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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of unlawfully |
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publishing a vote. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 61.006, Election Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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Sec. 61.006. UNLAWFULLY PUBLISHING [DIVULGING] VOTE. (a) |
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In this section: |
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(1) "Effective consent" means consent by a person |
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legally authorized to act for the voter. Consent is not effective |
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if: |
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(A) induced by force, threat, or fraud; |
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(B) given by a person the actor knows is not |
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legally authorized to act for the voter; |
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(C) given by a person who by reason of youth, |
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mental disease or defect, or intoxication is known by the actor to |
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be unable to make reasonable decisions; or |
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(D) given solely to detect the commission of an |
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offense. |
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(2) "Publish" means to communicate information or make |
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information available to another person orally, in writing, or by |
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means of telecommunication or electronic communication. |
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(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person [was in a |
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polling place for any purpose other than voting and] knowingly |
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publishes [communicates to another person information that the |
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person obtained at the polling place about] how a voter has voted |
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without the effective consent of the voter. |
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(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third |
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degree. |
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(c) It is an exception to prosecution under this section |
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that the person published the voter's voting [This section does not |
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apply to] information during: |
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(1) [presented in] an official investigation to which |
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the information was relevant; or |
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(2) an administrative, executive, legislative, or |
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judicial proceeding conducted before a public servant and to [other |
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official proceeding in] which the information was [is] relevant, |
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including during the administration of an election. |
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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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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |