87(R) HB 76 - Introduced version - Bill Text

	87R206 BRG-D
	By:  Meza	H.B.  No.  76

	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:
	SECTION  1.    Section 13.002(e), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(e)    Notwithstanding Section 82.005, a [A] person who is
	certified for participation in the address confidentiality program
	administered by the attorney general under Subchapter B, Chapter
	58, 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.
	SECTION  2.    Section 82.005, Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec.  82.005.    ELIGIBILITY FOR EARLY VOTING [BY PERSONAL
	APPEARANCE]. Any qualified voter is eligible for early voting by
	mail or personal appearance.
	SECTION  3.    Section 82.007, Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec.  82.007.    PARTICIPATION IN ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY
	PROGRAM. Notwithstanding Section 82.005, a [A] qualified voter
	who, [is eligible for early voting by mail if:
	[(1)    the voter submitted a registration application by
	personal delivery as required by Section 13.002(e); and
	[(2)]    at 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 B, Chapter 58, 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).
	SECTION  4.    Section 84.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)    To 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.
	SECTION  5.    Section 84.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)    An early voting ballot application must include:
	(1)    the applicant's name and the address at which the
	applicant is registered to vote;
	(2)    for 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)    for 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
	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)    for 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)    [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)    an indication of the ground of eligibility for
	early voting].
	SECTION  6.    Section 84.009, Election Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b) to read as
	follows:
	(a)    This 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)    serving a misdemeanor sentence for a term that
	ends on or after election day;
	(2)    pending trial after denial of bail;