Tex. Election Code § 161.005
This is the official text of Tex. Election Code § 161.005, part of Texas’s Election Code — governs how elections are conducted.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 161.005. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTY OFFICES GENERALLY.
Official statutory text
(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for or to serve as an officer of a political party, a person must:
(1) except as provided by Subsection (c), not be a candidate for nomination or election to, or be the holder of, an elective office of the federal, state, or county government; and
(2) if the office is a county or precinct chair of a political party, be a qualified voter of the county.
(a-1) For purposes of this section, the following are officers of a political party:
(1) a precinct chair;
(2) a county chair; and
(3) a member, a chair, or a vice chair of a state executive committee of a political party.
(b) For purposes of this section, a person becomes a candidate at the earliest time at which one of the following occurs:
(1) the person files:
(A) a declaration of intent to run as an independent candidate;
(B) an application for a place on a primary or general election ballot or for nomination by a convention; or
(C) a declaration of write-in candidacy; or
(2) the person is nominated by a convention or executive committee.
(c) A candidate for nomination or election to, or the holder of, an elective office of the federal, state, or county government is eligible to serve as an officer of a political party to which Chapter 181 applies.
(1) except as provided by Subsection (c), not be a candidate for nomination or election to, or be the holder of, an elective office of the federal, state, or county government; and
(2) if the office is a county or precinct chair of a political party, be a qualified voter of the county.
(a-1) For purposes of this section, the following are officers of a political party:
(1) a precinct chair;
(2) a county chair; and
(3) a member, a chair, or a vice chair of a state executive committee of a political party.
(b) For purposes of this section, a person becomes a candidate at the earliest time at which one of the following occurs:
(1) the person files:
(A) a declaration of intent to run as an independent candidate;
(B) an application for a place on a primary or general election ballot or for nomination by a convention; or
(C) a declaration of write-in candidacy; or
(2) the person is nominated by a convention or executive committee.
(c) A candidate for nomination or election to, or the holder of, an elective office of the federal, state, or county government is eligible to serve as an officer of a political party to which Chapter 181 applies.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.