TITLE: Relating to the eligibility of presidential and vice-presidential candidates to be placed on the ballot.

SUMMARY: Relating to the eligibility of presidential and vice-presidential candidates to be placed on the ballot.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the eligibility of presidential and vice-presidential candidates to be placed on the ballot. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 192, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 192.0301 to read as follows: Sec. 192.0301. UNIFORM APPLICATION FOR PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. (a) The secretary of state shall prescribe an official application for a place on the ballot, which must be used by a candidate for president or vice-president, regardless of the authority with whom the application is filed. (b) The application must require a candidate to provide: (1) the candidate's date of birth; (2) the candidate's length of residence in the United States; (3) an affirmation of the candidate's natural-born United States citizen status; (4) authorization for the secretary of state to obtain a certified copy of the candidate's birth certificate from the original issuing authority; and (5) for the applicable candidate for president, the consent of the candidate for vice-president to be the running mate of the candidate. (c) An application made under this section is a public record, as provided by Section 1.012. SECTION 2. Section 192.031(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president of the United States placed on the ballot in a presidential general election if: (1) the nominees possess the qualifications for those offices prescribed by federal law; (2) the party's state chair signs a written certification [of]:(A) of the names of the party's nominees for president and vice-president; [and] (B) of the names and residence addresses of presidential elector candidates nominated by the party, in a number equal to the number of presidential electors that federal law allocates to this state; and (C) that the party's nominees possess the qualifications for those offices prescribed by federal law; (3) the party's state chair delivers the written certification with complete copies of the nominees' applications for a place on the ballot to the secretary of state before the later of: (A) 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day; or (B) 5 p.m. of the first business day after the date of final adjournment of the party's national presidential nominating convention; and (4) the party is: (A) required or authorized by Subchapter A of Chapter 172 to make its nominations by primary election; or (B) entitled to have the names of its nominees placed on the general election ballot under Chapter 181. SECTION 3. Section 192.032(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) To be entitled to a place on the general election ballot, an independent candidate for president of the United States must:(1) make an application for a place on the ballot;(2) possess the qualifications prescribed by federal law for the office of president; and (3) provide for a running mate who possesses the qualifications prescribed by federal law for the office of vice-president.SECTION 4. Sections 192.033(a) and (c), Election Code, are amended to read as follows: (a) The secretary of state shall determine whether each candidate for president or vice-president possesses the qualifications for the office sought and, except [Except] as provided by Subsection (c), [the secretary of state] shall certify in writing for placement on the general election ballot the names of the candidates for president and vice-president who are entitled to have their names placed on the ballot. (c) A candidate's name may not be certified if, before delivering the certification, the secretary of state:(1) learns that the name is to be omitted from the ballot under Subchapter C; or (2) determines that the candidate does not possess the qualifications required by Section 192.031(a)(1) or 192.032(a)(2) or (3).SECTION 5. Section 192.036(b), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) A declaration of write-in candidacy for president must satisfy the requirements prescribed by Sections 192.032(a) and (b) [Section 192.032(b)] for an independent presidential candidate's application for a place on the ballot, except that a petition is not required. SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.