H.R. No. 123
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, The right to vote is sacred, and the exercise of that
  right represents a cornerstone of our democracy; and
         WHEREAS, The offense of illegal voting has long existed in
  this state, and when first codified, stated that if "any person,
  knowing himself not to be a qualified voter" nonetheless voted, the
  person would be subject to a fine; and
         WHEREAS, The offense has changed over the decades until its
  eventual recodification in Section 64.012(a)(1), Election Code,
  which states that a person commits the offense if the person "votes
  or attempts to vote in an election in which the person knows the
  person is not eligible to vote"; and
         WHEREAS, The offense is punishable by incarceration, fine, or
  both; and
         WHEREAS, A person's knowledge of the person's own
  ineligibility has always been an element of the offense; and
         WHEREAS, It is a fundamental principle of criminal law in
  this state that persons should only be convicted of an offense when
  all required elements of the offense are shown to have been
  satisfied; and
         WHEREAS, Instances where a person knows that the person is
  ineligible to vote in an election but nonetheless votes or attempts
  to vote should be prosecuted; and
         WHEREAS, Cases of genuine mistake, where the person votes or
  attempts to vote under the honest belief that the person is eligible
  to vote, should not establish the required element of knowledge of
  one's own ineligibility; and
         WHEREAS, In such cases, the ineligible person's vote should
  not be allowed, and any vote erroneously cast by an ineligible
  person should not be counted, but a person should not be criminally
  incarcerated for making an innocent mistake; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas
  Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby strongly believes that no
  Texan should be prosecuted for the offense of illegal voting if the
  person voted or attempted to vote based on a mistaken, honest belief
  that the person was in fact eligible to vote; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives encourages
  the careful exercise of discretion at all levels of government when
  investigating and prosecuting cases of alleged illegal voting.
 
  Burrows
 
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
 
         I certify that H.R. No. 123 was adopted by the House on August
  31, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 119, Nays 4, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House