Bill Text: TX HB401 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 5)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-23 - Referred to Elections [HB401 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB401-Introduced.html

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82R2858 JRJ-D
By: Smith of Tarrant H.B. No. 401

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 12, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.007. TEXAS VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARD. (a) Each
voter registrar shall issue Texas voter identification cards to
registered voters to be used only for the purpose of meeting the
identification requirements of Section 63.001(b). The voter
registrar must provide at least one place in the county to accept
applications for and issue Texas voter identification cards. The
voter registrar may not charge an application fee or a fee for the
issuance of a Texas voter identification card.
(b) A person who has a valid driver's license or personal
identification card issued to the person by the Department of
Public Safety is not eligible for a Texas voter identification
card.
(c) The Texas voter identification card issued to a person
must:
(1) be captioned "TEXAS VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARD";
(2) contain a prominent statement that under Texas law
the card is valid only as identification for voting purposes;
(3) be laminated;
(4) contain a digital color photograph of the person;
and
(5) include the following information relating to the
person:
(A) full legal name;
(B) residence address;
(C) birth date;
(D) date the identification card was issued;
(E) sex;
(F) height;
(G) weight;
(H) eye color;
(I) the county where the identification card was
issued, including a county number to be assigned for each county by
the secretary of state; and
(J) any other information or identification as
required by rule of the secretary of state.
(d) The application form for a Texas voter identification
card must elicit the information required under Subsection (c) and
any other information required by rule of the secretary of state.
The application must be signed and sworn to by the applicant.
(e) The following information must be presented to and
verified by the voter registrar before the voter registrar issues a
Texas voter identification card to a person:
(1) a photo identification document, or an
identification document that includes both the person's full legal
name and date of birth;
(2) documentation showing the person's date of birth;
(3) evidence that the person is registered to vote in
this state; and
(4) documentation showing the person's name and
address of principal residence.
(f) A Texas voter identification card remains valid if the
person to whom it was issued resides at the same address and remains
qualified to vote. A person who changes residence within the state
must surrender the card to the voter registrar of the new county of
residence and may apply for and receive a Texas voter
identification card issued by the new county of residence if the
person is otherwise eligible under this section. A person who moves
residence outside the state or who ceases to be qualified to vote
must surrender the person's Texas voter identification card to the
voter registrar who issued the card.
(g) The secretary of state shall provide each voter
registrar with the necessary equipment, forms, supplies, and
training for the production of the Texas voter identification cards
and shall maintain the equipment.
(h) The secretary of state shall adopt rules for the
administration of this section.
SECTION 2. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.001,
Election Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), (d),
and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(b) On offering to vote, a voter must present one form of
identification listed in Section 63.0101 [the voter's voter
registration certificate] to an election officer at the polling
place.
(c) On presentation of the documentation required by
Subsection (b) [a registration certificate], an election officer
shall determine whether the voter's name on the documentation
[registration certificate] is on the list of registered voters for
the precinct.
(d) If the voter's name is on the precinct list of
registered voters and the voter's identity can be verified from the
documentation presented under Subsection (b), the voter shall be
accepted for voting.
(f) After determining whether to accept a voter, an election
officer shall return the voter's documentation [registration
certificate] to the voter.
(g) A voter shall be accepted for provisional voting only
under Section 63.011 if the requirement for identification
prescribed by Subsection (b) is not met.
SECTION 3. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 63.007,
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 63.007. VOTER WITH REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION [INCORRECT
CERTIFICATE] WHO IS NOT ON LIST. (a) A voter who, when offering to
vote, presents the documentation required under Section 63.001 [a
voter registration certificate indicating that the voter is
currently registered in a different precinct from the one in which
the voter is offering to vote], and whose name is not on the
precinct list of registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if
the voter presents a voter registration certificate indicating that
the voter is currently registered:
(1) in the precinct in which the voter is offering to
vote; or
(2) in a different precinct from the one in which the
voter is offering to vote and the voter executes an affidavit
stating that the voter:
(A) [(1)] is a resident of the precinct in which
the voter is offering to vote or is otherwise entitled by law to
vote in that precinct;
(B) [(2)] was a resident of the precinct in which
the voter is offering to vote at the time that information on the
voter's residence address was last provided to the voter registrar;
(C) [(3)] did not deliberately provide false
information to secure registration in a precinct in which the voter
does not reside; and
(D) [(4)] is voting only once in the election.
(b) After the voter is accepted, an election officer shall:
(1) indicate beside the voter's name on the poll list
that the voter was accepted under this section; and
(2) enter on the registration omissions list the
precinct of the voter's registration as indicated by the voter's
registration certificate.
SECTION 4. Section 63.009(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A [Except as provided by Subsection (b), a] voter who
does not present a voter registration certificate when offering to
vote, and whose name is not on the list of registered voters for the
precinct in which the voter is offering to vote, shall be accepted
for provisional voting if the voter executes an affidavit in
accordance with Section 63.011.
SECTION 5. Section 63.0101, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 63.0101. DOCUMENTATION OF PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION.
The following documentation is an acceptable form [as proof] of
photo identification under this chapter:
(1) a driver's license or personal identification card
issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety that has not
expired or that expired no earlier than one year before the date of
presentation [or a similar document issued to the person by an
agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card
has expired];
(2) a United States military identification card that
contains the person's photograph [form of identification
containing the person's photograph that establishes the person's
identity];
(3) a [birth certificate or other document confirming
birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes the
person's identity;
[(4)] United States citizenship certificate [papers]
issued to the person that contains the person's photograph;
(4) [(5)] a United States passport issued to the
person;
(5) a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to
the person by the Department of Public Safety that contains the
person's photograph;
(6) a student identification card issued by a public
or private institution of higher education that contains the
person's photograph [official mail addressed to the person by name
from a governmental entity];
(7) a valid identification card that contains the
person's photograph and is issued by:
(A) an agency or institution of the federal
government;
(B) an agency, institution, or political
subdivision of this state; or
(C) a tribal organization; or
(8) a Texas voter identification card issued under
Section 12.007 [copy of a current utility bill, bank statement,
government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows
the name and address of the voter; or
[(8) any other form of identification prescribed by
the secretary of state].
SECTION 6. Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.011(a)
and (b), Election Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A person to whom Section 63.001(g) [63.008(b)] or
63.009(a) applies may cast a provisional ballot if the person
executes an affidavit stating that the person:
(1) is a registered voter in the precinct in which the
person seeks to vote; and
(2) is eligible to vote in the election.
(b) A form for an affidavit required by this section must
[shall] be printed on an envelope in which the provisional ballot
voted by the person may be placed and must include a space for
entering the identification number of the provisional ballot voted
by the person and a space for an election officer to indicate
whether the person presented proof of identification as required by
Section 63.001(b). The affidavit form may include space for
disclosure of any necessary information to enable the person to
register to vote under Chapter 13. The secretary of state shall
prescribe the form of the affidavit under this section.
SECTION 7. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 65.054(b),
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) A provisional ballot may be accepted only if:
(1) the board determines that, from the information in
the affidavit or contained in public records, the person is
eligible to vote in the election and has not previously voted in
that election; and
(2) the voter presents proof of identification as
required by Section 63.001(b):
(A) at the time the ballot was cast; or
(B) in the period prescribed under Section
65.0541.
SECTION 8. Effective January 1, 2012, Subchapter B, Chapter
65, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 65.0541 to read as
follows:
Sec. 65.0541. PRESENTATION OF IDENTIFICATION FOR CERTAIN
PROVISIONAL BALLOTS. (a) A voter who is accepted for provisional
voting under Section 63.011 because the voter does not present
proof of identification as required by Section 63.001(b) may, not
later than the seventh business day after the date of the election,
present proof of identification to the voter registrar for
examination by the early voting ballot board.
(b) The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures as
necessary to implement this section.
SECTION 9. Effective January 1, 2012, Section 521.422,
Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the [The] fee for
a personal identification certificate is:
(1) $15 for a person under 60 years of age;
(2) $5 for a person 60 years of age or older; and
(3) $20 for a person subject to the registration
requirements under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(d) The department may not collect a fee for a personal
identification certificate issued to a person who:
(1) executes an affidavit stating that the person:
(A) is obtaining the personal identification
certificate for the purpose of satisfying Section 63.001(b),
Election Code; and
(B) does not have another form of identification
acceptable under Section 63.0101, Election Code; and
(2) is:
(A) a registered voter in this state and presents
a valid voter registration certificate; or
(B) eligible for registration under Section
13.001, Election Code, and submits a registration application to
the department.
SECTION 10. Effective January 1, 2012, Sections 63.006,
63.008, and 63.009(b), Election Code, are repealed.
SECTION 11. As soon as practicable after September 1, 2011,
the secretary of state shall adopt the rules and training standards
and develop the training materials required to implement the change
in law made by this Act in adding Section 12.007, Election Code.
SECTION 12. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.