In re Green Party of Tex., 20-0708

• Court: Supreme Court of Texas
• Writing for the Court: PER CURIAM.
• Citation: 630 S.W.3d 36
• Parties: IN RE The GREEN PARTY OF TEXAS, et al., Relators
• Docket Number: No. 20-0708,20-0708
• Decision Date: 18 September 2020

630 S.W.3d 36

IN RE The GREEN PARTY OF TEXAS, et al., Relators

No. 20-0708

Supreme Court of Texas.

OPINION DELIVERED: September 18, 2020

PER CURIAM

A candidate's "access to the ballot lies at the very heart of a constitutional republic." In re Francis , 186 S.W.3d 534, 542 (Tex. 2006). In this case we decide whether three Green Party of Texas candidates were improperly denied access to the ballot for failure to pay a filing fee. Strictly construing the statutory provisions at issue against ineligibility as we must, we hold that the court of appeals erred in declaring the candidates ineligible and grant their request for mandamus relief.

Democratic candidates for office, Chrysta Castañeda, Wendy Davis, and Mary Jennings (M.J.) Hegar, (collectively, Castañeda) sought mandamus relief in the Austin Court of Appeals to remove three Green Party candidates—David B. Collins, Katija "Kat" Gruene, and Tommy Wakely—from the November general election ballot. Castañeda asserted that the Green Party candidates were ineligible because they failed to pay the filing fee required by section 141.041 of the Texas Election Code. See TEX. ELEC. CODE § 141.041(a) (providing that a candidate who is nominated by convention must pay a filing fee or submit a valid signature petition).

Under Election Code section 145.003, the co-chairs of the Green Party, Alfred Molison and Laura Palmer, were the party officers responsible for declaring a Green Party candidate ineligible. See id. § 145.003(b)(1). Under subsection (f), a candidate may be declared ineligible if "facts indicating that the candidate is ineligible are conclusively established by another public record." Id. § 145.003(f)(2) (emphasis added). "When presented with ... another public record containing information pertinent to a candidate's eligibility, the appropriate authority shall promptly review the record. If the authority determines that the record establishes ineligibility as provided by Subsection (f), the authority shall declare the candidate ineligible." Id. § 145.003(g). Castañeda asserted that the party co-chairs violated a ministerial duty imposed by law by failing to declare the three Green Party candidates ineligible after public records were presented to the co-chairs conclusively establishing that the candidates did not pay the filing fee or submit petitions.

The court of appeals agreed. 607 S.W.3d 862, 866 (Tex. App.—Austin 2020, orig. proceeding). The court held that the Green Party candidates were ineligible to be candidates on the November ballot based on their failure to pay the filing fee. Id. Therefore, the court held, when presented with the public record conclusively establishing this failure, the co-chairs had a "statutory duty" under section 145.003 to declare the Green Party candidates ineligible. Id. The court conditionally granted relief and directed the co-chairs to declare the Green Party candidates ineligible to appear as the Green Party nominees and to take all steps within their authority to ensure that the candidates' names did not appear on the ballot. Id. at ––––. Chief Justice Rose dissented, stating that mandamus relief was not appropriate based on the record before the court. Id. at 866 (Rose, C.J., dissenting).

To be entitled to mandamus relief, Castañeda was required to establish that the Green Party co-chairs had a ministerial duty to declare the candidates ineligible. See In re Williams , 470 S.W.3d 819, 821 (Tex. 2015) (holding that mandamus may issue to compel performance of a

630 S.W.3d 38

ministerial act). "An act is ministerial when the law clearly spells out the duty to be performed by the official with sufficient certainty that nothing is left to the exercise of discretion." Id. (quoting Anderson v. City of Seven Points , 806 S.W.2d 791, 793 (Tex. 1991) ). For the reasons explained below, Castañeda failed to prove the Election Code clearly spelled out the duty of the co-chairs to declare the Green Party candidates ineligible for their failure to pay the filing fee, and the court of appeals therefore erred in ordering their removal from the ballot.

The Election Code distinguishes between the process of nominating candidates for public office by nominating conventions and by applications to appear on a primary ballot. See In re Tex. House Republican Caucus PAC , ––– S.W.3d ––––, ––––, 2020 WL 5351318 (Tex. 2020). A candidate who is nominated by convention, as were the Green Party candidates here, must pay a filing fee or submit a signature petition under section 141.041 :

(a) In addition to any other requirements, to be eligible to be placed on the ballot for the general election for state and county officers, a candidate who is nominated by convention under Chapter 181 or 182 must:

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