Texas Election Code 142.002 – Declaration of Intent Required
(a) To be entitled to a place on the general election ballot, a candidate must make a declaration of intent to run as an independent candidate.
(b) A declaration of intent to run as an independent candidate must:
(1) be in writing and be signed and acknowledged by the candidate;
(2) be filed with the authority with whom the candidate’s application for a place on the ballot is required to be filed within the regular filing period for an application for a place on a general primary election ballot; and
(3) contain:
(A) the candidate’s name and residence address;
(B) the office sought, including any place number or other distinguishing number; and
(C) 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.
Terms Used In Texas Election Code 142.002
- General election: means an election, other than a primary election, that regularly recurs at fixed dates. See Texas Election Code 1.005
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by writing, printing, or other means. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- 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
- 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
- Residence address: means the street address and any apartment number, or the address at which mail is received if the residence has no address, and the city, state, and zip code that correspond to a person's residence. See Texas Election Code 1.005
- Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) This section does not apply to:
(1) a candidate for an unexpired term if the vacancy occurs after the 10th day before the regular filing deadline for an application for a place on a general primary election ballot; or
(2) a candidate for an office for which the regular application filing deadline for candidates in a primary election is extended.