2023 Texas Statutes › Election Code › Title 2 - Voter Qualifications and Registration › Chapter 13 - Application for Registration; Initial Registration › Subchapter A. Eligibility; Manner of Applying for Registration › Section 13.002. Application Required

Sec. 13.002.  APPLICATION REQUIRED.  (a)  A person desiring to register to vote must submit an application to the registrar of the county in which the person resides.  Except as provided by Subsection (e), an application must be submitted by personal delivery, by mail, or by telephonic facsimile machine in accordance with Sections 13.143(d) and (d-2).
(b)  A registration application must be in writing and signed by the applicant.
(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.
(c-1)  The information required under Subsections (c)(3), (4), (5), (6), and (8) must be supplied by the person desiring to register to vote.
(d)  The omission of the applicant's middle or former name under Subsection (c)(1) or the applicant's zip code under Subsection (c)(7) does not affect the validity of a registration application, and the registrar may not reject the application because of that omission.
(e)  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.
(f)  Instead of the statement required by Subsection (c)(5), an applicant who has been determined to be partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote by a court and who is eligible to register because of Section 1.020(b) shall include in the application a statement that the person's guardianship has been modified to include the right to vote or the person's mental capacity has been completely restored, as applicable, by a final judgment of a court.
(g)  Instead of the statement required by Subsection (c)(5), an applicant who has been determined to be totally mentally incapacitated by a court and who is eligible to register because of Section 1.020(a) shall include in the application a statement that the person's mental capacity has been completely restored by a final judgment of a court.
(h)  The submission of a federal postcard application constitutes an application for registration under this section at the voting residence address stated on the application.  This subsection does not apply to a person who indicates on the person's federal postcard application that the person is residing outside the United States indefinitely.  The secretary of state shall prescribe rules to implement this subsection, including:
(1)  rules providing directions to court clerks regarding the inclusion on jury lists of persons who submit federal postcard applications; and
(2)  rules relating to whether a person who submits a federal postcard application is to be considered a registered voter of the applicable authority for the purposes of determining the number of signatures required on a petition.
(i)  An applicant who wishes to receive an exemption from the requirements of Section 63.001(b) on the basis of disability must submit:
(1)  written documentation:
(A)  from the United States Social Security Administration evidencing the applicant has been determined to have a disability; or
(B)  from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs evidencing the applicant has a disability rating of at least 50 percent; and
(2)  a statement in a form prescribed by the secretary of state that the applicant does not have a form of identification acceptable under Section 63.0101.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.  Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 436, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;  Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 472, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;  Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 920, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;  Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, Sec. 7.02, eff. Aug. 28, 1989;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 916, Sec. 30(c), eff. Sept. 1, 1993;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 390, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 797, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 454, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1315, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1049 (H.B. 1268), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2006.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 614 (H.B. 417), Sec. 24, eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1295 (S.B. 74), Sec. 4, eff. June 15, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 87 (S.B. 1969), Sec. 27.001(11), eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 91 (H.B. 536), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 632 (H.B. 1448), Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 123 (S.B. 14), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2012.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1178 (S.B. 910), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 469 (H.B. 4173), Sec. 2.25, eff. January 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 711 (H.B. 3107), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., 2nd C.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 1), Sec. 2.01, eff. December 2, 2021.