SECTION 81.112. List of Candidates and Filing Fees

(a) Submission of information.

(1) Submission of filed application. Pursuant to §§172.029, 172.117, and 172.122 of the Texas Election Code, for each general primary election, all state and county chairs shall electronically submit information about each candidate who files with the chair an application for a place on the ballot, including an application for the office of a political party, and shall certify the returns and the final list of candidates by electronic affidavit through the electronic submission service prescribed by SOS referenced in paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(2) Method of submission. The chair shall submit candidate information through an electronic submission service prescribed by the SOS. The SOS shall maintain the submitted information in an online database, in accordance with §172.029(b) of the Texas Election Code. The SOS is not responsible for the accuracy of the information submitted by the chair; the SOS is responsible only for providing the electronic submission service, displaying the information publicly on its website, and maintaining the online database.

(3) Information required for submission. The electronic submission service will notate the types of information that must be inputted for a complete submission of candidate information. However, the chair must submit any and all information on the candidate's application for which there is an applicable entry field on the electronic submission service.

(4) Submission deadline. A chair shall submit a candidate's information and a notation of each candidate's status not later than 24 hours after the chair completes the review of the candidate's application, in accordance with §172.029 of the Texas Election Code. By not later than the 8th day after the regular filing deadline, the chair shall submit a candidate's information and a notation concerning the candidate's status for all candidates who filed, in accordance with §172.029 of the Texas Election Code. The county chair will not be able to make modifications to the submitted information or notations on or after the 9th day after the regular filing deadline. If modifications to a candidate's information or notation are required on or after the 9th day after the regular filing deadline, such changes must be made by the state chair after notifying the SOS.

(5) Submission of nominee by executive committee. If a candidate is nominated by the appropriate executive committee for a place on the general election ballot in accordance with §145.036 or §202.006 of the Texas Election Code, the appropriate county chair shall notify the state chair who shall submit the candidate's information and notation through the electronic submission service prescribed by the SOS, in accordance with §172.029 of the Texas Election Code. The submission of the candidate's information and notation shall be completed not later than 5 p.m. on the 71st day before general election day to allow for the preparation of the general election ballot by the authority printing the ballots.

(6) Time for notations. For candidates not updated automatically after the canvass results are recorded in the electronic submission service prescribed by the SOS, the county chair will be able to update notations to describe the status of each candidate after the canvass. If modification to the notation is needed, the appropriate chair will update the candidate information to reflect the candidate's status from the list of notations available. The notations must be complete and accurate not later than 5 p.m. on the 71st day before general election day to allow for the preparation of the general election ballot by the authority printing the ballots.

(b) Notification of filing.

(1) County chair: delivery of candidate list. Upon submission of information for all candidates who filed and whose applications have been reviewed and accepted for a place on the ballot, the county chair shall notify the applicable county election officer that candidate information has been submitted for all candidates, in accordance with §172.029 of the Texas Election Code. Notification may be sent by email, regular mail, or personal delivery, so long as it is delivered by no later than the 9th day after the regular filing deadline.

(2) State chair: notification of submission. Upon submission of information for all candidates who filed and whose applications have been reviewed and accepted for a place on the ballot, the state chair shall notify the applicable county chairs that candidate information has been submitted for all candidates, in accordance with §172.028 and §172.029 of the Texas Election Code. Notification may be sent by email, regular mail, or personal delivery, so long as it is delivered by no later than the ninth day after the regular filing deadline.

(3) Extended Filing Notification. Pursuant to §172.055 of the Texas Election Code, the applicable filing authority shall provide the necessary extended filing notifications, including sending the notice to post on the county's website or the Secretary of State's website, as applicable. Pursuant to §172.056(b) of the Texas Election Code, for races in which the state chair is the filing authority, the state chair shall notify the applicable county chairs and the applicable county election officers that a candidate filed an application that complied with the applicable requirements during the extended filing period, and the candidate information has been submitted in accordance with §172.029 of the Texas Election Code. For races in which the county chair is the filing authority, the county chair shall notify the applicable state chair and the applicable county election officer that a candidate filed an application that complied with the applicable requirements during the extended filing period, and the candidate information has been submitted in accordance with §172.029 of the Texas Election Code. Notification shall be made by email, regular mail, or personal delivery.

(4) Court order. If a court orders a candidate's name to be placed on the ballot or removed from the ballot, the chair shall immediately notify the state chair.

(c) Public display and failure to submit.

(1) Public display of information. The SOS will publicly display on its website a limited portion of the information submitted by the chair. For candidates for public office, the SOS will publicly display, via its website, the candidate's name, any public mailing address and any electronic mail address at which the candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's campaign provided by the candidate pursuant to §141.031(a)(4)(M) of the Texas Election Code, and office sought, along with the office's corresponding precinct, district or place. For candidates for the office of a political party, the website will publicly display the name of the chair and, if applicable, the corresponding numeric identifier.

(2) Failure to submit information. If a county chair fails to electronically submit candidate information for all candidates who filed and whose applications have been reviewed and accepted for a place on the ballot, the chair is directly responsible for delivering a certified list of all candidates to the state chair to comply with the electronic submission requirements of §172.029 of the Texas Election Code on behalf of the county chair.

(d) County executive committee. In the case of a vacancy on a county executive committee, the county chair shall submit the replacement member's name through the electronic submission service prescribed by the SOS pursuant to §171.024 of the Texas Election Code.

Source Note: The provisions of this §81.112 adopted to be effective November 9, 2015, 40 TexReg 7811; amended to be effective October 29, 2017, 42 TexReg 5853; amended to be effective December 29, 2019, 44 TexReg 7884