81R3233 JRJ-F
By: Ortiz, Jr. H.B. No. 820
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain ballot access requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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) 500, for a statewide office[, 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) 100 [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) five [10] percent of that total vote.
SECTION 2. Section 181.005(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(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 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 500 [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.
SECTION 3. Section 181.006(b), Election Code, is 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 500 signatures [in a number that, when
added to the number of convention participants indicated on the
lists, equals at least 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.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.