Appendices, March 1, 2016 Primary Calendar

Quick Reference:

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 = First day to file for precinct chairs
Saturday, November 14, 2015 = First day to file for all offices except precinct chair
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 = 5th day before regular filing deadline; vacancies occurring on or before this date filled at primary election
Monday, December 14, 2015 = Last day of the filing period
Monday, December 21, 2015 = “Extended” filing deadline (see note)
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 = PRIMARY ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 = RUNOFF PRIMARY ELECTION DAY
Friday, August 26, 2016 = 74th day before election, vacancy occurring on or before this date filled at November ballot
Monday, August 29, 2016 = 71st day; certification of replacement nominations
Tuesday, November 8, 2016 = GENERAL ELECTION DAY

Appendix A

Party Nomination if Vacancy Occurs in a State or County Office Which Would not Normally be on the 2016 Ballot

Nomination by Primary Election. (Sec. 202.004).
1. Vacancy On or Before December 9, 2015.
  
  If a vacancy occurs in an office on or before December 9, 2015 (5th day before regular filing deadline), a political party's nominee for the unexpired term must be nominated in the 2016 primary elections. (Sec. 202.004(a), as amended by Senate Bill 904, 2013 Legislative Session).
2. Application Process.
  1. Regular deadline: If the vacancy occurred on or before December 4, 2015 (on or before the 10th day before the date of the regular filing deadline) an application for the unexpired term must be filed with the appropriate county or state chair by 6:00 p.m., December 14, 2015 (the regular filing deadline). (Sec. 202.004(b)).
    
    Extended Deadline: Occurs after the 10th day before the date of the regular filing deadline, but on or before the 5th day before the date of the regular filing deadline (on or after December 5, 2015 and on or before December 9, 2015), an application for the unexpired term is subject to an extended filing deadline, December 21, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. (in-person) or 5:00 p.m. by mail. (Sec. 202.004(a), (c), as amended by Senate Bill 904, 2013 Legislative Session).
    
    Note: The deadline is extended to the next regular business day which is December 21, 2015 due to the 5th day after the regular candidate filing deadline falling on Saturday, December 19, 2015. (Sec. 1.006).
  2. The filing fee or petition requirements for a candidate for an unexpired term are the same as for a candidate for a full term.
  3. Not later than the day before the last day of the filing period, notice must be posted on the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the commissioners court stating where county chair (or secretary of the county executive committee, if any) will be available to accept filings on the last day of the filing period (or, on the party’s website; see main primary calendar for details). If the chair and secretary are taking applications at two different locations, both locations must be listed in the notice. (Sec. 172.022).
Nomination by Executive Committee. (Secs. 202.006, 145.036, and 145.038).
1. Vacancy After December 9, 2015.
  
  If a vacancy occurs in an office after December 9, 2015 (5th day before regular filing deadline), but not later than August 26, 2016, the appropriate state, district, county, or precinct executive committee members who are elected in the 2016 primary elections (or appointed) to a new term starting June 13, 2016 may nominate a candidate for the unexpired term after the new party officers take office. (Secs. 1.006, 145.036, 171.022, 201.022, 202.006).
  
  NEW LAW NOTE: Newer law at Section 202.004 (amended in 2013 by Senate Bills 904 and 910) provided that the last day for a vacancy to occur and be on the primary ballot is December 9, 2015 (fifth day before regular filing deadline). Older law at Section 202.006 previously provided that vacancies in office occurring after the 62nd day before the primary go on the November ballot. In 2014, this left a gap which our office closed by interpretation. In 2015, Senate Bill 1703 amended Section 202.006 to conform to Section 202.004. This means the 2016 primary calendars will reflect by law the same date our office used by interpretation (fifth day before regular filing deadline based on Section 202.004) in the 2014 primary calendars.
2. Nominating Procedure.
  
  The nominating procedure for an unexpired term is the same as that provided for filling a vacancy in a nomination, to the extent it can be made applicable. (Secs. 145.036, 145.037, and 145.038).
  1. To be nominated, a person must fulfill the eligibility requirements for the particular office and receive a favorable vote of a majority of the appropriate executive committee members present at the nominating meeting. For purposes of making a nomination, a majority of the committee's membership constitutes a quorum. For purposes of calculating the residency requirement, count backwards from the date of the nomination (e.g., a candidate for county judge must be a resident of the county for six months prior to the date of nomination). (Sec. 141.001(a)(5)(D)).
  2. The chair of the executive committee making the nomination must certify in writing the nominee's name for placement on the general election ballot.
    The certificate must:
    1. be signed and acknowledged by the chair;
    2. include the nominee's residence address and mailing address, if different from the residence address;
    3. the name of the original nominee;
    4. state the office sought, including any place number or other distinguishing number;
    5. state the cause of the vacancy;
    6. state an identification of the executive committee making the nomination; and
    7. state the date of the nomination.
  3. Not later than 5:00 p.m., August 29, 2016 (71st day before general election day), the certificate must be delivered to the Secretary of State for a statewide or district office, or to the county clerk/elections administrator for a county or precinct office. (Sec. 145.037).
  4. If the certificate is filed by mail, it must be received by the filing authority by the deadline.
3. Failure of Executive Committee to Make Nomination.
  
  If the district executive committee fails to nominate and certify a candidate by the August 29, 2016 deadline, the state executive committee may nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy. The state chair must deliver the nominee's certificate to the Secretary of State not later than 5:00 p.m., August 31, 2016 (69th day before general election day). (Sec. 145.038). Again, if the certificate is filed by mail, it must be received by the filing authority by the deadline.

Appendix B

Death, Withdrawal, or Ineligibility of Candidates for the 2016 Primary Election

Extension of Filing Deadline.*
*For extensions of deadlines for write-in declarations for county or precinct chairs, see II. below.
1. Death of Candidate. (Sec. 172.054).
  
  The Election Code provides for an extended filing deadline (5th day after the regular candidate filing deadline, Saturday, December 19, 2015, extended to December 21, 2015) in the event that a candidate dies on or after the fifth day before the date of the regular filing deadline (December 9, 2015) and on or before the first day after the date of the regular filing deadline (December 15, 2015).
2. Withdrawal or Ineligibility of Incumbent Candidate.
  
  The Election Code provides for an extended filing deadline (5th day after the regular candidate filing deadline, Saturday, December 19, 2015, extended to December 21, 2015) in the event that an incumbent running for re-election withdraws from the election or is declared ineligible on the date of the regular filing deadline (December 14, 2015) or on the first day after the date of the regular filing deadline (December 15, 2015).
3. Withdrawal or Ineligibility of Sole Candidate.
  1. The Election Code provides for an extended filing deadline (5th day after the regular candidate filing deadline, Saturday, December 19, 2015, extended to December 21, 2015) if the sole candidate for an office withdraws his or her name from the primary election ballot or is declared ineligible to run in the primary election on the date of the regular filing deadline (December 14, 2015) or on the first day after the date of the regular filing deadline (December 15, 2015), and at the time of the withdrawal or declaration of ineligibility no other candidate has made an application that complies with the applicable requirements for the office sought by the withdrawn or ineligible candidate.
  2. Provisions concerning notice of the extension and submission of a supplemental list of candidates mentioned in Section A apply.
Extension of Write-in Filing Deadline, Office of County or Precinct Chair.
1. This type of extension is no longer law. The provisions allowing for an extension of the deadline for precinct chair candidates under certain circumstances were repealed by Senate Bill 100 (2011). (Sec. 171.0231(d)).

Appendix C

Replacement Nomination if Vacancy Occurs in the Party's Nomination for the General Election (Secs. 145.035; 145.036).

NEW LAW NOTE: Under prior law, the dates when death, withdrawal, and declarations of ineligibility removed names from the primary ballot dovetailed with the dates after which similar events could result in allowing vacancies in nomination on the November ballot to be filled. Newer laws at Sections 172.057(a) and 172.058(a) (as amended in 2013 by Senate Bills 904 and 910) provided for different deadlines for removing names from the primary ballot because of those events. Section 145.036 (procedure for filling vacancy in nomination) was not amended in 2013 to be consistent. In 2015, Senate Bill 1703 amended Section 145.036 to conform. This means the 2016 primary calendars will reflect by law the same date our office used by interpretation in the 2014 primary calendars.

See similar note at Appendix A.
1. When a Vacancy in Nomination May Be Filled.
  
  A vacancy in nomination may be filled if the name of the party's nominee will not appear on the November ballot due to:
  1. a death occurring after December 15, 2015 (first day after the date of the regular filing deadline) and on or before August 26, 2016 (74th day before general election). (Secs. 145.035, 145.036, and 172.058(b));
  2. a declaration of ineligibility occurring after December 15, 2015 (first day after the date of the regular filing deadline) and on or before August 26, 2016 (74th day before general election). (Secs. 172.058(b), 145.035, and 1.006);
  3. a withdrawal due to catastrophic illness: the withdrawal must occur after December 15, 2015 (first day after the date of the regular filing deadline) and on or before August 26, 2016 (74th day before general election); the illness must have been diagnosed after December 15, 2015 (first day after the date of the regular filing deadline). The illness must be such that the candidate will be permanently and continuously incapacitated and prevented from performing the duties of the office sought. The withdrawal must be accompanied by the certificate of two licensed physicians. If the candidate withdrawing is the only nominee for the office in either party conducting a primary, all political parties with ballot access are entitled to select a replacement nominee. (Secs. 172.052, 145.036(b)(1), 145.036(c), and 1.006);
  4. a withdrawal because the candidate has been elected or appointed to fill a vacancy in another elective office or has become the nominee for another office after December 15, 2015 (first day after the date of the regular filing deadline) and August 26, 2016 (74th day before general election). If the candidate withdrawing is the only nominee for the office in either party conducting a primary, all political parties with ballot access are entitled to select a replacement nominee (Secs. 145.036(b)(3), 145.036(c), and 1.006); or
  5. withdrawal by the only nominated candidate for the office in either party conducting a primary sought on or before August 26, 2016 (74th day before general election). All political parties with ballot access are entitled to select a replacement nominee. (Secs. 145.036(b)(2), 145.036(c), and 1.006)
  6. a death of runoff primary candidate before runoff primary election day. If a candidate in the runoff dies or becomes ineligible before runoff election day but wins the runoff election, thereby becoming the party’s nominee, the appropriate executive committee may select a replacement nominee.
    
    NOTE: All political parties with ballot access are entitled to select a replacement nomination in the circumstance of a withdrawal by the only nominated candidate for the office in either party conducting a primary (see I. A. 3-5, above); otherwise, only the party with the deceased, ineligible, or withdrawn candidate is entitled to make a replacement nomination. (Sec. 145.036(c))
2. Nominating Procedure.
  1. The nominating procedure for a vacancy in a nomination is prescribed by Sections 145.031‑145.039. June 13, 2016 (first day of new party officers’ term) is the first day the appropriate committee can meet to make a nomination. (Secs. 145.036(e), 171.022(c))
  2. The chair of the appropriate executive committee must deliver the certificate of the replacement nominee's name by 5:00 p.m., August 29, 2016 (71st day before general election), to either the Secretary of State for a statewide or district office, or the county clerk/elections administrator for a county or precinct office, whichever is applicable. If the certificate is filed by mail, it must be received by the filing authority by the deadline. (Secs. 145.037(d), (e), and (f))
3. Failure to Appoint a Replacement Nominee.
  
  If the district executive committee fails to appoint a replacement nominee by August 29, 2016 (71st day before general election), the state executive committee may appoint a nominee to fill the vacancy and the state chair must deliver the certificate of the replacement nominee to the Secretary of State by 5:00 p.m., August 31, 2016 (69th day before general election day). If the certificate is filed by mail, it must be received by the filing authority by the deadline. (Secs. 145.037(f), 145.038)