87(R) HB 1176 - Introduced version - Bill Text

	87R2148 TSS-F
	By:  Crockett	H.B.  No.  1176

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to allowing a person who will be 18 years of age on the date
	of the general election for state and county officers to vote in the
	preceding primary elections.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION  1.    Section 13.001, Election Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
	to read as follows:
	(a)    To be eligible for registration as a voter in this
	state, a person must:
	(1)    except as provided by Subsection (d), be 18 years
	of age or older;
	(2)    be a United States citizen;
	(3)    not have been determined by a final judgment of a
	court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
	(A)    totally mentally incapacitated; or
	(B)    partially mentally incapacitated without the
	right to vote;
	(4)    not have been finally convicted of a felony or, if
	so convicted, must have:
	(A)    fully discharged the person's sentence,
	including any term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or
	completed a period of probation ordered by any court; or
	(B)    been pardoned or otherwise released from the
	resulting disability to vote; and
	(5)    be a resident of the county in which application
	for registration is made.
	(b)    Except as provided by Subsection (d), to [To] be
	eligible to apply for registration, a person must, on the date the
	registration application is submitted to the registrar, be at least
	17 years and 10 months of age and satisfy the requirements of
	Subsection (a) except for age.
	(d)    A person who will be 18 years of age or older on the date
	of the next general election for state and county officers is
	eligible to register as a voter in this state for the purposes of
	voting in the primary election to determine a political party's
	nominees for the general election if the person satisfies the
	requirements of Subsection (a) except for age. The secretary of
	state shall prescribe procedures necessary to implement this
	subsection.
	(e)    The voter registrar may send a written notice to each
	person who registers to vote under Subsection (d) stating that the
	person is only eligible to vote in a primary election or runoff
	primary election and that the person is not eligible to vote in any
	other election until the person is 18 years of age. The notice may
	list the elections in which the person is not eligible to vote.
	SECTION  2.     Subchapter A, Chapter 172, Election Code, is
	amended by adding Section 172.005 to read as follows:
	Sec.  172.005.    VOTING BY PERSON UNDER AGE 18.  (a)
	Notwithstanding Section 11.001, a person may vote in a primary
	election if the person:
	(1)    will be 18 years of age or older on the date of the
	subsequent general election for state and county officers; and
	(2)    satisfies the requirements for being a qualified
	voter except for age.
	(b)    The secretary of state, after consulting with the state
	chairman of each political party required to make nominations by
	primary election, shall prescribe the procedures necessary to
	implement this section.
	SECTION  3.    This Act takes effect on the date on which the
	constitutional amendment proposed by the 87th Legislature, Regular
	Session, 2021, authorizing a person who will be 18 years of age or
	older on the date of the general election for state and county
	officers to vote in the preceding primary election takes effect. If
	that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act has no
	effect.