Texas SB 164: Relating to early voting by mail by any qualified voter.

Bill Text

By:AARodrÕguez S.B.ANo.A164
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to early voting by mail by any qualified voter.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTIONA1.AASection 13.002(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e)AANotwithstanding Section 82.005, a [A] person who is
certified for participation in the address confidentiality program
administered by the attorney general under Subchapter C, Chapter
56, Code of Criminal Procedure, is not eligible for early voting by
mail [under Section 82.007] unless the person submits an
application under this section by personal delivery. The secretary
of state may adopt rules to implement this subsection.
SECTIONA2.AASection 82.005, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec.A82.005.AAELIGIBILITY FOR EARLY VOTING [BY PERSONAL
APPEARANCE]. Any qualified voter is eligible for early voting by
mail or personal appearance.
SECTIONA3.AASection 82.007, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec.A82.007.AAPARTICIPATION IN ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY
PROGRAM. Notwithstanding Section 82.005, a [A] qualified voter
who, [is eligible for early voting by mail if:
[(1)AAthe voter submitted a registration application by
personal delivery as required by Section 13.002(e); and
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86R803GRM-D 1

[(2)]AAat the time the voter’s early voting ballot
application is submitted, [the voter] is certified for
participation in the address confidentiality program administered
by the attorney general under Subchapter C, Chapter 56, Code of
Criminal Procedure, is eligible for early voting by mail only if the
voter submitted a registration application by personal delivery as
required by Section 13.002(e).
SECTIONA4.AASection 84.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a)AATo be entitled to vote an early voting ballot by mail, a
person [who is eligible for early voting] must make an application
for an early voting ballot to be voted by mail as provided by this
title.
SECTIONA5.AASection 84.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a)AAAn early voting ballot application must include:
(1)AAthe applicant’s name and the address at which the
applicant is registered to vote;
(2)AAfor an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
by an applicant who will be absent from the applicant’s [on the
ground of absence from the] county of residence on election day, the
address outside the applicant’s county of residence to which the
ballot is to be mailed;
(3)AAfor an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
by an applicant who is 65 years of age or older on election day or
has a sickness or physical condition that requires the applicant to
reside in a hospital or nursing home or other long-term care
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S.B.ANo.A164
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facility, or with a relative [on the ground of age or disability],
the address of the hospital, nursing home or other long-term care
facility, or retirement center, or of a person related to the
applicant within the second degree by affinity or the third degree
by consanguinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code,
if the applicant is living at that address and that address is
different from the address at which the applicant is registered to
vote;
(4)AAfor an application for a ballot to be voted by mail
by an applicant who is confined [on the ground of confinement] in
jail as described by Section 84.009(a), the address of the jail or
of a person related to the applicant within the degree described by
Subdivision (3); and
(5)AA[for an application for a ballot to be voted by
mail on any ground,] an indication of each election for which the
applicant is applying for a ballot[; and
[(6)AAan indication of the ground of eligibility for
early voting].
SECTIONA6.AASection 84.009, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b) to read as
follows:
(a)AAThis section applies only to an applicant who, at the
time the application for a ballot to be voted by mail is submitted,
is confined in jail:
(1)AAserving a misdemeanor sentence for a term that
ends on or after election day;
(2)AApending trial after denial of bail;
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S.B.ANo.A164
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(3)AAwithout bail pending an appeal of a felony
conviction; or
(4)AApending trial or appeal on a bailable offense for
which release on bail before election day is unlikely.
(b)AAOn request of the applicant, an application for a ballot
to be voted by mail [on the ground of confinement in jail] may be
submitted to the early voting clerk, at the discretion of the
authority in charge of the jail, by personal delivery by the jail
authority or by a designated subordinate of the authority.
SECTIONA7.AASection 84.011(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a)AAThe officially prescribed application form for an early
voting ballot must include:
(1)AAimmediately preceding t