On June 23, the Texas State Appeals Court heard Dikeman v Hughs, 14-19-00969, a Libertarian Party lawsuit that challenges the 2019 law that says candidates seeking the nomination of a party that nominates by convention must pay a filing fee. The law is not clear. Most people would probably read it to mean that only the nominees of convention parties must pay the fee, but the Secretary of State says even people who say they want a convention nomination must pay it, in advance of the convention.
Ever since 1903, Texas law allowed parties that nominate by primary to charge a filing fee. The parties used this money to pay for administering their primary. Back then, only the Democratic Party had primaries. Members of other parties were never asked to pay any fee. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Texas filing fees, so the legislature changed the law to provide that the government would pay to administer primaries, and the government would get the revenue from the fees. But the 1973 law still had no provision for filing fees for parties that nominate by convention.
The hearing went well for the Libertarian Party. The three judges seem skeptical that the Secretary of State interpreted the 2019 law correctly. Thanks to Jim Riley for this news.
