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Tuesday, March 9 marks the date for this year's primary elections in Texas. There were a number of changes to Texas election laws made during the 78th Legislative Session. Some changes resulted from the implementation of the federal Help America Vote Act ("HAVA") which was passed by Congress in 2002 and sets standards for election policy in the states. This federal legislation created many new mandates for state and local government.
House Bill 1549 by Representative Mary Denny implemented the Help America Vote Act in Texas. The following list outlines some of the changes to Texas election procedure caused by HB 1549:
• Requires a voter registration application to include certain information, including the applicant's Texas driver's license number or the number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety;
• Requires the statewide list of registered voters to include each voter's name and registration information and assign a unique identifier to each registered voter;
• Instead of using the challenge voter process, voters whose names do not appear on the voter registration roll, may vote a provisional ballot, which is not counted until the voter's eligibility is verified after the election. Provisional voters must have a free access system to allow the voter to contact the elections office confidentially to find out whether his or her ballot was counted, and if not, the reason it was not counted;
• Requires a sample ballot to be posted at each polling place; and
• Prohibits the use of lever and punch card machines after January 1, 2006 and requires each polling place to provide at least one electronic accessible voting system.
More information on the Help America Vote Act, including a full list of requirements for states as well as actions taken by the State of Texas to implement the requirements, may be found on the Texas Secretary of State's website at www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/hava/index.shtml.
Returning to a topic which was discussed in a recent Capitol Watch column, I have been contacted by a number of citizens in District 62 who read the column regarding the Texas Comptroller's Unclaimed Property list and were surprised to find that they had property being held by the state. I encourage everyone again to check the Comptroller's website at www.window.state.tx.us/up or call 1(800) 654-FIND (3463) to see if unclaimed property is being held for you. Also, please note that the unclaimed property provisions apply to businesses as well, not just to individuals.
Please feel free to contact me if I may be of assistance regarding any matter of state government. You can contact me by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by e-mailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us.
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