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:
- be a United States citizen;
- 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;
- 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;
- have not been finally convicted of a felony;
- 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;
- be registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected on the date described above; and
- 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: