Texas Election Code 141.001 – Eligibility Requirements for Public Office
(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public elective office in this state, 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 or on the date of appointment, as applicable;
(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) 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 the following date:
(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot;
(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot;
(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate’s name is written in;
(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is made; and
(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made;
(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected; and
(7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements prescribed by law for the office.
(a-1) For purposes of satisfying the continuous residency requirement of Subsection (a)(5), a person who claims an intent to return to a residence after a temporary absence may establish that intent only if the person:
(1) has made a reasonable and substantive attempt to effectuate that intent; and
(2) has a legal right and the practical ability to return to the residence.
Terms Used In Texas Election Code 141.001
- Independent candidate: means a candidate in a nonpartisan election or a candidate in a partisan election who is not the nominee of a political party. See Texas Election Code 1.005
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Law: means a constitution, statute, city charter, or city ordinance. See Texas Election Code 1.005
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Primary election: means an election held by a political party under Chapter 172 to select its nominees for public office, and, unless the context indicates otherwise, the term includes a presidential primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
- Probate: Proving a will
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(a-2) Subsection (a-1) does not apply to a person displaced from the person’s residence due to a declared local, state, or national disaster.
(a-3) The authority with whom an application for a place on a general primary election ballot is filed under § 172.022 shall, to the extent permitted by law, use Subsections (a) and (a-1) in determining whether a candidate meets the residency requirements for a public elective office.
(b) A statute outside this code supersedes Subsection (a) to the extent of any conflict.
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an office for which the federal or state constitution or a statute outside this code prescribes exclusive eligibility requirements.
(d) Subsection (a)(6) does not apply to a member of the governing body of a district created under § 52(b)(1) or (2), Article III, or § 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.