Filing for Candidacy

Candidacy Filing – Local Political Divisions

ELIGIBILITY: An individual is eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:

  1. be a United States citizen;
  2. be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable;
  3. have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;
  4. have not been finally convicted of a felony;
  5. have resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory from which the office is elected for 6 months immediately preceding the following date:
    • for a candidate whose name is to appear on a general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot;
    • for an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot;
    • for a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate’s name is written in; or
    • for an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made;
    • or an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made;
  6. be registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected on the date described above; and
  7. satisfy any other eligibility requirements prescribed by law for the Tex. Elec. Code§ 141.001
Text of subsection effective on January 01, 2020

(a-1) For purposes of satisfying the continuous residency requirement of Subsection (a)(5), a person who claims an intent to return to a residence after a temporary absence may establish that intent only if the person:

(1) has made a reasonable and substantive attempt to effectuate that intent; and

(2) has a legal right and the practical ability to return to the residence.

Text of subsection effective on January 01, 2020

(a-2) Subsection (a-1) does not apply to a person displaced from the person’s residence due to a declared local, state, or national disaster.

Text of subsection effective on January 01, 2020

(a-3) The authority with whom an application for a place on a general primary election ballot is filed under Section 172.022 shall, to the extent permitted by law, use Subsections (a) and (a-1) in determining whether a candidate meets the residency requirements for a public elective office.

(b) A statute outside this code supersedes Subsection (a) to the extent of any conflict.

(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an office for which the federal or state constitution or a statute outside this code prescribes exclusive eligibility requirements.

(d) Subsection (a)(6) does not apply to a member of the governing body of a district created under Section 52(b)(1) or (2), Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.

FORMS:

Application

Appointment of Campaign Treasurer

Code of Fair Campaign Practices

Conflicts Disclosure Statement

Conflict of Interest Questionnaire

 

CONTENT AND PROCEDURE: An application for a place on the ballot must be in writing; signed,sworn to by the candidate before a person authorized to administer an oath, and dated; timely filed with the municipality’s filing authority (often the City Secretary or another designated city employee); and contain specified information about the candidate:

  1. the candidate’s name, date of birth, and occupation;
  2. the candidate’s residence address or the address at which the candidate receives mail with a description of the location of the candidate’s residence;
  3. the candidate’s length of continuous residence in Texas and in the district (and single-member district, if applicable) as of the date the candidate swears to the application;
  4. if available, a public mailing address and email address at which the candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate’s campaign;
  5. the office sought, including any place or other distinguishing number and an indication of whether the office sought is for a full or unexpired term;
  6. statements that the candidate is a U.S. citizen; has not been determined by a court to be mentally incapacitated; has not been convicted of a felony; is aware of the nepotism law, and swears an oath to support and defend the U.S. and Texas Constitutions and laws.

 

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