Bill Text: TX HB1927 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled


Bill Title: Relating to the procedures for applying for a ballot to be voted by mail; creating a criminal offense.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 6-2)

Status: (Passed) 2015-06-19 - Effective on 9/1/15 [HB1927 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-HB1927-Enrolled.html
 
 
  H.B. No. 1927
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the procedures for applying for a ballot to be voted by
  mail; creating a criminal offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 84.001(e), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (e)  An applicant for a ballot to be voted by mail may apply
  for ballots for the main election and any resulting runoff election
  on the same application. If an [The timeliness of the application
  for both elections is determined in relation to the main election.
  However, if the] application for the main election and any
  resulting runoff is not timely for the main election, it will be
  considered timely for any resulting runoff if received not later
  than the deadline, determined using the date of the runoff
  election, for submitting a regular application for a ballot to be
  voted by mail [the timeliness of the application for the runoff
  election is determined in relation to that election].
         SECTION 2.  Section 84.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A person commits an offense if:
               (1)  [, in the same election,] the person signs an
  [early voting ballot] application for a ballot to be voted by mail
  as a witness for more than one applicant in the same election; or
               (2)  the person signs an application for annual ballots
  by mail as a witness for more than one applicant in the same
  calendar year.
         SECTION 3.  Section 84.007, Election Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read
  as follows:
         (b)  An application must be submitted to the early voting
  clerk by:
               (1)  mail;
               (2)  common or contract carrier; [or]
               (3)  telephonic facsimile machine, if a machine is
  available in the clerk's office; or
               (4)  electronic transmission of a scanned application
  containing an original signature.
         (c)  Except as provided by Section 86.0015(b), an [An]
  application may [must] be submitted at any time in the year of the
  election for which a ballot is requested, but not later than [on or
  after the 60th day before election day and before] the close of
  regular business in the early voting clerk's office or 12 noon,
  whichever is later, on the 11th [ninth] day before election day
  unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state or national
  holiday, in which case the last day is the first preceding regular
  business day.
         (e)  The early voting clerk shall designate an e-mail address
  for receipt of an application under Subsection (b)(4). The
  secretary of state shall include the e-mail addresses on the
  secretary of state's website.
         SECTION 4.  Section 84.011(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The officially prescribed application form for an early
  voting ballot must include:
               (1)  immediately preceding the signature space the
  statement: "I certify that the information given in this
  application is true, and I understand that giving false information
  in this application is a crime.";
               (2)  a statement informing the applicant of the
  offenses prescribed by Sections 84.003 and 84.004;
               (3)  spaces for entering an applicant's voter
  registration number and county election precinct of registration,
  with a statement informing the applicant that failure to furnish
  that information does not invalidate the application; and
               (4)  on an application for a ballot to be voted by mail:
                     (A)  a space for an applicant applying on the
  ground of absence from the county of residence to indicate the date
  on or after which the applicant can receive mail at the address
  outside the county;
                     (B)  a space for indicating the fact that an
  applicant whose application is signed by a witness cannot make the
  applicant's mark and a space for indicating the relationship or
  lack of relationship of the witness to the applicant;
                     (C)  a space for entering an applicant's telephone
  number, with a statement informing the applicant that failure to
  furnish that information does not invalidate the application;
                     (D)  a space or box for an applicant applying on
  the ground of age or disability to indicate that the address to
  which the ballot is to be mailed is the address of a facility or
  relative described by Section 84.002(a)(3), if applicable;
                     (E)  a space or box for an applicant applying on
  the ground of confinement in jail to indicate that the address to
  which the ballot is to be mailed is the address of a relative
  described by Section 84.002(a)(4), if applicable;
                     (F)  a space for an applicant applying on the
  ground of age or disability to indicate if the application is an
  application under Section 86.0015;
                     (G)  spaces for entering the signature, printed
  name, and residence address of any person assisting the applicant;
                     (H) [(G)]  a statement informing the applicant of
  the condition prescribed by Section 81.005; and
                     (I) [(H)]  a statement informing the applicant of
  the requirement prescribed by Section 86.003(c).
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter B, Chapter 84, Election Code, is
  amended by adding Section 84.038 to read as follows:
         Sec. 84.038.  CANCELLATION EFFECTIVE FOR SINGLE ELECTION.
  The cancellation of an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
  under Section 84.032(c), (d), or (e) is effective for a single
  ballot only and does not cancel the application with respect to a
  subsequent election, including a subsequent election to which the
  same application applies under Section 84.001(e) or 86.0015(b).
         SECTION 6.  Section 86.0015, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 86.0015.  ANNUAL BALLOTS BY MAIL [APPLYING FOR MORE
  THAN ONE ELECTION IN SAME APPLICATION]. (a)  This section applies
  only to an application for a ballot to be voted by mail that:
               (1)  indicates [is submitted to the county clerk
  indicating] the ground of eligibility is age or disability; and
               (2)  does not specify the election for which a ballot is
  requested or has been marked by the applicant as an application for
  more than one election.
         (b)  An application described by Subsection (a) is
  considered to be an application for a ballot for each election,
  including any ensuing runoff [in which the county clerk serves as
  early voting clerk and]:
               (1)  in which the applicant is eligible to vote; and
               (2)  that occurs before the earlier of:
                     (A)  except as provided by Subsection (b-2), the
  end of the calendar year in which the application was submitted;
  [or]
                     (B)  the date the county clerk receives notice
  from the voter registrar under Subsection (f) [(d)] that the voter
  has changed residence to another county; or
                     (C)  the date the voter's registration is canceled 
  [submitted a change in registration information].
         (b-1)  An application submitted under this section must be
  submitted before the close of regular business in the early voting
  clerk's office or 12 noon, whichever is later, on the 11th day
  before election day unless that day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal
  state or national holiday, in which case the last day is the first
  preceding regular business day.
         (b-2)  An application is considered to be submitted in the
  following calendar year for purposes of this section if:
               (1)  the applicant is eligible to vote in an election
  occurring in January or February of the next calendar year; and
               (2)  the application is submitted in the last 60 days of
  a calendar year but not earlier than the 60th day before the date of
  the January or February election.
         (c)  In an election of a political subdivision located in a
  county in which the county clerk is not the early voting clerk, the
  county clerk shall provide the early voting clerk of the political
  subdivision that is holding the election a list of voters in the
  portion of the political subdivision located in the county who have
  ballot applications on file under this section. The early voting
  clerk shall provide a ballot to be voted by mail to each voter on the
  list.
         (d)  The secretary of state shall provide a method by which
  counties and political subdivisions located in the county can
  exchange and update information on applications received under this
  section.
         (e)  An application described by Subsection (a) shall be
  preserved for the period for preserving the precinct election
  records for the last election for which the application is
  effective.
         (f) [(d)]  The voter registrar shall notify the county clerk
  when a voter's voter registration has been canceled or a voter's
  address or name has changed [following the receipt of a notice of a
  change in registration information under Section 15.021]. The
  county clerk must update any list of voters who have ballot
  applications on file under this section based on the information
  received from the voter registrar. A voter's ballot application on
  file under this section may not be canceled if a correction in
  registration information for the voter is a change of address
  within the county in which the voter is registered or a change of
  the voter's name.
         SECTION 7.  Section 86.006, Election Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  A marked ballot voted under this chapter must be
  returned to the early voting clerk in the official carrier
  envelope. The carrier envelope may be delivered in another
  envelope and must be transported and delivered only by:
               (1)  mail;
               (2)  [or by] common or contract carrier; or
               (3)  subject to Subsection (a-1), in-person delivery by
  the voter who voted the ballot.
         (a-1)  The voter may deliver a marked ballot in person to the
  early voting clerk's office only while the polls are open on
  election day. A voter who delivers a marked ballot in person must
  present an acceptable form of identification described by Section
  63.0101. 
         SECTION 8.  Section 84.009(b), Election Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 9.  Not later than January 1, 2016, the secretary of
  state shall make the modifications to the official application form
  for a ballot to be voted early by mail, as required by Section
  84.011(a), Election Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 10.  This Act applies only to an application for a
  ballot to be voted by mail submitted on or after January 1, 2016.
         SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1927 was passed by the House on May 4,
  2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 141, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 1927 on May 28, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1927 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 26, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor       
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