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2012 Election Dates To Remember
UPDATE (March 1, 2012) - The United States District Court three-judge panel in San Antonio has ordered new district lines to be used as interim maps for the 2012 Election Cycle. This afternoon, the Court also set a new election schedule to be used for the 2012 Primary Election. Those dates are as follows.
November 28 - December 19, 2012 at 6:00pm
FIRST Court-Ordered Dates for Candidate Filing for Primary Elections
March 2 - March 9 at 6:00pm
NEW filing period for the 2012 Primary Elections. This re-opened filing period will be for ALL RACES on the Texas Primary ballot (U.S. President to Precinct Chairman). Candidates already filed will have the chance to amend or withdraw their previous filing for a place on the ballot. New candidates will have a chance to file for a place on the ballot as well. Candidates who have already filed and do not need to change any items on their original filing, need not re-file. (see the court order)
April 14 or April 21, 2012
District, and County Conventions - On February 29, the State Republican Executive Commitee met in emergency session to adopt new rules relative to the convention process. Click here for a full recap of changes.
May 14-25, 2012
Early Voting for the Primary Election
May 29, 2012
Primary Election Day
June 7-9, 2012
State Convention, Fort Worth Convention Center
July 24-27, 2012
Early Voting for the Primary Runoff Election
July 31, 2012
Primary Runoff Election Day (per Court order, also the election date for Precinct Chair races; these races will be decided by plurality winners, no runoffs)
Week of August 27, 2012
Republican National Convention, Tampa Bay, FL
November 6, 2012
General Election Day
Link to all rule changes: http://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/SREC_Feb29_RulesAsPassed.pdf
UPDATE (March 1, 2012) - The United States District Court three-judge panel in San Antonio has ordered new district lines to be used as interim maps for the 2012 Election Cycle. This afternoon, the Court also set a new election schedule to be used for the 2012 Primary Election. Those dates are as follows.
November 28 - December 19, 2012 at 6:00pm
FIRST Court-Ordered Dates for Candidate Filing for Primary Elections
March 2 - March 9 at 6:00pm
NEW filing period for the 2012 Primary Elections. This re-opened filing period will be for ALL RACES on the Texas Primary ballot (U.S. President to Precinct Chairman). Candidates already filed will have the chance to amend or withdraw their previous filing for a place on the ballot. New candidates will have a chance to file for a place on the ballot as well. Candidates who have already filed and do not need to change any items on their original filing, need not re-file. (see the court order)
April 14 or April 21, 2012
District, and County Conventions - On February 29, the State Republican Executive Commitee met in emergency session to adopt new rules relative to the convention process. Click here for a full recap of changes.
May 14-25, 2012
Early Voting for the Primary Election
May 29, 2012
Primary Election Day
June 7-9, 2012
State Convention, Fort Worth Convention Center
July 24-27, 2012
Early Voting for the Primary Runoff Election
July 31, 2012
Primary Runoff Election Day (per Court order, also the election date for Precinct Chair races; these races will be decided by plurality winners, no runoffs)
Week of August 27, 2012
Republican National Convention, Tampa Bay, FL
November 6, 2012
General Election Day
Emergency SREC Meeting Update
March 1, 2012
On Wednesday, February 29th, an extraordinary emergency meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee was convened in Austin, TX. The purpose of the meeting was to consider adopting new rules in accordance with the San Antonio three-judge federal panel's instructions to propose a new way to pick delegates to the State Convention so as to allow for a May 29th or June 26th statewide primary date. As we previously reported, both the state Republican and Democratic parties reported to the Court that it would be impossible to comply with the current procedure for selecting delegates to state conventions and also to hold state conventions the first weekend of June. Both parties also told the Court that it was impossible to move the state conventions because of the necessity of lining up convention facilities and hotel rooms well in advance of the convention date.
Click here to see a list of rules changes passed by the SREC
The biggest problem facing both parties is the fact that precinct conventions (according to the Election Code) are to be held within five days of the primary election. Previous to yesterday's meeting, virtually all precinct conventions were held on the day of the primary election utilizing existing voter locations to hold caucuses. Since a primary needs to be held a couple of months before a state convention in order to have enough time to hold precinct conventions, county/district conventions and to allow for the process of credentialing, the scheduling of a May 29th primary made it impossible to hold precinct conventions at the same time as the primary. Consequently (and as reported previously), the State Republican Executive Committee, County Chairmen, and the RPT Officials Committee received input from Republican activists statewide and formulated a new plan to pick delegates.
The original plans were to move directly to county/district conventions without precinct conventions at all. This is the solution that the Texas Democratic Party has come up with and is the preferred solution for the majority of Republican county parties with whom we have consulted. However, since the Tarrant County and Travis County Republican Parties requested that an option be given to hold precinct conventions, the rules were modified to allow county party executive committees the option of attempting to hold precinct conventions in a manner to be determined by their executive committee. The original requirement was a 2/3 vote of the executive committee to approve this action, however, since Tarrant County GOP leadership wished to hold precinct conventions and have at least the option of holding them within their precinct as opposed to having all precincts at one location, as an accommodation to Tarrant County - the proposal was modified to reduce the requirement of 2/3 of the executive committee to 1/2. In the absence of executive committee action, county parties will proceed immediately to a county/district convention. Tarrant County leadership had requested that in the absence of executive committee action, that the default position be to move immediately to precinct conventions. However, since they were the only county out of 254 that requested this, the proposal was not changed. Nevertheless, Tarrant County does have the option (as do other counties) under the proposed rule of scheduling precinct conventions as they see fit.
During Wednesday's emergency SREC meeting, the Chair recognized RPT Assistant General Counsel and Senate District 21 Committeeman Eric Opiela for the purpose of making a motion to adopt the proposed rules. After a second, the Chair then had Mr. Opiela, Rules Committee Chairman Dan Pickens and Rules Committee member Clint Moore and Republican National Committeeman Bill Crocker (all of whom had given input into the new rules), come to the podium and answer every question that was asked by SREC members concerning the implications of the new rules. Once the questions were answered, the Chair then opened the floor to debate on the new rules. This led to the introduction of a half-dozen amendments to the rules. A few were housekeeping amendments dealing with clarifications and typographical errors, however, there were several significant amendments that were proposed. Consequently, the Chair allowed roughly a 30 minute recess so that all the proposed amendments could be copied, distributed to and reviewed by the SREC members. Amendments were also posted on four digital projectors in the meeting room so that every SREC member could be fully aware of what they were voting on.
The first significant amendment to be debated was one proposed by SREC member Tom Washington, and presented by SREC member Jason Moore. This amendment unbound the delegates to the RNC National Convention after the first ballot. This amendment passed overwhelmingly. This will make Texas a much bigger player on the national stage in the event that there is a brokered convention in Tampa, FL this August, as we have the second largest delegation with 155 delegates and all of the delegates will be up for grabs on the second ballot.
There was also an amendment to the proposed rules that transferred the responsibility of assigning delegates' first-ballot votes to specific Presidential candidates based on the percentage of the statewide vote total, from the State Chairman to the Nominations Committee at the State Convention. This rules change was made as a result of Tarrant County Republican activist Bill Eastland pointing out that an argument could be made that delegates could not be bound unless there is action by the State Convention or the SREC.
An amendment was put forth by SREC member David Bellow to modify the manner in which we pick National Convention delegates to increase the delegate allocation to a Presidential candidate who does the best in particular Congressional districts. This amendment was voted down not because it was without merit, but because there was concern that since the Party had just obtained Department of Justice approval to change to a proportional system, that the Party may not get approval from the DOJ of its rules switching back. Additionally, some SREC members such as Don Zimmerman of Travis County reported that their constituents preferred a proportional system over a winner take all. Also, it was pointed out that Party rules would then not be in compliance with Republican National Committee rules in 2016 if we have a March Primary that year. The proposed rules as adopted, keep in effect the previously enacted, strictly proportional delegate allocation system.
There also was an amendment to remove the option of holding precinct conventions from counties and to require only county/district conventions. This amendment failed.
Once the debate on individual amendments had concluded, which took roughly three hours, the question was called to vote up or down on the proposed rules. The proposed rules, as amended, were passed unanimously.
Chairman Steve Munisteri stated after the meeting, "I applaud the State Republican Executive Committee for the countless hours they have spent obtaining feedback from party activists and party leadership, and for thoroughly reviewing all possible options during the last two weeks. I am especially appreciative of the professional and civil tone of the debate concerning the rules, and for the unified and unanimous action of the SREC. These rules are by no means perfect. But they are in the opinion of myself and the SREC, the best of many bad alternatives. That is why I think it is very important that our Party be unified in moving forward to meet the unprecedented challenge our Party faces of preparing for the largest State Convention ever, in the shortest period of time, with a completely new set of untried rules. I would like to give a special 'Thank You' to Assistant General Counsel Eric Opiela, Rules Committee Chairman Dan Pickens, Rules Committeeman Clint Moore and National Committeeman Bill Crocker who all put in overtime drafting very complicated and lengthy rules on an expedited basis."
Link to all rule changes: http://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/SREC_Feb29_RulesAsPassed.pdf
SECTION 14. Amend RPT Rule 32 to read as follows:
Rule No. 32 - Certified List of Delegates
Delegates and alternates to the Republican State Convention shall be made aware, at the time they submit their names, that any contact information provided may be disclosed in accordance with the following:
a. The Permanent Chairman of a County or Senatorial District Convention shall be responsible for making a certified list of the delegates and alternates chosen, with residence addresses including towns shown thereon, Voter Unique Identification Number (VUID), phone number (if available), and email address (if available), together with a copy of all resolutions adopted by the Convention, and shall sign or electronically certify the same, the Permanent Secretary of such convention attesting his signature or electronically certifying the same; and within three (3) days after the convention shall electronically submit such certified lists, and resolutions to the State Chairman at using an online system prescribed by the Republican Party of Texas. The lists, resolutions, and other records of the convention only to the extent required by law shall be made available by the Permanent Chairman for inspection and copying during office hours, at a charge not to exceed $1.00 per page.
b. Any compilation of delegate and alternate information prepared by the Republican Party of Texas shall not be treated as a public record. However, subject to appropriate proprietary agreements, said compilation shall be made available to any then current delegate or alternate of the Republican State Convention or any Republican officeholder or candidate for Party or public office or Party County Chairman at a charge not to exceed $25.00 per 1,000 delegates and alternates provided. Said information and its updates shall be made available at the earliest practical date and initially no later than five (5) weeks from the date of the last County or Senatorial District Convention. Said information, once available, shall be provided to a qualified requestor within no more than seven (7) business days of the receipt by the Republican Party of Texas State Headquarters of the order form and payment.
SECTION 15. Amend RPT Rule 33 to read as follows:
Rule No. 33 - Temporary Organization
a. Time, Place and Call. The SREC shall select the time and place of the State Convention, and the State Chairman shall include this information along with the date and place of temporary committee meetings in the call to the convention, which shall be electronically or postal mailed at least ten (10) days prior to the Convention to each delegate and alternate on the temporary roll. The State Chairman shall recommend the temporary convention agenda and order of business to the SREC.
b. Temporary Committees. Within ten (10) days following the County/Senatorial District Conventions, the two (2) SREC members representing each Senatorial District, either separately or jointly, shall recommend to the State Chairman one (1) representative from among their district’s delegates to each of the State Convention temporary committees. The State Chairman shall appoint one (1) delegate from each Senatorial District to each of these committees from among these recommendations timely submitted, or of his own choosing if no names were submitted, or none were eligible or willing to serve.
In addition to these members, the State Chairman shall appoint the Chairman for each temporary committee. These lists of members and Chairmen, including contact information, shall be posted to the Republican Party of Texas’ website within thirty (30) days following the County/Senatorial District Conventions. Said list(s) will be dated and updated as new/corrected information is obtained.
The temporary committees are:
1. Credentials: This committee shall hear any contests concerning delegates and alternates which were not filed as challenges and shall recommend the resolution of such contests, plus the temporary roll about which there is no contest, to the SREC. Additionally, this committee shall hear all challenges forwarded to it by the State Officials Committee, plus any challenge under appeal, and shall recommend the resolution thereof to the State Convention.
2. Temporary Organization: This committee shall recommend the temporary organization of the convention to the SREC. The State Chairman shall be the Temporary Chairman of the Biennial State Convention. The officers of each State Convention shall include a registered parliamentarian, appointed by the State Chairman.
3. Rules: This committee shall recommend the Supplementary Rules for the Convention to the SREC and may recommend changes in these General Rules to the Permanent Committee on Rules.
4. Platform and Resolutions: This committee shall conduct the preliminary deliberations for the purpose of making recommendations to the Permanent Committee on Platform and Resolutions.
c. SREC Pre-convention Meeting. Prior to the convention, the SREC shall approve the following:
1. The Temporary Roll of the Convention, excluding those challenges, if any, to be resolved by the Convention as provided in Rule No. 27.
2. The temporary Supplementary Rules of the Convention, which together with these General Rules shall be the Temporary Rules of the Convention.
3. The temporary agenda and order of business of the convention.
4. The temporary organization of the convention.
d. Temporary Caucus Chairman. Prior to each State Convention in Presidential election years the State Chairman shall appoint the Temporary Chairman of each Congressional District Caucus. Prior to each State Convention, the two (2) members from each Senatorial District of the SREC shall appoint one (1) representative from among their Senatorial District’s delegates to be the Temporary Chairman in Senatorial District Caucus; provided, however, that if requested in writing by Senatorial District Convention resolution, the State Chairman shall appoint the Permanent Chairman of the last Senatorial District Convention for those Senatorial Districts which lie solely within one (1) county, unless the Permanent Chairman is unable or unwilling to serve. If the two (2) SREC members cannot agree on a selection, then each shall submit a name to the State Chairman, who will select one (1) of the names submitted. If any appointed delegate is unable to serve, the State Chairman may appoint a replacement.
SECTION 16. Amend RPT Rule 38 to read as follows:
Rule No. 38 - National Convention Delegates and Alternates
Section 1. Presidential Primary, Application of Rule
a. Presidential Primary: A Presidential Primary election shall be conducted by the Republican Party in the year 1980 and every fourth year thereafter in conjunction with the Party’s General Primary Election for the purpose of permitting the qualified voters of Texas to express their respective preferences as to the nominee of the Republican Party to the office of President of the United States.
b. Application of Rule: Such Presidential Primary shall be held, and the delegates and alternates to the National Convention for that year shall be selected and elected, in the manner and at the times set forth in this Rule.
Section 2. Method of Qualifying as Presidential Candidate
a. Filing: Any person eligible to hold the office of President of the United States may qualify to participate as a Presidential candidate in the presidential primary by filing with the State Chairman, not later than 6:00 p.m. the second Monday in December of an odd-numbered year preceding the presidential primary, a signed and acknowledged application for his or her name to be placed on the Presidential Primary ballot, accompanied by a supporting petition signed by a minimum of 300 registered voters of the state from each of a minimum of fifteen (15) Congressional Districts, or the payment of a filing fee of $5,000.
b. Signing Petition: A voter may sign only one (1) petition supporting one (1) candidate for President and may sign that petition only one (1) time. The name of any voter violating this provision shall be stricken from all petitions signed by that voter and shall not be counted for any purpose.
c. Form of Petition: The SREC shall prescribe the form of all applications and petitions which are to be filed pursuant to this section and may by resolution provide for a method of verification of the petitions required here.
d. Withdrawal or Death of Candidate: A Presidential candidate may withdraw from participation in the Presidential Primary at any time by filing with the Secretary of the SREC a signed and acknowledged request to that effect. If a Presidential candidate dies or withdraws before the seventy-ninth (79th) day prior to Election Day, the name of the candidate shall not appear on the ballot. If a candidate dies or withdraws during the seventy-nine (79) days before Primary Election Day, the votes cast for that candidate shall be deemed votes for uncommitted delegates and alternates. For the purpose of this section, withdrawal shall be accomplished only by the candidate filing a signed and acknowledged request to that effect with the Secretary of the SREC.
e. Challenge to Petition: In the event of a challenge to a petition, the State Chairman shall follow the procedure for verification of signatures by means of statistical sampling as provided in Chapter 141, Sub-Chapter C, Section 141.069 of the Texas Election Code.
f. Extended Deadlines Due to Court Order: In the event a state or federal court orders a modification to the deadlines for filing an application for a place on the ballot in the general primary election, the deadlines specified in that order shall supersede this Section to the extent of any conflict.
Section 3. The Presidential Primary Ballot
a. Listing on Ballot: The names of the qualifying Presidential candidates shall be printed on the ballot as a separate race (and as the first race if not prohibited by law) on the Party’s Official Ballot for the General Primary. The names of the candidates shall be listed in a vertical column under the heading "Preference for Presidential Nominee." The order of appearance on the Ballot in each County shall be determined by lot in each County at a meeting of the County Executive Committee in accordance with Section 172.082, Texas Election Code.
b. Uncommitted: In addition to the ballot listing of the names of the qualifying Presidential candidates, there shall appear at the bottom of such listing of candidates on said ballot a place designated "Uncommitted" in accordance with Section 4 of this Rule.
c. Adjustment of Ballot for Various Methods of Voting: Appropriate changes shall be made in ballots for voting machines and electronic voting systems; consistent with the method of voting used.
d. Style of Names: The type for all names of qualifying Presidential candidates shall be uniform and of the same size and the SREC shall prescribe a sample ballot and the State Chairman shall furnish a copy of the sample ballot to each County Chairman at the time prescribed by the Election Code for
certifying the names to appear on the ballot.
e. Write-in Prohibited: Write-in voting for presidential candidates shall not be permitted, and any write-in votes shall not be counted for any purpose.
Section 5. Canvass of Returns
The returns of votes cast for Presidential candidates in the Republican Presidential Primary shall be canvassed by the SREC at the same time as the returns for other offices and shall be canvassed and recorded, in accordance with the results of the presidential primary vote.
Section 6. Election of District Delegates and Alternates at State Convention
a. Number of District Delegates and Alternates: Three (3) district delegates from each Congressional District and three (3) alternates shall be elected at the State Convention required by Section 174.092, Texas Election Code, in accordance with this section.
b. Each Congressional District shall meet and shall elect three delegates and three alternates. Elections of delegates and alternates shall be from persons nominated from the floor at the said meeting, provided however, that said nominee agrees to adhere to the pledge in the candidate commitment requirements under Section 10 hereof. Elections shall be by majority vote, one at a time, with all delegates being elected first and then all alternates. Those delegates and alternates elected by the Congressional District shall be submitted to the Convention, which shall confirm, and not amend, those district delegates and alternates who shall be the district delegates and alternates from Texas to the National Convention of the Republican Party, and shall be so certified in accordance with The Rules of the Republican Party.
Section 7. Election of At-Large Delegates and Alternates at State Convention
a. As provided for in Rule No. 34A, each Congressional District Caucus shall meet at the State Convention, and elect one (1) person to serve as a member of the National Nominations Committee from persons nominated from the floor at the said meeting. Election to this committee shall be by majority vote. In the same manner, each Congressional District Caucus may recommend the name of one (1) member for consideration by the National Nominations Committee as a National Convention delegate or alternate, but the National Nominations Committee is not required to accept such recommendation, in accordance with The Rules of the Republican Party.
b. At the State Convention, the National Nominations Committee shall meet to select nominees for all at-large delegates and alternate delegates, and consider the recommended names of members of the Congressional District Caucuses for possible selection as National Convention Delegates and Alternates. Those individuals who have access to the floor of the National Convention by virtue of their office shall be prohibited for selection as an at-large national delegate, by the National Nominations Committee.
c. Those at-large delegate and alternate nominees selected by the National Nominations committee shall be reported to the State Convention. This report shall not be amendable by the State Convention, but shall either be confirmed or rejected by the State Convention. If the report is rejected, it shall be immediately returned to the Committee for revision and then resubmitted to the State Convention, until the report is confirmed by the Convention. The at-large delegates and alternates shall also be bound by the pledge provisions of section 10 of this Rule. At-large delegates and alternates nominated and elected from Texas in accordance with this Rule shall be certified as the delegates and alternates from Texas in accordance with The Rules of the Republican Party for the National Convention.
Section 10. Pledge of Delegates and Alternates.
a. Commitment to Candidate: In the event a presidential primary is held prior to the State Convention, the SREC will conduct a canvass of the presidential primary no later than Noon the Saturday of the State Convention. Following the canvass of the presidential primary by the SREC, the National Nominations Committee shall, in a manner directly proportional to the statewide presidential vote, as well as the presidential vote by congressional district, if possible, assign each delegate to represent a Presidential candidate (or uncommitted), and upon that assignment each delegate and alternate representing a Presidential candidate becomes pledged to the Presidential candidate on whose slate the delegate and alternate is nominated in accordance with subsection b of this section. The State Chairman, National Committeeman, and National Committeewoman, who are national delegates under Rule of The Republican Party 13(a)(2) by the virtue of their office shall not become pledged to a candidate and remain uncommitted as specified below, nor shall they be counted as uncommitted for the purposes of proportional assignment made in this section. In the event the presidential primary is not held prior to the State Convention, immediately following the canvass of the presidential primary by the SREC, the SREC shall, in a manner directly proportional to the statewide presidential vote, as well as the presidential vote by congressional district, if possible, assign each delegate to represent a Presidential candidate (or uncommitted).
Section 12. Delegate and Alternate Qualifications
Each nominee for delegate and alternate must have either voted in the Republican Presidential Primary or affiliated with the Republican Party by oath pursuant to Rule 25, and must be otherwise qualified to be a delegate or alternate under The Rules of the Republican Party.
