Bill Text: TX HB539 | 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 3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-23 - Referred to Elections [HB539 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB539-Introduced.html

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82R2228 JRJ-D
By: Anderson of McLennan H.B. No. 539

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. Effective September 1, 2011, Subchapter A,
Chapter 15, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 15.005 to
read as follows:
Sec. 15.005. NOTICE OF IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a)
The voter registrar of each county shall provide notice of the
identification requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 and
a detailed description of those requirements with each voter
registration certificate issued under Section 13.142 or renewal
registration certificate issued under Section 14.001.
(b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the wording of
the notice to be included on the certificate under this section.
SECTION 2. Effective September 1, 2011, Subchapter A,
Chapter 31, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 31.012 to
read as follows:
Sec. 31.012. NOTICE OF VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS ON
WEBSITE. The secretary of state and the voter registrar of each
county that maintains a website shall provide notice of the
identification requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 on
each entity's respective website. The secretary of state shall
prescribe the wording of the notice to be included on the websites.
SECTION 3. Effective September 1, 2011, Section 32.111,
Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(c) The training standards adopted under Subsection (a)
must include provisions on the acceptance and handling of the
identification presented by a voter to an election officer under
Section 63.001.
SECTION 4. Effective September 1, 2011, Section 32.114(a),
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The county clerk shall provide one or more sessions of
training using the standardized training program and materials
developed and provided by the secretary of state under Section
32.111 for the election judges and clerks appointed to serve in
elections ordered by the governor or a county authority. Each
election judge shall complete the training program. Each election
clerk shall complete the part of the training program relating to
the acceptance and handling of the identification presented by a
voter to an election officer under Section 63.001.
SECTION 5. Chapter 62, Election Code, is amended by adding
Section 62.016 to read as follows:
Sec. 62.016. NOTICE OF ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION OUTSIDE
POLLING PLACES. The presiding judge shall post in a prominent place
on the outside of each polling location notice that a provisional
ballot will be provided to a person who executes the appropriate
affidavit and a list of the acceptable forms of photographic and
nonphotographic identification. The notice and list must be
printed in a font that is at least 24 point.
SECTION 6. 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 to an election
officer at the polling place the voter's voter registration
certificate and:
(1) one form of identification listed in Section
63.0101(a); or
(2) two different forms of identification listed in
Section 63.0101(b) [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) If the requirements for identification prescribed by
Subsection (b) are not met, the voter may be accepted for
provisional voting only under Section 63.011. An election officer
shall inform a voter who is not accepted for voting under this
section of the voter's right to cast a provisional ballot under
Section 63.011.
SECTION 7. Section 63.0011(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Before a voter may be accepted for voting, an election
officer shall ask the voter if the voter's residence address on the
precinct list of registered voters is current and whether the voter
has changed residence within the county. If the voter's address is
omitted from the precinct list under Section 18.005(c), the officer
shall ask the voter if the voter's residence as listed on
identification presented by the voter under Section 63.001(b) [the
voter's voter registration certificate] is current and whether the
voter has changed residence within the county.
SECTION 8. Section 63.006(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A voter who, when offering to vote, presents a voter
registration certificate indicating that the voter is currently
registered in the precinct in which the voter is offering to vote,
but whose name is not on the precinct list of registered voters,
shall be accepted for voting if the voter's identity can be verified
from the documentation presented under Section 63.001(b).
SECTION 9. Section 63.007(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A voter who, when offering to vote, presents 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's
identity can be verified from the documentation presented under
Section 63.001(b) and the voter executes an affidavit stating that
the voter:
(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;
(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;
(3) did not deliberately provide false information to
secure registration in a precinct in which the voter does not
reside; and
(4) is voting only once in the election.
SECTION 10. Section 63.008(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A voter who does not present a voter registration
certificate when offering to vote, but whose name is on the list of
registered voters for the precinct in which the voter is offering to
vote, shall be accepted for voting if the voter executes an
affidavit stating that the voter does not have the voter's voter
registration certificate in the voter's possession at the polling
place at the time of offering to vote and the voter's identity can
be verified from the identification presented under Section
63.001(b) [voter presents proof of identification in a form
described by Section 63.0101].
SECTION 11. Section 63.0101, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 63.0101. DOCUMENTATION OF PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION.
(a) An [The following documentation is] acceptable form of photo
[as proof of] identification under this chapter must:
(1) be [a driver's license or personal identification
card issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety or a
similar document] issued to the person by an agency of this state or
the United States [another state, regardless of whether the license
or card has expired];
(2) contain a [form of identification containing the
person's] photograph of the person that establishes the person's
identity;
(3) display the person's name, which must
substantially conform to the name on the voter registration list [a
birth certificate or other document confirming birth that is
admissible in a court of law and establishes the person's
identity]; and
(4) contain an expiration date that:
(A) has not occurred; or
(B) occurs after the date of the most recent
general election for state and county officers.
(b) The following documentation is acceptable as proof of
identification under this chapter:
(1) [United States citizenship papers issued to the
person;
[(5) a United States passport issued to the person;
[(6) official mail addressed to the person by name
from a governmental entity;
[(7)] a copy of a current utility bill, bank
statement, government check, paycheck, or other government
document that shows the name and address of the voter;
(2) official mail addressed to the person by name from
a governmental entity;
(3) a certified copy of 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 papers issued to the
person;
(5) an original or certified copy of the person's
marriage license or divorce decree;
(6) court records of the person's adoption, name
change, or sex change;
(7) an identification card issued to the person by a
governmental entity of this state or the United States for the
purpose of obtaining public benefits, including veterans benefits,
Medicaid, or Medicare;
(8) a temporary driving permit issued to the person by
the Department of Public Safety;
(9) a pilot's license issued to the person by the
Federal Aviation Administration or another authorized agency of the
United States;
(10) a library card that contains the person's name
issued to the person by a public library located in this state; or
(11) a hunting or fishing license issued to a person by
the Parks and Wildlife Department [or
[(8) any other form of identification prescribed by
the secretary of state].
SECTION 12. 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)(1) or (2). 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 13. 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)(1) or (2):
(A) at the time the ballot was cast; or
(B) in the period prescribed under Section
65.0541.
SECTION 14. 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 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)(1) or (2)
may, not later than the sixth business day after the date of the
election, present proof of identification to the voter registrar
for examination by the early voting ballot board.
SECTION 15. 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 executes an
affidavit stating that the person is obtaining the personal
identification certificate for the sole purpose of satisfying
Section 63.001(b)(1), Election Code, and:
(1) is a registered voter in this state and presents a
valid voter registration certificate; or
(2) is eligible for registration under Section 13.001,
Election Code, and submits a registration application to the
department.
SECTION 16. Effective September 1, 2011:
(1) as soon as practicable, the secretary of state
shall adopt the training standards and develop the training
materials required to implement the change in law made by this Act
to Section 32.111, Election Code; and
(2) as soon as practicable, the county clerk of each
county shall provide a session of training under Section 32.114,
Election Code, using the standards adopted and materials developed
to implement the change in law made by this Act to Section 32.111,
Election Code.
SECTION 17. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act takes effect January 1, 2012.