88R727 MLH-D
By: Schwertner S.B. No. 993
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the process of applying for a place on a ballot.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.031(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that
is required by this code must:
(1) be in writing;
(2) be signed and sworn to by the candidate in the
physical presence of [before] a person authorized to administer
oaths in this state [by the candidate] and indicate the date that
the candidate swears to the application;
(3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
and
(4) include:
(A) the candidate's name;
(B) the candidate's occupation;
(C) the office sought, including any place number
or other distinguishing number;
(D) 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;
(E) a statement that the candidate is a United
States citizen;
(F) a statement that the candidate has not been
determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
jurisdiction to be:
(i) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(ii) partially mentally incapacitated
without the right to vote;
(G) an indication that the candidate has either
not been finally convicted of a felony or if so convicted has been
pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
(H) the candidate's date of birth;
(I) the candidate's residence address or, if the
residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
candidate's residence;
(J) the candidate's length of continuous
residence in the state and in the territory from which the office
sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the
application;
(K) the statement: "I, __________, of __________
County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of __________,
swear that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of
the United States and of the State of Texas";
(L) a statement that the candidate is aware of
the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; and
(M) a public mailing address at which the
candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
campaign, if available, and an electronic mail address at which the
candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
campaign, if available.
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 in the physical presence of
[before] a person authorized to administer oaths in this state,
stating that the person who circulated the petition:
(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;
(3) verified each signer's registration status; and
(4) believes each signature to be genuine and the
corresponding information to be correct.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application or affidavit submitted on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.