Running as an Independent Candidate in 2024
Candidates may have their name placed on the general election ballot as an independent candidate if they did not vote in the primary or runoff primary election of either party. (Sections 142.008, 162.003, 162.015 Texas Election Code).
To file as an independent candidate, candidates must follow a two-part process. A candidate MUST:
- File a Declaration of Intent to Run as an Independent Candidate (PDF) between November 11, 2023 and 6:00 p.m. on December 11, 2023 with the county judge (county or precinct offices) or the Secretary of State (district and state offices) (Sections 142.002(b)(2), 142.005, Texas Election Code). This Declaration of Intent to Run as an Independent Candidate is mandatory. If you do not file a declaration during the applicable filing period, your subsequent candidate application will be rejected.
- File a candidate application (PDF) | Spanish (PDF) along with a supporting nominating petition (PDF). The application, along with petition, must be filed by 5:00 p.m. on June 27, 2024, with the county judge (county or precinct offices) or the Secretary of State (district and state offices). (Sections 142.005, 142.006, Texas Election Code).
- Details on Nominating Petition: After the primary elections (or after the primary runoff election, if the office you are seeking is involved in a primary runoff election), you must collect signatures from registered voters who support your candidacy. (Section 142.009, Texas Election Code).
- The signers of your petition 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. (Section 142.009, Texas Election Code).
- Candidates for federal office must file a federal application (PDF) | Spanish (PDF).
Judicial Candidates
- NEW LAW: Pursuant to HB 2384 (88th Leg., R.S.), effective September 1, 2023, candidates for certain judicial offices must provide additional information with their judicial application for a place on the ballot (PDF). (Section 141.0311, Texas Election Code) See Running for a Judicial Office in 2024 for more information.
See our FAQs on Party Affiliation and Candidacy for more details about how primary voting or candidacy affects (or does not affect) candidacy in the general election.
Contact the Secretary of State’s office concerning the number of signatures required.
| Independent (Nonpartisan) Candidate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Office Sought in 2024 | File Declaration of Intent and Application with | Additional Information Required | 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 |
Railroad Commissioner |
x | - | - | 1% | - |
Justice, Supreme Court |
x | - | x | 1% | - |
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals |
x | - | 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 | - | x | 5% | 500 |
District Judge |
x | - | x | 5% | 500 |
Criminal District Judge |
x | - | x | 5% | 500 |
Family District Judge |
x | - | 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 | x | 5% | 500 |
Judge, County Criminal Court |
- | x | x | 5% | 500 |
Judge, County Probate Court |
- | x | x | 5% | 500 |
County Attorney |
- | x | - | 5% | 500 |
Sheriff |
- | x | - | 5% | 500 |
Tax Assessor-Collector |
- | x | - | 5% | 500 |
County Commissioner |
- | x | - | 5% | 500 |
Constable |
- | x | - | 5% | 500 |
Justice of the Peace |
- | x | - | 5% | 500 |
Source: Texas Election Code Section |
§§142.002, 142.005 | §141.0311 | §142.007 | ||
- Percentage of all votes for all gubernatorial candidates cast in the applicable territory in the 2022 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 2022 general election. For candidates elected statewide, the one percent figure for the 2022 gubernatorial election is 81,030.
- 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 2022 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 2022 general election, subject to (a) immediately above. (Section 142.007, Texas Election Code).
