REPUBLICAN PARTY of Comal County rules Kristen Hoyt Ineligible to be District Clerk

In a bizarre turn of events the Republican nominee for Comal County District Clerk, Kristen Hoyt, was determined to be ineligible to assume office because of Texas state residency requirements. The letter released by County Chair Bob Hieronymus dated September 8 outlines the reasons as:

Section 141.001, Texas Election Code, states that, “[t]o be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must…have resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding…the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot.” Tex. Elec. Code, Sec. 141.001(a)(5)(A).

Section 145.003, Texas Election Code, therefore requires me, as the Comal County Republican Chair, to declare Kristen H. Hoyt, ineligible to be the Republican Nominee for Comal County District Clerk in the 2014 General Election for State and County Officers because “the information on the candidate's application for a place on the ballot indicates that the candidate is ineligible for the office.” Tex. Elec. Code, Secs. 145.003(b), (f)(1), (g). Since this administrative declaration of ineligibility is made after the deadline for omitting the ineligible candidate from the ballot, I am hereby certifying the same to the Comal County Commissioner’s Court, the canvassing authority for the General Election, as required by Section 145.003(h), Election Code. By this same correspondence, I am giving written notice of the declaration of ineligibility to the candidate. Tex. Elec. Code, Sec. 145.003(i).

There will be a Write In candidate, Rene Brimmage who will run as an Independent. According to the Texas Secretary of State website, August 18 was the deadline for Write-In candidates to apply to be on the November ballot.

In order to become a write-in candidate in the general election, file a Declaration of Write-in Candidacy with the Secretary of State or your county judge, as appropriate , no earlier than July 19, 2014, and no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 18, 2014. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 146.025. Your declaration must be accompanied by either a filing fee or a nominating petition (PDF) signed by a certain number of qualified voters. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §§ 146.023(b), 146.0231, 146.0232. Write-in candidates are not permitted in primary elections, except for the party office of county chair or precinct chair. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 172.112. For the party office of county or precinct chair, you must file a Declaration of Write-in Candidacy with the county party chair no earlier than November 16, 2013 and no later than 6:00 p.m. on December 16, 2013 (deadline extended under Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 1.006). Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §§ 146.021, 146.025(a), 171.0231(d), (e).

The Write-In candidate must win outright in order to assume the responsibilities of the position in question, the Comal County District Clerk, otherwise the position will be considered vacant.

Sec. 145.005. EFFECT OF VOTES CAST FOR DECEASED, WITHDRAWN, OR INELIGIBLE CANDIDATE. (a) If the name of a deceased, withdrawn, or ineligible candidate appears on the ballot under this chapter, the votes cast for the candidate shall be counted and entered on the official election returns in the same manner as for the other candidates.

(b) If the deceased, withdrawn, or ineligible candidate receives the vote required for election, the resulting vacancy shall be filled in the regular manner.

(c) If the deceased, withdrawn, or ineligible candidate and another candidate tie for the most votes in an election in which a plurality vote is sufficient for election, the other candidate is considered to be elected. If more than one other candidate is tied with the deceased, withdrawn, or ineligible candidate, the winner of the election shall be determined by resolving the tie between the other candidates in the regular manner for resolving a tie vote in the election.

(d) In a race in which a runoff is required, if the deceased, withdrawn, or ineligible candidate received the vote that would entitle the candidate to a place on the runoff election ballot or tied for that number of votes, the candidates in the runoff shall be determined in the regular manner but without regard to the votes received by the deceased, withdrawn, or ineligible candidate.

As many of you know, I wrote several articles about this race and believed strongly that Hoyt was not qualified to take this position. But she did win the primary with the most votes, and now this information comes out. Even IF Hoyt 'wins' the November election, according to the Texas Election Code, she will not be eligible to be the District Clerk. Let’s see what happens at the polls and in the courts in Comal County.

RED SONJA2014©
Pray, Fight, Never Give Up!

GOP chair: Hoyt ineligible
By Dalondo Moultrie New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
Posted: Tuesday, September 9, 2014 10:44 pm

Residency requirements apparently have disqualified the winner of the May primary election for Comal County district clerk from holding the office, the county’s Republican party chairman said Tuesday.

Kristen Hoyt of Gruene will, however, have her name appear on the ballot in November, when — because Democrats fielded no candidate in the primary — she will be challenged only by a write-in candidate whose information will be on the ballot but not her name, county Republican Chair Bob Hieronymus said.

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