Title EL, Election Code

Sec. 273.103. MANDATORY SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY OF STATE. Following a final nonappealable judgment containing a finding by a court that a ballot proposition drafted by a city failed to substantially submit the question with such definiteness, certainty, and facial neutrality that…

Sec. 273.104. CITY REQUIRED TO PAY FOR LEGAL SERVICES. Notwithstanding a home-rule city charter provision to the contrary, a city may not accept legal services relating to a proceeding under this subchapter without paying fair market value for those services. Added by Acts 2025, …

Sec. 274.001. FORM OF AMENDMENT ON BALLOT. (a) If the legislature fails to prescribe the wording of the proposition submitting a proposed constitutional amendment, the secretary of state shall prescribe it. (b) The proposition prescribed by the secretary of state must describe th…

Sec. 274.002. DRAWING FOR BALLOT ORDER. (a) If more than one proposed constitutional amendment is to be submitted in an election, the order of the propositions submitting the amendments shall be determined by a drawing as provided by this section. (b) The secretary of state shall…

Sec. 274.003. CERTIFYING AMENDMENT FOR PLACEMENT ON BALLOT. (a) For each proposed constitutional amendment, the secretary of state shall certify in writing for placement on the ballot: (1) the wording of the proposition submitting the amendment; and (2) the proposition's number. …

Sec. 274.004. PROPOSITION BALLOT ORDER. A proposed constitutional amendment must be placed on the ballot before all other propositions. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 391 (S.B. 957), Sec. 2, eff. June 1, 2017. SUBCHAPTER B. PUBLISHING NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT

Sec. 274.021. NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT REQUIRED. Notice of each proposed constitutional amendment shall be published as required by the constitution in accordance with this subchapter. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.022. CONTRACT FOR PUBLICATION. (a) The secretary of state shall contract in writing for the publication of notice of a proposed constitutional amendment with: (1) each eligible newspaper; or (2) a statewide association of daily and weekly newspapers in this state. (b) A …

Sec. 274.023. TEXT OF NOTICE. (a) The secretary of state shall prepare the text of the notice of each proposed constitutional amendment in the form specified by the contract. (b) The secretary of state shall deliver the text to each contractor by the deadline specified in the con…

Sec. 274.024. REPORT ON NOTICE PUBLICATION TO SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) A contractor shall file with the secretary of state a report on the publication of the notice of a proposed constitutional amendment. (b) The report must include: (1) duplicate originals of an affidavit of publ…

Sec. 274.025. ACTION ON REPORT BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) On receipt of a report filed under Section 274.024, the secretary of state shall review the report to determine if: (1) the affidavit is properly executed; and (2) the publication of the notice was made in accordance with …

Sec. 274.026. STATE PAYMENT FOR PUBLICATION. On receipt of an approved affidavit of publication from the secretary of state, the comptroller of public accounts shall issue a warrant payable to the contractor in the amount specified by the secretary. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211,…

Sec. 274.027. AMOUNT OF STATE PAYMENT. The amount paid by the state for publication of notice of a proposed constitutional amendment under this subchapter is as follows: (1) for a contractor that is a newspaper, the amount is computed: (A) at 85 percent of the newspaper's publish…

Sec. 274.028. COMMISSION RETAINED BY ASSOCIATION. If the secretary of state contracts with a statewide association for publication of the notice of a proposed constitutional amendment, the contract must provide that the association retain a commission out of the amount paid by th…

Sec. 275.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter applies only to a city with a population of 200,000 or more. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 275.002. MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED. To be elected to a city office, a candidate must receive a majority of the total number of votes received by all candidates for the office. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 275.003. ELECTION BY PLACE REQUIRED. (a) When a city attains a population of 200,000 or more, the city shall establish a system of electing its governing body in accordance with this section if in the city's general elections more than one member of its governing body is ele…

Sec. 276.001. RETALIATION AGAINST VOTER. (a) A person commits an offense if, in retaliation against a voter who has voted for or against a candidate or measure or a voter who has refused to reveal how the voter voted, the person knowingly: (1) harms or threatens to harm the voter…

Sec. 276.003. UNLAWFUL REMOVAL FROM BALLOT BOX. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally removes or attempts to remove voted ballots from a ballot box in a manner not authorized by law. (b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third deg…

Sec. 276.004. UNLAWFULLY PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE FROM VOTING. (a) A person commits an offense if, with respect to another person over whom the person has authority in the scope of employment, the person knowingly: (1) refuses to permit the other person to be absent from work on elec…

Sec. 276.005. VOTER'S PRIVILEGE FROM ARREST. A voter may not be arrested during the voter's attendance at an election and while going to and returning from a polling place except for treason, a felony, or a breach of peace. Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986…

Sec. 276.006. CHANGING ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES OF CERTAIN POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS. A change in a boundary of a territorial unit of a political subdivision other than a county from which an office of the political subdivision is elected is not effective for an election unless the date…

Sec. 276.007. STUDENT ELECTION AUTHORIZED. (a) An election for the participation of students in kindergarten through 12th grade may be held in conjunction with a general, special, or primary election as provided by this section. (b) A student election may be ordered by: (1) the c…

Sec. 276.008. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO TEXAS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. (a) On the written request of the Texas Legislative Council, the secretary of state, a county clerk or county elections administrator, a city secretary, or a voter registrar shall provide without charge to the counc…

Sec. 276.009. VOTING BY SEQUESTERED JUROR. (a) The judge of a court that has issued an order that a jury not be allowed to separate shall permit a juror reasonable time to vote on election day. (b) The court may provide the juror with a means of transportation to and from the app…

Sec. 276.010. UNLAWFUL BUYING AND SELLING OF BALLOTING MATERIALS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person buys, offers to buy, sells, or offers to sell an official ballot, official ballot envelope, official carrier envelope, signed application for an early voting mail ballo…

Sec. 276.012. ENGAGING IN ORGANIZED ELECTION FRAUD ACTIVITY. (a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a vote harvesting organization, the person commits or conspires to commit one or more offenses under Titles 1 through 7. (b) …

Sec. 276.013. ELECTION FRAUD. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally makes any effort to: (1) influence the independent exercise of the vote of another in the presence of the ballot or during the voting process, including by altering the ballot o…

Sec. 276.015. VOTE HARVESTING. (a) In this section: (1) "Benefit" means anything reasonably regarded as a gain or advantage, including a promise or offer of employment, a political favor, or an official act of discretion, whether to a person or another party whose welfare is of i…

Sec. 276.016. UNLAWFUL SOLICITATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF APPLICATION TO VOTE BY MAIL. (a) A public official or election official commits an offense if the official, while acting in an official capacity, knowingly: (1) solicits the submission of an application to vote by mail from …

Sec. 276.017. UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF EARLY VOTING BALLOTS AND BALLOTING MATERIALS. (a) The early voting clerk or other election official commits an offense if the clerk or official knowingly mails or otherwise provides an early voting ballot by mail or other early voting by mai…

Sec. 276.018. PERJURY IN CONNECTION WITH CERTAIN ELECTION PROCEDURES. (a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to deceive, the person knowingly or intentionally makes a false statement or swears to the truth of a false statement: (1) on a voter registration application…

Sec. 276.019. UNLAWFUL ALTERING OF ELECTION PROCEDURES. A public official or election official may not create, alter, modify, waive, or suspend any election standard, practice, or procedure mandated by law or rule in a manner not expressly authorized by this code. Added by Acts 2…

Sec. 277.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter applies to a petition authorized or required to be filed under a law outside this code in connection with an election. Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 54, Sec. 16(c), eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. …

Sec. 277.002. VALIDITY OF PETITION SIGNATURES. (a) For a petition signature to be valid, a petition must: (1) contain in addition to the signature: (A) the signer's printed name; (B) the signer's: (i) date of birth; or (ii) voter registration number and, if the territory from whi…

Sec. 277.0021. MEANING OF QUALIFIED VOTER. A reference in a law outside this code to "qualified voter" in the context of eligibility to sign a petition means "registered voter." Added by Acts 1989, 71st leg., ch. 483, Sec. 1 , eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 277.0022. WITHDRAWAL OF SIGNATURE. (a) A signer may not withdraw the signature from a petition on or after the date the petition is received by the authority with whom it is required to be filed. Before that date, a signer may withdraw the signature by deleting the signature…

Sec. 277.0023. SUPPLEMENTING PETITION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a petition may not be supplemented, modified, or amended on or after the date it is received by the authority with whom it is required to be filed unless expressly authorized by law. (b) If a petitio…

Sec. 277.0024. COMPUTING NUMBER OF SIGNATURES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), if the minimum number of signatures required for a petition is determined by a computation applied to the number of registered voters of a particular territory, voters whose names appear on t…

Sec. 277.003. VERIFYING SIGNATURES BY STATISTICAL SAMPLE. If a petition contains more than 1,000 signatures, the city secretary or other authority responsible for verifying the signatures may use any reasonable statistical sampling method in determining whether the petition conta…

Sec. 277.004. EFFECT OF CITY CHARTER OR ORDINANCE. Any requirements for the validity or verification of petition signatures in addition to those prescribed by this chapter that are prescribed by a home-rule city charter provision or a city ordinance are effective only if the char…

Sec. 277.005. OBSTRUCTION OF PETITION-INITIATED ELECTION PROHIBITED. (a) A political subdivision may not propose a measure, including a charter amendment, that will appear on the same ballot as a petition-initiated measure if: (1) the two measures generally address the same subje…

Sec. 278.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter applies to each candidate whose name is to appear on the ballot or a list of declared write-in candidates in a judicial election. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1285, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Sec. 278.002. INTERNET VOTER INFORMATION GUIDE. The secretary of state may implement a voter information service program to: (1) compile information on candidates for election in the form of a voter information guide; and (2) make the guide available to the public on the Internet…

Sec. 278.003. STATEMENT FILED BY CANDIDATE. If the secretary of state implements a voter information service program, a candidate may file with the secretary not later than the 70th day before the date of the judicial election an informational statement, on a form prescribed by t…

Sec. 278.004. STATEMENT REQUIREMENTS. (a) A candidate's statement must include a summary of the following information: (1) current occupation; (2) educational and occupational background; (3) biographical information; and (4) any previous experience serving in government. (b) The…