Bill Text: TX HB4439 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to the qualification of certain candidates for placement on the ballot.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-26 - Referred to Elections [HB4439 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB4439-Introduced.html

---

By: Cain H.B. No. 4439

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the qualification of certain candidates for placement
on the ballot.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.064, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 141.064. METHOD OF ACQUIRING SIGNATURE. A person
circulating a petition must:
(1) [before permitting a person to sign, point out and
read to the person each statement pertaining to the signer that
appears on the petition;
[(2)] witness each signature; and
(2) [(3)] ascertain that each date of signing is
correct[; and
[(4) before the petition is filed, verify each
signer's registration status and ascertain that each registration
number entered on the petition is correct].
SECTION 2. Section 141.065(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each part of a petition must include an affidavit of the
person who circulated it, executed before a person authorized to
administer oaths in this state, stating that the person:
(1) [pointed out and read to each signer, before the
petition was signed, each statement pertaining to the signer that
appears on the petition;
[(2)] witnessed each signature;
(2) [(3)] verified each signer's registration status;
and
(3) [(4)] believes each signature to be genuine and
the corresponding information to be correct.
SECTION 3. Sections 142.002(b) and (c), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) A declaration of intent to run as an independent
candidate must:
(1) be in writing and be signed and acknowledged by the
candidate;
(2) be filed with the authority with whom the
candidate's application for a place on the ballot is required to be
filed within the time provided for filing the candidate's
application under Section 142.006 [regular filing period for an
application for a place on a general primary election ballot]; and
(3) contain:
(A) the candidate's name and residence address;
(B) the office sought, including any place number
or other distinguishing number; and
(C) an indication of whether the office sought is
to be filled for a full or unexpired term, if the office sought and
another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have
place numbers or other distinguishing numbers.
(c) This section does not apply to:
(1) a candidate for an unexpired term if the vacancy
occurs after the 10th day before the regular filing deadline for an
application under Section 142.006 [for a place on a general primary
election ballot]; or
(2) a candidate for an office for which the regular
application filing deadline for candidates [in a primary election]
is extended.
SECTION 4. Section 142.006(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An application for a place on the ballot must be filed
not later than 5 p.m. of the first business day after July 4 [30th
day after runoff primary election day, except as provided by
Section 202.007].
SECTION 5. Chapter 142, Election Code, is amended by adding
Section 142.0065 to read as follows:
Sec. 142.0065. EXTENDED FILING DEADLINE. (a) The deadline
for filing an application for a place on the ballot is extended as
provided by this section if a candidate who has made an application
that complies with the applicable requirements:
(1) dies on or after the fifth day before the date of
the regular filing deadline and on or before the first day after the
date of the regular filing deadline;
(2) holds the office for which the application was
made and withdraws or is declared ineligible on the date of the
regular filing deadline or the first day after the date of the
regular filing deadline; or
(3) withdraws or is declared ineligible during the
period prescribed by Subdivision (2), and at the time of the
withdrawal or declaration of ineligibility no other candidate has
made an application that complies with the applicable requirements
for the office sought by the withdrawn or ineligible candidate.
(b) An application for an office sought by a withdrawn,
deceased, or ineligible candidate must be filed not later than 6
p.m. of the fifth day after the date of the regular filing deadline.
An application filed by mail with the appropriate authority is not
timely if received later than 5 p.m. of the fifth day after the date
of the regular filing deadline.
SECTION 6. Section 142.007, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 142.007. NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED. The
minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate's
petition is:
(1) for a statewide office, 10,000 [one percent of the
total vote received by all candidates for governor in the most
recent gubernatorial general election]; or
(2) for a district, county, or precinct office, the
lesser of:
(A) 500; or
(B) two [five] percent of the total vote received
in the district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all
candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general
election, unless that number is under 25, in which case the required
number of signatures is the lesser of:
(i) 25; or
(ii) four [10] percent of that total vote.
SECTION 7. Section 142.008, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 142.008. STATEMENT ON PETITION. The following
statement must appear at the top of each page of a candidate's
petition: "I understand that the purpose of this petition is to
entitle (insert candidate's name) to have his or her name placed on
the ballot for the office of (insert office title, including any
place number or other distinguishing number) for the November
(insert year) general election. I understand that signing this
petition does not obligate me to vote for the candidate listed in
this petition or limit in any way my right to vote for the
candidates of my choice for any office in any election." ["I know
the purpose of this petition. I have not voted in the general
primary election or runoff primary election of any political party
that has nominated, at either election, a candidate for the office
of (insert office title) for which (insert candidate's name) is a
candidate."]
SECTION 8. Section 172.027, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 172.027. STATEMENT ON PETITION. The following
statement must appear at the top of each page of a petition to be
filed under Section 172.021: "I know that the purpose of this
petition is to entitle (insert candidate's name) to have his or her
name placed on the ballot for the office of (insert office title,
including any place number or other distinguishing number) for the
(insert political party's name) primary election. I understand
that [by] signing this petition does not obligate me to vote for the
candidate listed in this petition or limit in any way my right to
vote for the candidates of my choice for any office in any election
[I become ineligible to vote in a primary election or participate in
a convention of another party, including a party not holding a
primary election, during the voting year in which this primary
election is held]."
SECTION 9. Section 181.005, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 181.005. QUALIFYING FOR PLACEMENT ON BALLOT BY PARTY
REQUIRED TO NOMINATE BY CONVENTION. (a) To be entitled to have the
names of its nominees placed on the general election ballot, a
political party required to make nominations by convention must
file with the secretary of state, not later than the first business
day after July 4 [75th day after the date of the precinct
conventions held under this chapter], lists of precinct convention
participants indicating that the number of participants equals at
least 10,000 [one percent of the total number of votes received by
all candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial
general election]. The lists must include each participant's
residence address and voter registration number.
(b) A political party is entitled to have the names of its
nominees placed on the ballot, without qualifying under Subsection
(a), in each subsequent general election following a general
election in which the party had a nominee for a statewide office who
received a number of votes equal to at least two [five] percent of
the total number of votes received by all candidates for that
office.
SECTION 10. Sections 181.006(b), (f), and (k), Election
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A petition must:
(1) satisfy the requirements prescribed by Section
141.062 for a candidate's petition;
(2) contain signatures in a number that, when added to
the number of convention participants indicated on the lists,
equals at least 10,000 [one percent of the total number of votes
received by all candidates for governor in the most recent
gubernatorial general election]; and
(3) be filed with the secretary of state by the state
chair before the deadline for filing the lists of precinct
convention participants.
(f) The following statement must appear at the top of each
page of the petition: "I know that the purpose of this petition is
to entitle the _______ Party to have its nominees placed on the
ballot in the general election for state and county officers. I
understand that signing this petition does not obligate me to vote
for the candidate listed in this petition or limit in any way my
right to vote for the candidates of my choice for any office in any
election [I have not voted in a primary election or participated in
a convention of another party during this voting year, and I
understand that I become ineligible to do so by signing this
petition. I understand that signing more than one petition to
entitle a party to have its nominees placed on the general election
ballot in the same election is prohibited]."
(k) The secretary of state shall post a notice of the
receipt of a petition on the bulletin board used for posting notice
of meetings of state governmental bodies. [Any person may
challenge the validity of the petition by filing a written
statement of the challenge with the secretary of state not later
than the fifth day after the date notice is posted. The secretary
of state may verify the petition signatures regardless of whether
the petition is timely challenged.]
SECTION 11. Section 181.032(b), Election Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The [Not later than the 10th day after the date of the
filing deadline prescribed by Section 181.033, the] authority with
whom an application is filed shall deliver to the secretary of state
a list containing:
(1) each candidate's name;
(2) each candidate's residence address;
(3) the office sought by the candidate; and
(4) the date on which the candidate filed the
application.
SECTION 12. Section 182.003, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 182.003. QUALIFYING FOR PLACEMENT ON BALLOT. To be
entitled to have the names of its nominees placed on the general
election ballot, a political party making nominations under this
chapter must file with the county clerk, not later than the first
business day after July 4 [75th day after the date of the precinct
conventions held under this chapter], lists of precinct convention
participants indicating that the number of participants equals at
least the lesser of:
(1) three percent of the total number of votes
received in the county by all candidates for governor in the most
recent gubernatorial general election; or
(2) 5,000.
SECTION 13. Sections 182.004(b) and (f), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) A petition must:
(1) satisfy the requirements prescribed by Section
141.062 for a candidate's petition;
(2) contain signatures in a number that, when added to
the number of convention participants indicated on the lists,
equals at least the lesser of:
(A) three percent of the total number of votes
received in the county by all candidates for governor in the most
recent gubernatorial general election; or
(B) 5,000; and
(3) be filed with the county clerk by the county chair
before the deadline for filing the lists of precinct convention
participants.
(f) Section 181.006(f) applies [Sections 181.006(f)-(j)
apply] to a petition circulated under this section.
SECTION 14. Sections 192.032(c) and (d), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(c) The application must be filed with the secretary of
state not later than the first [second] Monday in August [May] of
the presidential election year.
(d) The minimum number of signatures that must appear on the
petition is 10,000 [one percent of the total vote received in the
state by all candidates for president in the most recent
presidential general election].
SECTION 15. The following sections of the Election Code are
repealed:
(1) 141.066;
(2) 142.009;
(3) 172.026;
(4) 181.006(g), (h), (i), and (j);
(5) 181.033; and
(6) 192.032(f) and (g).
SECTION 16. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to a petition, declaration, or application filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A petition, declaration, or
application filed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect when the petition, declaration, or application
was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 17. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.