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