H.B. No. 951 amends the Election Code to enforce stricter political party affiliation requirements for voters participating in primary elections. The bill mandates that voter registration applications must include the applicant's political party affiliation, and it stipulates that only individuals affiliated with a political party can vote in that party's primary elections. Additionally, it establishes that any vote cast in a primary election is void if the voter is not affiliated with the party conducting the primary. The legislation also prohibits political parties from charging fees for candidates applying for county chair or precinct chair positions and specifies that signatures on nomination petitions are only valid if the signer is either unaffiliated or affiliated with the party for which the nomination is sought.

To ensure compliance, the bill introduces criminal penalties for individuals who knowingly vote or attempt to vote in a primary election without proper affiliation, with penalties ranging from a second-degree felony for voting without affiliation to a state jail felony for attempting to do so. The bill also requires that registered voters be notified of these affiliation requirements and outlines the process for indicating party affiliation. The changes are set to take effect on September 1, 2025, with specific provisions regarding voter registration and affiliation status to be implemented by December 11, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Election Code 13.002, Election Code 13.122, Election Code 15.001, Election Code 15.025, Election Code 18.005, Election Code 63.011, Election Code 112.002, Election Code 142.004, Election Code 142.008, Election Code 142.009, Election Code 161.005, Election Code 162.001, Election Code 162.003, Election Code 162.010, Election Code 162.013, Election Code 162.014, Election Code 162.017, Election Code 172.021, Election Code 172.026, Election Code 172.027, Election Code 172.086, Election Code 172.088, Election Code 172.126, Election Code 181.006, Election Code 181.031, Election Code 181.065, Election Code 182.0041, Election Code 192.032, Election Code 203.011 (Election Code 203, Election Code 162, Election Code 18, Election Code 13, Election Code 112, Election Code 15, Election Code 172, Election Code 182, Election Code 192, Election Code 63, Election Code 181, Election Code 142, Election Code 161)