Independent Candidates
You may have your name placed on the general election ballot as an independent candidate if you are not affiliated with a political party. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 1.005(9). If you vote in a party’s primary elections or participate in a party’s conventions, you thereby affiliate with the party. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §§ 142.008, 162.003, 162.007. File a Declaration of Intent to Run as an Independent Candidate (PDF) between November 11, 2017 and 6:00 p.m. on December 11, 2017 (Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 142.002(b)(2)), with the county judge (county or precinct offices) or the Secretary of State (district and state offices). Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 142.005. After the primary elections (or after the primary runoff election, if the office you are seeking is involved in a primary runoff election), collect signatures (PDF) from registered voters, who support your application for a place on the general election ballot (PDF). Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 142.009. The signers must be registered voters who have not participated in the general primary election or the runoff primary election of a party that has nominated, at either election, a candidate for the office you seek. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 142.009. File the application, along with petition, by 5:00 p.m. on June 21, 2018, with the county judge (county or precinct offices) or the Secretary of State (district and state offices). Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §§ 142.005, 142.006. Contact the Secretary of State’s office concerning the number of signatures required.
| Public Office Sought in 2018 | File Declaration of Intent and Application with | Nominating Petition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sec of State | County Judge | % Signatures a | Maximum Number of Signature b | |
| United States Senator | x | - | 1% | - |
| United States Representative | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| Governor | x | - | 1% | - |
| Lieutenant Governor | x | - | 1% | - |
| Attorney General | x | - | 1% | - |
| Comptroller of Public Accounts | x | - | 1% | - |
| Commissioner of General Land Office | x | - | 1% | - |
| Commissioner of Agriculture | x | - | 1% | - |
| Railroad Commissioner | x | - | 1% | - |
| Chief Justice and Justice, Supreme Court | x | - | 1% | - |
| Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals | x | - | 1% | - |
| State Senator | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| State Representative | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| Member, State Board of Education | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| Chief Justice and Justice, Court of Appeals | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| District Judge | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| Criminal District Judge | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| Family District Judge | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| District Attorney | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| Criminal District Attorney | x | - | 5% | 500 |
| County Judge | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| Judge, County Court-at-Law | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| Judge, County Criminal Court | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| Judge, County Probate Court | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| District Clerk | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| District & County Clerk | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| County Clerk | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| County Treasurer | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| County Surveyor | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| County Commissioner | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| Justice of the Peace | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| Constable | - | x | 5% | 500 |
| Source: Texas Election Code Section | §142.002 & §142.005 | §142.007 | ||
- Percentage of all votes for all gubernatorial candidates cast in the applicable territory in the 2014 general election. If number is less than 25, the required number of signatures is the lesser of (1) 25 or (2) 10% of all votes for all gubernatorial candidates cast in the applicable territory in the 2014 general election. For candidates elected statewide, the one percent figure for the 2014 gubernatorial election is 47,183.
- The minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate’s petition for statewide office is 1% of the total vote received by all gubernatorial candidates in the 2014 general election. The minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate’s petition for district, county or precinct office is the lesser of (1) 500 or (2) 5% of the total vote received in the district, county or precinct, as applicable, by all gubernatorial candidates in the 2014 general election, subject to (a) immediately above. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 142.007.
