Eligibility, requirements and process for filing for candidacy for school board trustee 2022
Requirements
Form, Content, and Procedure:
An application for a place on the ballot must be in writing; signed, sworn to by the candidate before a person authorized to administer an oath, and dated; timely filed with the district’s filing authority (often the superintendent’s secretary or another designated district employee); and contain specified information about the candidate:
• the candidate’s name, date of birth, and occupation;
• the candidate’s residence address or the address at which the candidate receives mail with a description of the location of the candidate’s residence;
• the candidate’s length of continuous residence in Texas and in the district (and single member district, if applicable) as of the date the candidate swears to the application;
• if available, a public mailing address and email address at which the candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate’s campaign;
• the office sought, including any place or other distinguishing number and an indication of whether the office sought is for a full or unexpired term;
• statements that the candidate is a U.S. citizen; has not been determined by a court to be mentally incapacitated; has not been convicted of a felony; is aware of the nepotism law; and swears an oath to support and defend the U.S. and Texas Constitutions and laws.
Eligibility:
An individual is eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a Texas school board if the individual:
• is a United States citizen;
• is 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable;
• has not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;
• has not been finally convicted of a felony;
• has resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding the following date:
- for an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a
candidate’s application for a place on the ballot;
- for a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate’s name is written in; or
- for an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made;
• is registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected on the date described above; and
• satisfies any other eligibility requirements prescribed by law for the office.
Tex. Elec. Code § 141.001; Tex. Educ. Code § 11.066.
The Texas Education Code imposes additional requirements:
• To be elected to a school board, an individual must be a qualified voter: 18 years of age or older, a U.S citizen, a Texas resident, a registered voter, not determined to be totally or partially mentally incapacitated by an appropriate court, and not finally convicted of a felony. Tex. Educ. Code § 11.061; Tex. Elec. Code § 11.002.
• A person is ineligible to serve on a school board if the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Texas Penal Code section 43.02(b) regarding prostitution. Tex. Educ. Code § 11.066.
Process & Important Dates:
To file for a place on the ballot:
- The application for a place on the ballot is available at the South Texas Independent School District Central Office, located at 100 Med High Drive in Mercedes, Texas. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Fridays. Open from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. by appointment only.
- Forms must be completed and turned into the Secretary of the Board in-person, by mail, or via email. Please contact Carmen Noriega via phone at (956) 514-4216, via e-mail at carmen.noriega@stisd.net or in-person at the STISD Central Office, located at 100 Med High Dr. in Mercedes (Mile 2 West and Expwy. 83), if you have any questions.
First day to file for a place on the ballot: Saturday, July 23, 2022
Last day to file for a place on the ballot: Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, at 5:00 p.m.
Resources & Forms:
Links to forms on the Secretary of State Elections website
Application for a place on the ballot
Appointment of a Campaign Treasurer by a Candidate
Texas Ethics Commission: Appointment of a Campaign Treasurer by a Candidate
Policy BBBC (LEGAL)
For information regarding write-in candidacy, please contact Carmen Noriega via phone at (956) 514-4216 or e-mail at carmen.noriega@stisd.net.