Those interested in having their name placed on the ballot for the City of Brownsville’s May 1 General Election can start filing today.
Applications for a place on the ballot for City Commissioner At-Large “B,” City Commissioner District 3 and City Commissioner District 4 may be filed starting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today until Feb. 12.
The candidate package is available from the City Secretary’s Office starting today in the following formats:
- Downloadable on the Elections webpage.
- Flash Drive.
- Paper.
Contact the office by phone or email if you would like to pick up a flash drive or paper packet.
The City Charter requires the mode of nomination of candidates for the city commission to be by petition.
“Nomination by petition. The mode of nomination of candidates for the city commission provided for by this Charter shall be by petition. The name of any elector of the city shall be printed upon the ballot whenever a petition, as hereinafter prescribed, shall have been filed in his behalf with the city secretary,” the package reads.
The charter states for any petition required or authorized to be filed in connection with a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot for an office of a home-rule city, the minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition is the greater of:
(1) 25; or (2) one-half of one percent of the total vote received in the territory from which the office is elected by all candidates for mayor in the most recent mayoral general election.
The Office of the City Secretary will notify the interested candidate of the minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition for the office they are filing for, so they are encouraged to contact the office.
The petition must be filed at the same time as the candidate’s application for a place on the ballot.
The requirement also states the petition must be filed with the same officer with whom an application for a place on the ballot for the office being sought is to be filed and must be filed at the same time as such application.
Per the City Charter, the mayor and each commissioner shall be citizens of the United States and residents of the City of Brownsville and have the qualifications of electors therein.
Per the Texas Election Code, the eligibility requirements for public office include the following:
- To be a United States citizen.
- Be 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.
- Have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
- (A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
- (B) partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.
- Have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities.
