83R5087 ATP-D
By: Zedler H.B. No. 650
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of presidential and vice-presidential
candidates to be placed on the ballot.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 192, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 192.0301 to read as follows:
Sec. 192.0301. UNIFORM APPLICATION FOR PRESIDENTIAL AND
VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. (a) The secretary of state shall
prescribe an official application for a place on the ballot, which
must be used by a candidate for president or vice-president,
regardless of the authority with whom the application is filed.
(b) The application must require a candidate to provide:
(1) the candidate's date of birth;
(2) the candidate's length of residence in the United
States;
(3) an affirmation of the candidate's natural-born
United States citizen status;
(4) authorization for the secretary of state to obtain
a certified copy of the candidate's birth certificate from the
original issuing authority; and
(5) for the applicable candidate for president, the
consent of the candidate for vice-president to be the running mate
of the candidate.
(c) An application made under this section is a public
record, as provided by Section 1.012.
SECTION 2. Section 192.031(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A political party is entitled to have the names of its
nominees for president and vice-president of the United States
placed on the ballot in a presidential general election if:
(1) the nominees possess the qualifications for those
offices prescribed by federal law;
(2) the party's state chair signs a written
certification [of]:
(A) of the names of the party's nominees for
president and vice-president; [and]
(B) of the names and residence addresses of
presidential elector candidates nominated by the party, in a number
equal to the number of presidential electors that federal law
allocates to this state; and
(C) that the party's nominees possess the
qualifications for those offices prescribed by federal law;
(3) the party's state chair delivers the written
certification with complete copies of the nominees' applications
for a place on the ballot to the secretary of state before the later
of:
(A) 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential
election day; or
(B) 5 p.m. of the first business day after the
date of final adjournment of the party's national presidential
nominating convention; and
(4) the party is:
(A) required or authorized by Subchapter A of
Chapter 172 to make its nominations by primary election; or
(B) entitled to have the names of its nominees
placed on the general election ballot under Chapter 181.
SECTION 3. Section 192.032(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) To be entitled to a place on the general election
ballot, an independent candidate for president of the United States
must:
(1) make an application for a place on the ballot;
(2) possess the qualifications prescribed by federal
law for the office of president; and
(3) provide for a running mate who possesses the
qualifications prescribed by federal law for the office of
vice-president.
SECTION 4. Sections 192.033(a) and (c), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The secretary of state shall determine whether each
candidate for president or vice-president possesses the
qualifications for the office sought and, except [Except] as
provided by Subsection (c), [the secretary of state] shall certify
in writing for placement on the general election ballot the names of
the candidates for president and vice-president who are entitled to
have their names placed on the ballot.
(c) A candidate's name may not be certified if, before
delivering the certification, the secretary of state:
(1) learns that the name is to be omitted from the
ballot under Subchapter C; or
(2) determines that the candidate does not possess the
qualifications required by Section 192.031(a)(1) or 192.032(a)(2)
or (3).
SECTION 5. Section 192.036(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A declaration of write-in candidacy for president must
satisfy the requirements prescribed by Sections 192.032(a) and (b)
[Section 192.032(b)] for an independent presidential candidate's
application for a place on the ballot, except that a petition is not
required.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.