You Can’t Vote Fuqua This Time But You Can Still Shake it Up
I’ve received a few e-mails asking about write-in candidates for the May election. It seems there were a few with last minute plans to pencil in Max Fuqua. Not a bad idea. But too late. Steve Mace points out:
Like the vast majority of municipalities in Texas , University Park does not have a provision for “open” write-ins. Residents considering a write-in candidacy in a general municipal election must file a declaration form with the city secretary. This form must be filed by 5 p.m. of the 5th day after the regular filing deadline. For this election the filing deadline for write-in candidacy was March 12, 2010.
Early this year, well before that deadline, the City’s Web site contained a link to the Secretary of State’s Web site to assist those who were interested in running for a Council seat.
For specifics regarding write-in candidates, here is the applicable page from the Secretary of State’s Web site. http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/candidacy.shtml
Is it just me or is there a total giddiness in the air over the possible shake-up? And not just in UP, HP has an underdog with potential.
Vote, people, vote.
I for one, am very disappointed. According to the website that Steve Mace refers to: ““Open” Write-In Votes Are Permitted Except as Provided by Law.”. That means that sometime in the past, our City of UP created a law to prohibit write-in voting. That just seems un-American.
Oh, well. Let’s get the new bumper stickers out: “Max 2012”
Ddad, on your behalf, I talked with the County Election Office. In my earlier posting when I said, “the vast majority of municipalities,” I was in error. There are no municipalities, school boards, or contests at the state level that allow for write-in candidates during the actual polling process unless that individual has declared their candidacy with the appropriate entity. The County Election Office says the state legislature made that change 15-20 years ago. Again, in order to vote for a write-in candidate, that candidate has to declare his candidacy within 5 days of the candidate filing deadline.