Nov. 3, 2009 Constitutional Amendment Election: Last Day to Register to Vote is Oct. 5th | Am I Registered? | Voter Information | What's on the Ballot.
About the Office

2010 Minor Party Candidate Information

Candidate Eligibility

The general eligibility requirements to be a candidate for a public elective office in Texas are that 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;  3) 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 from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;  5) have resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding a date which varies depending on the office; and 6) satisfy any other eligibility requirements prescribed by law for the office.  These requirements do not apply to an office for which the federal or state constitution or a statute outside the Texas Election Code prescribes exclusive eligibility requirements.  Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 141.001 (Vernon 2003).

Procedures for Establishing a Minor Party

A person wishing to start a political party in Texas must form an organization and elect a chair and other necessary officers.  The organization must have a name of three words or less.  Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 161.002.  The organization must establish temporary rules on electoral procedures.  The temporary rules must be filed no later than 30 days before the precinct convention of March 9, 2010 in order to be effective in 2010.  The temporary rules must be considered by the membership at the first state convention after their adoption.  The requirements for party rules are set forth in Sections 163.002 and 181.033, Texas Election Code.  Party rules must be filed with the Secretary of State not later than 30 days after they are adopted.  Id. § 163.005 (Vernon 2003).

A minor party (also referred to as “third party” or a “new political party”) may nominate candidates either by convention or primary election, if the party’s nominee for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election received at least two percent but less than twenty percent of the total number of votes received by all candidates for governor.  Id. § 181.002.  If the political party chooses to nominate by primary election, the state chair must deliver written notice to the Secretary of State at least one year prior to the general election.  Id. § 172.002.  Parties whose candidates received twenty percent or more are required to hold a primary election.  Id. § 172.001.

A political party that intends to make nominations by convention must register with the Secretary of State not later than January 2 of the election year; in 2010, the deadline to register moves forward to the next business day, January 4, 2010.  The form used for registering a minor party is located in the forms section of the Texas Secretary of State’s website.  Id. § 181.0041.  A party must make nominations of candidates by a convention if the party is not authorized to nominate by primary election.  Id. § 181.003.  A political party making state nominations under Chapter 181 of the Texas Election Code is required to establish a state executive committee.  Id. § 181.004.

Nomination by Convention Method

The procedure for nominating minor party candidates by convention is governed by Chapter 181 of the Texas Election Code.  Id. § 181.001.  To be considered for nomination by a convention, a candidate, for an office other than president and vice-president of the United States, must make an application for nomination.  Id. § 181.031(a).  The application must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 2 preceding the minor party’s convention; in 2010, the deadline to file moves to the next business day, January 4th. Id. § 181.033.  Candidates seeking nomination for a state or district office must file with the state party chair.  Id. § 181.032(a)(1).  Candidates for county or precinct offices must file applications with the county party chair.  Id. § 181.032(a)(2).  The state and county chairs must file a list of candidates with the Secretary of State not later than 10 days after the filing deadline. 

Minor parties nominating by convention must hold the following conventions: precinct conventions on the second Tuesday in March, Id. §§ 174.022, 41.007; county conventions on the first Saturday after the second Tuesday in March, Id. § 181.061(c); district conventions on the second Saturday after the second Tuesday in March, Id. § 181.061(b); and state conventions on the second Saturday in June, Id. § 181.061(a).  The chair of each convention will certify the nominees to the county clerk/elections administrator (county or precinct offices) or the Secretary of State (district or statewide offices) not later than 20 days after each corresponding convention.  Id. § 181.068.

Minimum of Precinct Participants Required

To be entitled to place their nominees on the general election ballot, third parties must first file a list of precinct convention participants with the Secretary of State not later than the 75th day after the date of the precinct conventions (i.e., May 24, 2010).  Id. § 181.005(a).  The list must include the residence address and voter registration number of each participant.  Id. § 181.005(a).  The list must indicate that the number of participants equals at least one percent of the total number of votes received by all candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election.  Id.  The one percent figure for the 2006 gubernatorial election is 43,991.

The list of precinct convention participants may be supplemented by petitions signed by registered voters who have not voted in a primary election or participated in another party’s convention during the voting year (January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010).  Id. § 181.006.  The petition may not be circulated until after the date of the party’s precinct conventions (March 9, 2010).  Id. § 181.006(j).  (A petition form is enclosed.)

Once a minor party is on the general election ballot, the party is entitled to have the names of its nominees placed on the ballot, without meeting the petition requirements, in each subsequent general election following a general election in which the party’s nominee for statewide office received at least five percent of the vote for that office.  Id. § 181.005(b).

Financial Disclosure Requirements

Under Title 15 of the Election Code, candidates must file campaign contribution and expenditure reports.  For further information and all questions about such disclosure filings, campaign finance, and political advertising, please contact the Texas Ethics Commission at 201 E. 14th, 10th Floor, Austin, Texas 78701 (or call toll-free at 1-800-325-8506. Candidates filing for federal offices should contact the Federal Elections Commission toll-free at 1-800-424-9530.