Texas Bill, Blocking Party Officers from Running for Public Office, is Amended to Apply Only to Major Parties

Texas HB 1987, the bill to ban party officers from running for public office, has been amended to apply only to parties that nominate by primary. Parties that nominate by convention are now not covered by the bill. Thanks to Jim Riley for this news.


Comments

Texas Bill, Blocking Party Officers from Running for Public Office, is Amended to Apply Only to Major Parties — 12 Comments

  1. Does the TX Const specify qualifs for any offices ???

    CAN NOT add qualifs/disqualifs via mere laws for such offices.

    ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymander regimes in ALL 50 States.
    ——–
    PR
    APPV
    TOTSOP

  2. So qualifications for election to office depend on which political caste one is in.

  3. Parties that polled at least 20% for Governor must nominate by primary. Parties that polled between 2% and 19.99% for Governor may decide for themselves whether to use primary or convention.

  4. 20% in Texas? Wow!! It’s only half of that here in W.Va. What is the national average?

  5. Even their qualifying minimum is double. Everything’s bigger in Texas.

  6. The legislatures could pass laws requiring candidates of a party be placed on the ballot only if one of their grandfathers got 20% of the vote for Governor in the last election. How would that be unconstitutional? Ballot access is strictly by arbitrary censorship. Voters really have no say.

  7. Texas currently bans county chairs and precinct chairs of primary parties from holding or seeking federal, state, or county office. The ban makes some sense since county chairs administer elections and are themselves elected in primaries. In Texas, they are quasi-public officials and are acting in a state role.

    In 2013, an exception was made for convention-nominating parties.

    HB 1987 originally sought to extend the ban to the state executive committee and state chair and vice chair, and eliminate the exception for convention-nominating parties.

    The author of the bill amended his bill on the House floor so as to maintain the existing exception for convention-nominating parties. He also structured the bill to eliminate some errors and ambiguity. As passed by the House, the bill would prevent state executive committee members and chair and vice-chair of the RPT and TDP from holding public office.

    I would not be surprised if the Senate does not simply ignore the bill.

  8. @WZ,

    State-recognition of party nominations should be eliminated.

    If the Republican, Democratic, etc. as private organizations want to support particular candidates they would be free to do so.

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