Bill Text: TX HB2570 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Relating to voter registration; creating an offense.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-05-16 - Left pending in committee [HB2570 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HB2570-Engrossed.html
| By: Miles | H.B. No. 2570 | |
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| relating to voter registration; creating an offense. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 13.073, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows: | ||
| (d) In providing a written or oral reason for rejection | ||
| under Subsection (a) or (b), the registrar shall identify which | ||
| section or sections of the application resulted in the rejection. | ||
| For each section identified, the registrar shall specify if the | ||
| section was incomplete, was improperly filled out, or contained | ||
| information identifying the applicant as ineligible to vote. | ||
| (e) The registrar shall work to lower error rates in | ||
| applications by following the training standards for deputy voter | ||
| registrars as set out in Section 13.047. | ||
| SECTION 2. The heading to Section 13.047, Election Code, is | ||
| amended to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 13.047. TRAINING STANDARDS FOR DEPUTY REGISTRARS; | ||
| TRAINING USING MATERIALS POSTED ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE WEBSITE. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 13.047, Election Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (c) The secretary of state shall provide on the agency's | ||
| website the training materials and, if applicable, the examination | ||
| that a potential volunteer deputy registrar may access at any time. | ||
| (d) The materials posted online and described by Subsection | ||
| (c) must allow an applicant to download and print a document to be | ||
| used as a certificate of completion of training. The document must: | ||
| (1) provide for the applicant to include the | ||
| applicant's name, county, and residence address and any other | ||
| information the secretary of state considers necessary; | ||
| (2) include the examination questions, if required by | ||
| the secretary of state; and | ||
| (3) contain a form on which the applicant may execute | ||
| an affidavit affirming that the applicant has read the training | ||
| materials in their entirety. | ||
| (e) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly | ||
| makes a false statement or requests, commands, or attempts to | ||
| induce another person to make a false statement on an affidavit | ||
| completed as part of a certificate of completion. An offense under | ||
| this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor. | ||
| (f) An applicant who completes the training materials and a | ||
| certificate of completion shall present the certificate to the | ||
| registrar at the time the applicant requests appointment as a | ||
| volunteer deputy registrar. Upon appointment, the applicant is not | ||
| required to take further training and may immediately receive | ||
| another person's voter registration application. | ||
| (g) The registrar must accept a certificate of completion | ||
| presented by an applicant and appoint the person as a volunteer | ||
| deputy registrar if the applicant: | ||
| (1) is eligible to be appointed as a volunteer deputy | ||
| registrar under this subchapter; | ||
| (2) has executed the affidavit with an original | ||
| signature; and | ||
| (3) has passed the examination, if applicable. | ||
| (h) At the time a volunteer deputy registrar who received | ||
| training is appointed, the registrar shall advise the volunteer: | ||
| (1) of county-specific procedures for processing | ||
| voter registration applications, if applicable; and | ||
| (2) that the only requirements for voter registration | ||
| are those prescribed by state law or by the secretary of state. | ||
| (i) A volunteer deputy registrar requesting appointment in | ||
| an additional county may present the person's valid certificate of | ||
| appointment as proof of training. The volunteer is eligible to | ||
| receive another person's voter registration application | ||
| immediately on receiving a certificate of appointment from the | ||
| registrar of the additional county. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2013. | ||
