CHAPTER 277. PETITION PRESCRIBED BY LAW OUTSIDE CODE
ELECTION CODE
TITLE 16. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 277. PETITION PRESCRIBED BY LAW OUTSIDE CODE
Sec. 277.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter applies to
a petition authorized or required to be filed under a law outside
this code in connection with an election.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 54, Sec. 16(c), eff. Sept. 1,
1987. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 81, eff.
Sept. 1, 1993.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
1235, Sec. 25, eff. September 1, 2009.
Sec. 277.002. VALIDITY OF PETITION SIGNATURES. (a) For a
petition signature to be valid, a petition must:
(1) contain in addition to the signature:
(A) the signer's printed name;
(B) the signer's:
(i) date of birth; or
(ii) voter registration number and, if the territory from which
signatures must be obtained is situated in more than one county,
the county of registration;
(C) the signer's residence address; and
(D) the date of signing; and
(2) comply with any other applicable requirements prescribed by
law.
(b) The signature is the only information that is required to
appear on the petition in the signer's own handwriting.
(c) The use of ditto marks or abbreviations does not invalidate
a signature if the required information is reasonably
ascertainable.
(d) The 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. The omission of the zip code from the
address does not invalidate a signature.
(e) A petition signature is invalid if the signer signed the
petition earlier than the 180th day before the date the petition
is filed.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 54, Sec. 16(c), eff. Sept. 1,
1987. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 82, eff.
Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1349, Sec. 73, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1316, Sec. 43, eff.
Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
1107, Sec. 1.25(a), eff. September 1, 2005.
Sec. 277.0021. MEANING OF QUALIFIED VOTER. A reference in a law
outside this code to "qualified voter" in the context of
eligibility to sign a petition means "registered voter."
Added by Acts 1989, 71st leg., ch. 483, Sec. 1 , eff. Sept. 1,
1989.
Sec. 277.0022. WITHDRAWAL OF SIGNATURE. (a) A signer may not
withdraw the signature from a petition on or after the date the
petition is received by the authority with whom it is required to
be filed. Before that date, a signer may withdraw the signature
by deleting the signature from the petition or by filing with the
authority with whom the petition is required to be filed an
affidavit requesting that the signature be withdrawn from the
petition.
(b) A withdrawal affidavit filed by mail is considered to be
filed at the time of its receipt by the appropriate authority.
(c) The withdrawal of a signature nullifies the signature on the
petition and places the signer in the same position as if the
signer had not signed the petition.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 83, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 277.0023. SUPPLEMENTING PETITION. (a) Except as provided
by Subsection (b), a petition may not be supplemented, modified,
or amended on or after the date it is received by the authority
with whom it is required to be filed unless expressly authorized
by law.
(b) If a petition is required to be filed by a specified
deadline, the petitioner may file one supplementary petition by
that deadline if the original petition contains a number of
signatures that exceeds the required minimum number by 10 percent
or more and is received by the authority with whom it is required
to be filed not later than the 10th day before the date of the
deadline. The authority shall notify the petitioner as to the
sufficiency of the petition not later than the fifth regular
business day after the date of its receipt.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 83, eff. Sept. 1,
1993.
Sec. 277.0024. COMPUTING NUMBER OF SIGNATURES. If the minimum
number of signatures required for a petition is determined by a
computation applied to the number of registered voters of a
particular territory, voters whose names appear on the list of
registered voters with the notation "S", or a similar notation,
shall be excluded from the computation.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 797, Sec. 43, eff. Sept. 1,
1995.
Sec. 277.003. VERIFYING SIGNATURES BY STATISTICAL SAMPLE. If a
petition contains more than 1,000 signatures, the city secretary
or other authority responsible for verifying the signatures may
use any reasonable statistical sampling method in determining
whether the petition contains the required number of valid
signatures, except that the sample may not be less than 25
percent of the total number of signatures appearing on the
petition or 1,000, whichever is greater. If the signatures on a
petition circulated on a statewide basis are to be verified by
the secretary of state, the sample prescribed by Section 141.069
applies to the petition rather than the sample prescribed by this
section.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 54, Sec. 16(c), eff. Sept. 1,
1987.
Sec. 277.004. EFFECT OF CITY CHARTER OR ORDINANCE. Any
requirements for the validity or verification of petition
signatures in addition to those prescribed by this chapter that
are prescribed by a home-rule city charter provision or a city
ordinance are effective only if the charter provision or
ordinance was in effect September 1, 1985.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 54, Sec. 16(c), eff. Sept. 1,
1987.