The bill rewrites the rule for when a county voter registrar must mail a voter a notice asking the voter to confirm where they live. On top of the existing triggers (a commercial mailbox address or other reason to doubt the address), registrars must now send the notice to any voter not already on the suspense list who has not voted in any election in the previous 25 months, checked each November 30 after a general election. Voters who have skipped elections for about two years will get confirmation notices, which can start the process of moving them toward the suspense list.
Labels
Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R SB 260 (Died in committee) and this bill (Did not pass). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R SB 260 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.GOT HALFWAY. Passed the Senate on Apr 1, 2025. Died in the House: voted out of the Elections committee 5-4, no floor vote.
relating to confirmation of a voter's residence by a voter
registrar.
WHAT IT DOES
New rule for when the notice gets mailed.
The bill rewrites the rule for when a county voter registrar must mail a voter a notice asking the voter to confirm where they live. On top of the existing triggers (a commercial mailbox address or other reason to doubt the address), registrars must now send the notice to any voter not already on the suspense list who has not voted in any election in the previous 25 months, checked each November 30 after a general election. Voters who have skipped elections for about two years will get confirmation notices, which can start the process of moving them toward the suspense list.
CHARGES
[ ] NONE FOUND
TOTAL
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Senator Kolkhorst moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 396 at this time on its third reading and final passage: SB 396, Relating to confirmation of a voter's residence by a voter registrar. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 20 (published)
Nay: 11 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Senator Kolkhorst moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration SB 396 at this time on its second reading: SB 396, Relating to confirmation of a voter's residence by a voter registrar. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11.
Published stock of positions for this vote, except where marked derived.
Yea: 20 (published)
Nay: 11 (published)
Present, not voting: Not printed
Absent: 0 (derived from named list)
Excused: 0 (derived from named list)
Senate journal. Source snapshot 2026-10-19, Central time.
Witnesses57
For
21
Against
35
On
1
Names
For
Self15 registrations
Self; Harris county ballot security1 registration
Self; Republicans of State Senate District 31 registration
Self; SREC Committeeman SD31 registration
Self; SREC Committeewoman SD31 registration
Self; SREC SD111 registration
Self; State Republican Executive Committeeman SD24, Self1 registration
Against
ACLU of Texas1 registration
Common Cause Texas1 registration
Common cause texas1 registration
Every Texan1 registration
Rise AAPI1 registration
Self23 registrations
Self; Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club1 registration
Self; No1 registration
Self; Texas Democratic Party1 registration
Self; The Libertarian Party of Texas1 registration
Self; TX Impact1 registration
Tax Assessor-Collector Association1 registration
Texas Civil Rights Project1 registration
On
Texas Secretary of State1 registration
Sources
57 parsed registrations across the loaded witness lists.
Derived stock of witness registrations. Repeated appearances count separately. Organizations and self-representation appear as printed.
89R365 MPF-D
By: Kolkhorst, Bettencourt
S.B. No. 396
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to confirmation of a voter's residence by a voter
registrar.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 15.051(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The [ If the registrar has reason to believe that a
voter's current residence is different from that indicated on the
registration records, or that the voter's residence address is a
commercial post office box or similar location that does not
correspond to a residence, the ] registrar shall deliver to a [ the ]
voter a written confirmation notice requesting confirmation of the
voter's current residence if:
(1) the voter's residence address is a commercial post
office box or similar location that does not correspond to a
residence;
(2) on November 30 following a general election:
(A) the voter's name is not on the suspense list;
and
(B) the voter has not voted in any election
during the previous 25 months; or
(3) the registrar has any other reason to believe that
a voter's current residence is different from that indicated on the
registration records .
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 
