Texas Election Code - ELEC § 143.005. Application for Home-Rule City Office

(a) A city charter may prescribe requirements in connection with a candidate's application for a place on the ballot for an office of a home-rule city.  This section does not authorize a city charter requirement in connection with the timely filing of an application, and any charter requirement related to an application's timely filing is superseded by Section 143.007 and other applicable filing provisions prescribed by this code.

(b) If a city charter prescribes the requirements that a candidate's application must satisfy for the candidate's name to be placed on the ballot, Section 141.031(a)(4)(L) also applies to the application.  The other provisions of Section 141.031 do not apply.

(c) If a city charter requires candidates to pay a filing fee, the amount of the fee and an alternative procedure to payment of the fee shall be prescribed by the charter or by ordinance under charter authorization.  However, if an ordinance prescribing an alternative procedure to payment of a filing fee is adopted before the effective date of this code without charter authorization, the ordinance, as it exists on the effective date of this code, continues in effect until the adoption of a charter provision prescribing an alternative procedure or authorizing prescription of an alternative procedure by ordinance.

(d) For any petition required or authorized to be filed in connection with a candidate's application for a place on the ballot for an office of a home-rule city, the minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition is the greater of:

(e) If the city charter of a home-rule city with a population of more than 1.18 million located primarily in a county with a population of 2.5 million or more that holds nonpartisan elections for its offices requires both a petition and a $50 fee to be filed for a candidate's name to be placed on the ballot, those requirements supersede this section.