Over the past few months, 28 LPTexas candidates were removed from ballots for the November 5 election because they did not pay filing fees. But why didn’t they pay the filing fees? Glad you asked! 

To answer that question, we begin with a bit of a history lesson:

Filing Fees Deconstructed

• On June 10, 2019, the Texas House passed HB2504, which required convention party candidates (e.g., LPTexas) to pay filing fees. This went into effect on 9/1/2019.
• Prior to HB2504, filing fees were only required for candidates of primary parties (e.g., Republicans and Democrats). This made perfect sense because Texas filing fees were always intended to help offset the administrative costs of primaries.
• Even after the passing of HB2504, however, filing fees continue to go into the General Revenue Fund which is still used to offset the cost of primaries. 

Looking at the graphic above, you’ll notice that not a single cent comes back to LPTexas and other convention parties to help offset the costs for our conventions. In effect, LPTexas candidates are required to pay a poll tax which is used to fund our opposition. This is why many of our candidates have refused to pay filing fees.

SB994 - The Game Changer 

That worked out for us for a while. The Texas GOP tried in both 2020 and 2022 to get LPTexas knocked off the ballot, and we beat them both times. Needless to say, they were not happy with their failed efforts to price out their political competition. Representative Dustin Burrows (District 83 - Lubbock), who serves on the House Elections Committee, took to Twitter to vent his frustration:

While HB2504 had codified that convention party candidates must pay filing fees, there was no effective means of enforcement to “knock Libertarians off the ballot.” A year later, Rep. Burrows was among the GOP legislators who sponsored SB994, which changed the rules of the game.

SB994, which went into effect on 9/1/2023, took it a step further and authorized the Texas Secretary of State to remove candidates from the ballot if they did not pay their filing fee or submit a petition in lieu of the filing fee. (If you’re curious how many signatures a candidate must have for a petition, you can find that here. Spoiler: It ain’t as easy as it sounds).

The 2024 election cycle is the first in which the new law is in effect, and the Secretary of State wasted no time in exercising its new authority to remove 28 LPTexas candidates from Texans’ ballots.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Well, we’re not giving up, that’s for sure! LPTexas Chair Andrew Amelang has been consulting with our legal counsel, and while we obviously cannot publish political strategy on our website, know that conversations are ongoing to determine what recourse LPTexas may have.

If you want to help LPTexas continue to fight the Texas GOP’s efforts to suppress voter choice, please donate to our Legal Fund.

And remember this the next time the Texas GOP tries to tout itself as the party of election integrity: They only care if it's in their best interest - not yours.