Sec. 344.256. REVIEW BY CLERK OR SECRETARY. (a) The clerk or secretary of the municipality shall, on the request of any person, check each name on a petition to determine whether the signer is a registered voter of the district. A person requesting verification by the clerk or secretary of the municipality shall pay the clerk or secretary a sum equal to 20 cents for each name on the petition before the verification begins.

(b) The clerk or secretary of the municipality may not count a signature if the clerk or secretary has a reason to believe that:

(1) it is not the actual signature of the purported signer;

(2) the voter registration certificate number is not correct;

(3) it is a duplication either of a name or of handwriting used in any other signature on the petition;

(4) the residence address of the signer is not correct; or

(5) the name of the voter is not signed exactly as it appears on the official copy of the current list of registered voters for the voting year in which the petition is issued.

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1295, Sec. 1, eff. June 1, 2001.