Election Procedures for the Selection of the Next State Chair

Approved 12/14/24 by the Texas Democratic Party’s State Democratic Executive Committee. For anything not covered in the adopted election procedures, the TDP looks to Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 12th Edition (RONR, the party's parliamentary authority) for guidance in facilitating the election.

References

Candidate Qualifications

  • Candidates for State Chair must be registered to vote in the State of Texas and affiliated with the Texas Democratic Party. 

  • In accordance with Texas Election Code, Chapter 162, all candidates shall swear/affirm an oath of affiliation. 

  • Candidates are not required to be members of the SDEC.

  • Candidates are not limited to a specific gender identity. 

  • The holders of elective office of the federal, state, or county government are not eligible to be a candidate for State Chair.

See TEX. ELEC. CODE 162.001 requiring affiliation to serve on the Executive Committee and TEX. ELEC. CODE 161.005 regarding eligibility for party offices; See also the November 13 Letter to Chair Gilberto Hinojosa regarding the selection of a replacement State Chair - txdem.co/Counsel-To-Chair-Letter-Nov-2024.


Note on Candidate Campaign Compliance

Prior to filing for chair, State Chair Candidates are advised to appoint a treasurer with the Texas Ethics Commission. Candidates are advised to file reports for time periods covered. For more information on compliance, contact the Texas Ethics Commission.

  • General Filing Schedule

    • January semiannual & Annual report of unexpended contributions

      • Period Covered: July 1 or the date of campaign treasurer appointment - December 31, 2024

      • Filing Deadline: Wednesday, January 15, 2025

      • FORM C/OH

    • Personal Financial Statement

      • Period Covered: January 1 - December 31, 2024

      • Filing Deadline: Wednesday, April 30, 2025

      • FORM PFS

    • July semiannual

      • Period Covered: January 1 or the date of campaign treasurer appointment - June 30, 2025

      • Filing Deadline: Tuesday, July 15, 2025

      • FORM C/OH

See TEX. ELEC. CODE 257.005 which requires candidates for state chair of political party to file with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Candidate Filing

  • TDP Chair candidates may file at txdem.co/Chair-Form-2025. All filed candidates are listed at txdem.co/Chair-Candidate-List.

  • Filing Period: 

    • Opens: no later than Noon CT on Monday, December 16, 2024, the first business day following the December 14, 2024, SDEC meeting in San Marcos, Texas.

    • Closes: 6 PM CT on Tuesday, January 27, 2025.

  • In order to qualify as a candidate, an individual must file a Declaration of Candidacy with the Texas Democratic Party electronically which will be made available on the TDP website. 

  • There shall be no filing fee or petitions associated with a Declaration of Candidacy. 

  • Following the filing deadline, staff will transmit the list of all candidates who file a Declaration of Candidacy to the Nominations Committee, which shall meet virtually to formally nominate all eligible candidates, pursuant to TDP Rules ART.VII, B.7. 

This filing deadline reflects the deadline in TDP Rules ART.VII(B)(2) which requires candidates for State Chair to file with the state party 62 days before the State convention(which is extended to the next business day if such deadline falls on a weekend). See also ART.VII, B.7 which requires candidates for a vacant office to be nominated by a member of the SDEC.

Quorum

A majority of the SDEC membership shall be required for a quorum to fill the vacancy and elect the Incoming Chair.

See TEX. ELEC. CODE 171.003(b), which provides that: “A majority of the committee’s membership constitutes a quorum for the purpose of filling a vacancy...”

Eligible Voters

  • All members of the SDEC with voting privileges [txdem.co/sdec-voting-members] are eligible to vote in the election. 

  • A list of the voting members with contact information shall be provided to candidates by staff.

See TDP Rules ART. VII(B)(7), which provides in pertinent part: “…a majority of the members of the SDEC shall elect a successor…” and ART.VII(A)(1) which details the membership of the SDEC.

Majority Vote Required

  • A majority vote of the executive committee members voting is required for election as State Chair. 

  • Written ballots shall provide for instant runoff voting and shall allow for choosing up to three choices in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority, the person with the lowest vote total shall be removed from the count and their ballot awarded to the candidate who is the next highest ranked person. This process shall continue until a candidate obtains a majority of the votes.

  • All paper ballots used during the election will be retained by the Texas Democratic Party for a period of sixty days after the adjournment of the election meeting. 

  • Counted ballots will be available for review once submitted to the State Chair or their Designee(s). The Tellers Committee shall be the custodian of the counted ballots at the election meeting and will facilitate review requests during the election meeting. The State Chair or their designee(s) will be custodian post-meeting and will facilitate review requests.

  • Any vote that results in a tie for second place shall be decided by either a coin toss or a die roll.

See TEX. ELEC. CODE 171.003(b) which provides that: “To be elected, a person must receive a favorable vote of a majority of the members voting.”

Method of Voting

  • The method of voting in the election will be by signed written ballot. 

  • No secret ballots shall be used.

  • No fees shall be charged for voting, and the meeting shall be open.

Per Section 45:26 of RONR, the chair would normally appoint the tellers. The Chair has asked the Nominations Committee to appoint tellers for this election in his stead. Nominations will meet virtually before March 29 to recommend tellers.
See TDP Rules ART. V.(C) and (D).

Proxies

  • Proxy voting shall be permitted; however, no person may hold or vote more than one proxy. 

  • A proxy holder for a congressional district representative on the SDEC must reside in the same district as the member assigning the proxy. 

  • A proxy holder for a representative of an organization on the SDEC must be a member of the same organization as the member assigning the proxy. 

See TEX. ELEC. CODE 171.004 and TDP Rules ART. V.(F).

TDP Chair Candidate Forums

The SDEC Nominations Committee will coordinate the five official TDP Chair forums to be conducted after the closing of filing for office on January 29, 2025 and before the March 29, 2025 SDEC meeting in Austin:

  • Houston on Saturday, February 8, 2025

  • Dallas-Fort Worth on Saturday, February 22, 2025

  • Lubbock on Saturday, March 1, 2025

  • Virtual Forum on Tuesday, March 25, 2025

  • Austin on Friday, March 28, 2025 (a day prior to the March 29 SDEC meeting in Austin)

The Nominations Committee shall work with the Members of the SDEC, its caucuses, TDP staff, area county party(ies) and allied organizations to coordinate the forums, including having caucuses group together to sponsor one of the five forums each. Sponsorship duties may include format, securing of venue, and moderation of forums.

Questions and Inquiries 

Please contact TDP via email at [email protected] for questions or inquiries.