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polling place where it can be read by persons waiting to vote; |
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(2) on the Internet website of the secretary of state; |
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and |
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(3) on each Internet website relating to elections |
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maintained by a county. |
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(d) The notice required by Subsection (c) must read: |
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"Pursuant to Section 63.0013, Election Code, an election officer |
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shall [may] give voting order priority to individuals with a |
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mobility problem that substantially impairs the person's ability to |
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move around. A person assisting an individual with a mobility |
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problem may also, at the individual's request, be given voting |
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order priority. Disabilities and conditions that may qualify you |
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for voting order priority include paralysis, lung disease, the use |
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of portable oxygen, cardiac deficiency, severe limitation in the |
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ability to walk due to arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic |
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condition, wheelchair confinement, arthritis, foot disorder, the |
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inability to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest, or use of a |
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brace, cane, crutch, or other assistive device." |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |