Opinion ID: 1636967
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Election Code

Text: This Court has repeatedly recognized that `statutory requirements concerning candidacy for political office are mandatory and are to be strictly enforced.' Wallace v. Howell, 707 S.W.2d 876, 877 (Tex. 1986); Painter v. Shaner, 667 S.W.2d 123, 125 (Tex.1984); Brown v. Walker, 377 S.W.2d 630, 632 (Tex.1964); Burroughs v. Lyles, 142 Tex. 704, 181 S.W.2d 570, 573 (Tex.1944). Indeed, the Code uses mandatory language when describing the information that must appear in a candidate's petition. Specifically, the Code provides that, to be valid, a candidate's petition must (1) be timely filed with the appropriate authority; (2) contain valid signatures in the number required by this code; and (3) comply with any other applicable requirements for validity prescribed by [the Election Code]. Tex. Elec.Code § 141.062(a)(emphasis added). And, if a candidate for justice of the peace in a county with a population of more than 850,000 pays the filing fee, the accompanying petition must have 250 signatures. Tex. Elec.Code § 172.021(b), (e). Section 141.063, entitled Validity of Signature, details the information that must be included with each signature on a petition: (1) the signer's residence address; (2) the signer's date of birth, voter registration number, and county registration number if the election involves more than one county; (3) the signing date; and (4) the signer's printed name. Tex. Elec. Code § 141.063(a)(2). The Code defines the signer's residence address as the street address and any apartment number, or the address at which mail is received if the residence has no address, and the city, state, and zip code that correspond to a person's residence. Tex. Elec.Code § 1.005(17). Before the 1997 amendments, section 141.063 did not expressly validate signatures if they omitted information that section requires. However, in 1997 the Legislature amended this section to explicitly provide that [t]he omission of the state from the signer's residence address does not invalidate a signature unless the political subdivision from which the signature is obtained is situated in more than one state. Tex. Elec.Code § 141.063(d). The amendment also states that [t]he omission of the zip code from the address does not invalidate a signature. Tex. Elec.Code § 141.063(d). Moreover, the Legislature amended section 141.063 to provide that the signature is the only information required to appear on the petition in the signer's own handwriting. Tex. Elec.Code § 141.063(b). In passing the amendments, the Legislature observed that the amendments' purposes are to provide for more efficient operation of elections and to handle problems such as voter fraud. See Senate Comm. on State Affairs, Bill Analysis, Tex. H.B. 331, 75th Leg., R.S. (1997); House Comm. on Elections, Bill Analysis, Tex. H.B. 331, 75th Leg., R.S. (1997).