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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the penalty for the crime of election fraud; increasing |
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a criminal penalty. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 276.013(a) and (b), Election Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or |
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intentionally makes any effort to: |
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(1) influence the independent exercise of the vote of |
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another in the presence of the ballot or during the voting process, |
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including by altering the ballot of another or by otherwise causing |
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a ballot to not reflect the intent of the voter; |
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(2) cause a voter to become registered, a ballot to be |
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obtained, or a vote to be cast under false pretenses; |
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(3) cause any false or intentionally misleading |
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statement, representation, or information to be provided: |
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(A) to an election official; or |
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(B) on an application for ballot by mail, carrier |
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envelope, or any other official election-related form or document; |
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(4) prevent a voter from casting a legal ballot in an |
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election in which the voter is eligible to vote; |
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(5) provide false information to a voter with the |
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intent of preventing the voter from voting in an election in which |
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the voter is eligible to vote; |
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(6) cause the ballot not to reflect the intent of the |
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voter; |
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(7) cause a ballot to be voted for another person that |
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the person knows to be deceased or otherwise knows not to be a |
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qualified or registered voter; |
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(8) cause or enable a vote to be cast more than once in |
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the same election; [or] |
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(9) discard or destroy a voter's completed ballot |
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without the voter's consent; |
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(10) count votes the person knows are invalid or alter |
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a report to include votes the person knows are invalid; or |
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(11) refuse to count votes the person knows are valid |
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or alter a report to exclude votes the person knows are valid. |
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(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second |
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degree [Class A misdemeanor], unless: |
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(1) the person committed the offense while acting in |
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the person's capacity as an elected official, in which case the |
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offense is a [state jail] felony of the first degree; or |
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(2) the person is convicted of an attempt, in which |
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case the offense is a felony of the third degree [Class B |
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misdemeanor]. |
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SECTION 2. The following provisions of the Election Code |
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are repealed: |
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(1) Section 276.013(c); and |
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(2) Section 276.014. |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former |
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law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this |
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Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |