Amend CSSB 1 (house committee report) by adding the following appropriately numbered ARTICLE to the bill and renumbering subsequent ARTICLES of the bill accordingly:
ARTICLE ____. ELECTRONIC VOTER REGISTRATION
SECTION ____.01. Subchapter A, Chapter 13, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 13.009 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.009. ELECTRONIC VOTER REGISTRATION. (a) The secretary of state shall work with the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Information Resources to implement a program to allow a person to complete a voter registration application over the Internet from the official website of this state. The Internet websites of the secretary of state and the Department of Public Safety must also provide a link to the location of the application on the official website of this state.
(b) An applicant for electronic voter registration who has an unexpired driver's license or personal identification card issued in this state must:
(1) attest to the truth of the information provided on the application by affirmatively accepting the information as true; and
(2) affirmatively consent to the use of the signature on the applicant's driver's license or personal identification card for voter registration purposes.
(c) An applicant for electronic voter registration who does not have an unexpired driver's license or personal identification card issued in this state must:
(1) attest to the truth of the information provided on the application by affirmatively accepting the information as true; and
(2) print a registration application from the Internet website the applicant is using to register, sign the application, and mail it to the registrar.
(d) For each application submitted under Subsection (b), the program shall require that a digital copy of the applicant's signature be obtained from the Department of Public Safety.
(e) For each application submitted under Subsection (c), the program shall provide the applicant with:
(1) a registration application that the applicant can print from the registration website, sign, and mail to the registrar as required under Subsection (c)(2); and
(2) information about how the applicant can obtain a driver's license or personal identification card from the Department of Public Safety.
(f) An application submitted under this section is considered for all purposes an application submitted by mail under this title.
(g) The secretary of state shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section, including rules to provide for additional security measures necessary to ensure the accuracy and integrity of applications submitted electronically.
(h) The rules adopted under Subsection (g) must require that:
(1) the Internet website through which a person may complete a voter registration application include a description of the offense described by Section 13.007 in a conspicuous location on the website near the place where the person begins or submits the application; and
(2) the state electronic Internet portal project be used to authenticate the identity and address of a person who submits an application electronically under this section.