Texas Election Code Title 2, Chapter 13 - Application For Registration; Initial Registration

SUBCHAPTER A ELIGIBILITY; MANNER OF APPLYING FOR REGISTRATION

• Texas Section 13.001 - Eligibility For Registration
  (a) To be eligible for registration as a voter in this state, a person must: (1) be 18 years of age or older; (2) be...
• Texas Section 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...
• Texas Section 13.0021 - Additional Registration Information From Certain Federal And State Judges
  (a) In this section: (1) "Federal judge" means: (A) a judge, former judge, or retired judge of a United States court of appeals; (B) a...
• Texas Section 13.003 - Application By Agent
  (a) An applicant may appoint, either orally or in writing, an agent to perform one or more of the following acts for the applicant: (1)...
• Texas Section 13.004 - Recording And Disclosure Of Certain Information By Registrar
  (a) The registrar may not transcribe, copy, or otherwise record a telephone number furnished on a registration application. (b) The registrar may transcribe, copy, or...
• Texas Section 13.005 - Unlawfully Acting As Agent
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person acts as an agent for an applicant but is not eligible for appointment as an agent...
• Texas Section 13.006 - Purportedly Acting As Agent
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person purports to act as an agent in applying for registration or in signing a registration application...
• Texas Section 13.007 - False Statement On Application
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly makes a false statement or requests, commands, or attempts to induce another person to make...

SUBCHAPTER B VOLUNTEER DEPUTY REGISTRARS; HIGH SCHOOL DEPUTY REGISTRARS

• Texas Section 13.008 - Performance-based Compensation For Registering Voters Prohibited
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person: (1) compensates another person based on the number of voter registrations that the other person successfully...
• Texas Section 13.031 - Appointment; Term
  (a) To encourage voter registration, the registrar shall appoint as deputy registrars persons who volunteer to serve. (b) In this code, "volunteer deputy registrar" means...
• Texas Section 13.032 - Prohibition On Refusing To Appoint
  A registrar may not refuse to appoint as a volunteer deputy registrar: (1) a person eligible for appointment under Section 13.031(d); or (2) any person...
• Texas Section 13.033 - Certificate Of Appointment
  (a) A person desiring to serve as a volunteer deputy registrar must request appointment by the registrar in person or by mail. (b) If a...
• Texas Section 13.034 - Active Appointment File
  (a) The registrar shall maintain a file containing the duplicate certificates of appointment of the volunteer deputy registrars whose appointments are effective. (b) The registrar...
• Texas Section 13.035 - Inactive Appointment File
  (a) The registrar shall maintain a file containing the duplicate certificates of appointment of the volunteer deputy registrars whose appointments have been terminated. (b) The...
• Texas Section 13.036 - Termination Of Appointment
  (a) An appointment as a volunteer deputy registrar is terminated on: (1) the expiration of the volunteer deputy's term of appointment; or (2) the final...
• Texas Section 13.037 - Compensation; Bond
  (a) A person may not receive compensation from the county for service as a volunteer deputy registrar unless compensation is authorized by the commissioners court....
• Texas Section 13.038 - Powers Generally
  A volunteer deputy registrar may distribute voter registration application forms throughout the county and receive registration applications submitted to the deputy in person. Acts 1985,...
• Texas Section 13.039 - Review Of Application
  (a) On receipt of a registration application, a volunteer deputy registrar shall review it for completeness in the applicant's presence. (b) If the application does...
• Texas Section 13.040 - Issuance Of Receipt
  (a) On receipt of a completed registration application, a volunteer deputy registrar shall prepare a receipt in duplicate on a form furnished by the registrar....
• Texas Section 13.041 - Effect Of Submission Of Application
  The date of submission of a completed registration application to a volunteer deputy registrar is considered to be the date of submission to the registrar...
• Texas Section 13.042 - Delivery Of Application To Registrar
  (a) A volunteer deputy registrar shall deliver in person, or by personal delivery through another designated volunteer deputy, to the registrar each completed voter registration...
• Texas Section 13.043 - Failure To Deliver Application
  (a) A volunteer deputy registrar commits an offense if the deputy fails to comply with Section 13.042. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an...
• Texas Section 13.044 - Purportedly Acting As Volunteer Deputy Registrar
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person purports to act as a volunteer deputy registrar when the person does not have an effective...
• Texas Section 13.045 - Activity On Governmental Premises
  Except as otherwise provided by law, the chief executive of a state agency with approval of the agency's governing body, if any, the chief executive...
• Texas Section 13.046 - High School Deputy Registrars
  (a) Each principal of a public or private high school or the principal's designee shall serve as a deputy registrar for the county in which...
• Texas Section 13.047 - Training Standards For Deputy Registrars
  (a) The secretary of state shall: (1) adopt standards of training in election law relating to the registration of voters; (2) develop materials for a...

SUBCHAPTER C ACTION ON APPLICATION BY REGISTRAR

• Texas Section 13.048 - Optional Procedure For Appointment Of Volunteer Deputy Registrar; Provision Of Training Materials On Secretary Of State Website
  (a) A county may adopt a method of appointment for volunteer deputy registrars prescribed by the secretary of state or developed by the county and...
• Texas Section 13.071 - Review Of Application
  (a) The registrar shall review each submitted application for registration to determine whether it complies with Section 13.002 and indicates that the applicant is eligible...
• Texas Section 13.072 - Action On Application
  (a) Unless the registrar challenges the applicant, the registrar shall approve the application if: (1) the registrar determines that an application complies with Section 13.002...
• Texas Section 13.073 - Notice Of Rejection
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the registrar shall deliver written notice of the reason for the rejection of an application to the applicant...
• Texas Section 13.074 - Challenge Of Applicant
  (a) If after determining that an application complies with Section 13.002 and indicates that the applicant is eligible for registration, the registrar has reason to...
• Texas Section 13.075 - Notice Of Challenge To Applicant
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the registrar shall deliver written notice of the challenge to the applicant not later than the second day...
• Texas Section 13.076 - Request For Hearing On Challenge
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), to be entitled to a hearing on a challenge, the applicant must file a written, signed request for...
• Texas Section 13.077 - Hearing On Challenge
  (a) On the timely filing or making of a hearing request, the registrar shall schedule a hearing on the challenge. (b) The registrar shall conduct...
• Texas Section 13.078 - Notice Of Hearing
  (a) The registrar shall deliver to a challenged applicant written notice of the date, hour, and place set for the hearing on the challenge not...
• Texas Section 13.079 - Determination Of Challenge
  (a) After hearing and considering the evidence or argument, the registrar shall promptly determine the challenge and issue a decision in writing. (b) If the...

SUBCHAPTER D APPLICATION FILES

• Texas Section 13.080 - Recording Rejection
  On rejection of an applicant's registration application, the registrar shall enter the date of and reason for the rejection on the application. Acts 1985, 69th...
• Texas Section 13.101 - Active Application File
  (a) The registrar shall maintain a file containing the approved registration applications of the registered voters of the county. (b) The registrar shall maintain the...
• Texas Section 13.102 - Inactive Application File
  (a) The registrar shall maintain a file containing the rejected applications of applicants for registration. (b) The registrar shall maintain a file, separate from the...
• Texas Section 13.103 - Place For Keeping Files; Security
  (a) The registration application files maintained under this subchapter shall be kept in the registrar's office at all times in a place and manner ensuring...

SUBCHAPTER E OFFICIAL APPLICATION FORMS

• Texas Section 13.104 - Optional Storage Method
  (a) Instead of keeping the original registration applications and supporting documentation as required by this title, the registrar may record the applications and documentation on...
• Texas Section 13.121 - Official Form For Registration By Mail
  (a) The officially prescribed application form for registration by mail must be in the form of a business reply postcard, unless another form or system...

SUBCHAPTER F INITIAL REGISTRATION

• Texas Section 13.122 - Additional Elements On Official Form
  (a) In addition to the other statements and spaces for entering information that appear on an officially prescribed registration application form, each official form must...
• Texas Section 13.141 - Registration Number
  The secretary of state shall prescribe a uniform system for assigning voter registration numbers. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1,...
• Texas Section 13.142 - Initial Registration Certificate
  (a) After approval of a registration application, the registrar shall: (1) prepare a voter registration certificate in duplicate and issue the original certificate to the...
• Texas Section 13.143 - Effective Date Of Registration; Period Of Effectiveness
  (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (e), if an applicant's registration application is approved, the registration becomes effective on the 30th day after...
• Texas Section 13.144 - Delivery Of Initial Certificate To Voter
  (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date the registrar receives the application, the registrar shall deliver the original of an initial certificate:...
• Texas Section 13.145 - Unlawful Delivery Of Certificate
  (a) A voter registrar commits an offense if the registrar knowingly delivers a registration certificate to a person other than the applicant or the applicant's...
• Texas Section 13.146 - Confirmation Notice On Return Of Initial Certificate
  (a) If an initial certificate delivered to the applicant by mail is returned to the registrar undelivered, the registrar shall promptly deliver to the applicant...

Last modified: September 28, 2016