TITLE: Relating to the requirement that a voter provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

SUMMARY: Relating to the requirement that a voter provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the requirement that a voter provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 13.002, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (i) to read as follows: (c) A registration application must include: (1) the applicant's first name, middle name, if any, last name, and former name, if any; (2) the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth; (3) a statement that the applicant is a United States citizen; (4) a statement that the applicant is a resident of the county; (5) a statement that the applicant has not 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; (6) a statement that the applicant has not been finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon eligible for registration under Section 13.001; (7) the applicant's residence address or, if the residence has no address, the address at which the applicant receives mail and a concise description of the location of the applicant's residence; (8) the following information: (A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number or the number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety; (B) if the applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's social security number; or (C) a statement by the applicant that the applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A) or (B); (9) if the application is made by an agent, a statement of the agent's relationship to the applicant; [and] (10) the city and county in which the applicant formerly resided;and (11) if the applicant has not been registered to vote in the county continuously since September 1, 2011, proof of the voter's United States citizenship through a certified copy of a birth certificate or other document prescribed by the secretary of state.(i) The secretary of state by rule may prescribe the documents that may be used as proof of a voter's United States citizenship under Subsection (c)(11). SECTION 2. Section 13.121(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) The officially prescribed application form for registration by mail must be in the form of [a] business reply mail [postcard],unless another form or system is used under Subsection (b), with postage paid by the state. The secretary of state shall design the form to enhance the legibility of its contents. SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act to Section 13.002, Election Code, applies to a voter registration application submitted on or after September 1, 2011. SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.