Election for Expired Terms Place 5, Place 6, and Place 7 

Dates to Remember

• Filing for Place on the Ballot Opens | July 23
• Deadline for Filing for Place on the Ballot | August 22
• Deadline to Register to Vote | October 11
• Early Voting | October 24 - November 4
• Election Day | November 8

Candidate Filing Information

• All GISD school board candidate and officeholder filings must be submitted to Sandy Bruner at the GISD Administration Building at 217 N. Jones Street.
• This includes applications for a place on the ballot as well as campaign finance reports.
• Candidates and officeholders are responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of all filings.
• For more election information, please contact Sandy Bruner at (817) 408-4042 or sandy.bruner@granburyisd.org

Current state law requires a candidate for trustees of an independent school district to be a qualified voter by the time required, as prescribed by Election Code Section 141.001. 

Membership

The Board shall consist of seven members.

Method of Election

Election of Board members shall be by place.

Election Date

General election of Board members shall be on the November uniform election date.

Terms and Election Schedule

Board members shall be elected for three-year terms, with elections conducted annually, as follows:

Places 1 and 2

The election for places 1 and 2 shall be held in 2020, 2023, 2026, and in three-year intervals thereafter.

Places 3 and 4

The election for places 3 and 4 shall be held in 2018, 2021, 2024, and in three-year intervals thereafter.

Places 5, 6, and 7

The election for places 5, 6, and 7 shall be held in 2019, 2022, 2025, and in three-year intervals thereafter.

Method of Voting 

Plurality

To be elected, a candidate must receive more votes than any other candidate for the place. 

District Policy BBB(Local)

Qualifications

Eligibility

To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, the office of school board member, a person must:

Be a United States citizen.

Be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable.

Have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.

Have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities [but see Ineligibility below].

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 following date:

For an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot.

For a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate's name is written in.

For an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made.

Be registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected on the date described at item 5, above.

Election Code 1.020, 141.001(a); Education Code 11.066; Gov't Code 601.009; Tex. Const. Art. XVI, Sec. 14

Qualified Voter

A person may not be elected trustee of an independent school district unless the person is a qualified voter. Education Code 11.061(b)

"Qualified voter" means a person who:

Is 18 years of age or older;

Is a United States citizen;

Has not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;

Has not been finally convicted of a felony [see also Atty. Gen. Op. LO 96-114 (1996) (concluding that caveat at Election Code 11.002 does not mitigate blanket prohibition in Election Code 141.001, above at Eligibility)];

Is a resident of this state; and

Is a registered voter.

Election Code 1.020, 11.002

Residency

"Residence" Defined

"Residence" means domicile, one's home and fixed place of habitation to which one intends to return after any temporary absence; one does not lose one's residence status by leaving to go to another place for temporary purposes only. A person does not acquire a residence in a place to which the person has come for temporary purposes only and without the intention of making that place the person's home. Residence shall be determined in accordance with the common-law rules, as enunciated by the courts of this state, except as otherwise provided by the Election Code. Election Code 1.015

Note:The issue of whether a candidate has satisfied residency requirements should be judicially determined. State v. Fischer, 769 S.W.2d 619 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1989, writ dism'd w.o.j.)

Intent to Return

For purposes of satisfying the continuous residency requirement, a person who claims an intent to return to a residence after a temporary absence may establish that intent only in accordance with Election Code 141.001(a-1), which does not apply to a person displaced from the person's residence due to a declared local, state, or national disaster. Election Code 141.001(a-1)–(a-2)

Single-Member Districts

A candidate for board member representing a single-member district must be a resident of the district the candidate seeks to represent. Education Code 11.052(g)

Ineligibility

A person is ineligible to serve as a member of the board of a district if the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Penal Code 43.02(b) (prostitution). Education Code 11.066 

District Policy BBA(Legal)

Conducting Elections

Notice of Polling Place

Any written notice of a polling place location must state the building name, if any, and the street address, including the suite or room number, if any, of the polling place. Election Code 1.021

Election Order

The board shall order an election. An election to be held on a uniform election date shall be ordered not later than the 78th day before election day. Election Code 3.004, .005

Each election order must state:

The date of the election;

The offices or measures to be voted on;

The early voting clerk's official mailing address;

The location of the main early voting polling place;

The dates and hours for early voting; and

The dates and hours of any Saturday and Sunday early voting.

Election Code 3.006, 83.010, 85.004, .007

A board shall preserve the election order for the period for preserving the precinct election records. The date and nature of each election shall be entered in the official records of the board. For an election on a measure, the entry must include a description of the measure. Election Code 3.008

Failure to Order an Election

Failure to order a general election does not affect the validity of the election. Election Code 3.007

Election Notice

Contents

Notice of the election must state:

The nature and date of the election;

The location of each polling place;

The hours the polls will be open;

The early voting clerk's official mailing address;

The location of the main early voting polling place; and

The dates and hours for early voting, including the dates and hours of any Saturday and Sunday early voting.

Election Code 4.004(a), 83.010, 85.004, .007

Notice of Special Election

The notice of a special election must also state each office to be filled or the proposition stating each measure to be voted on. Election Code 4.004(b)

Publication

Notice of the election shall be published at least once, not earlier than the 30th day or later than the tenth day before election day, in a newspaper published within the district's boundaries or in a newspaper of general circulation in the district if none is published within the district's boundaries. The board shall retain a copy of the published notice that contains the name of the newspaper and the date of publication. Election Code 4.003(a)(1), (c), .005(a)

Posting

In addition to the notice described above, not later than the 21st day before election day, a county shall post a copy of a notice of election provided to the county [see Notice to County Clerk and Voter Registrar, below], which must include the location of each polling place, on the county's internet website, if the county maintains a website. A district may post a copy of the notice on the bulletin board used for posting notices of the meetings of the board. If a county does not maintain a website, the district shall post a copy of the notice of the election on the bulletin board used for posting notice of meetings of the board. The notice must remain posted continuously through election day. The person posting the notice shall make a record at the time of posting stating the date and place of posting. The person shall sign the record and deliver it to the board after the last posting is made. Election Code 4.003(b), .005(b)

A district that maintains a website must post the notice described above on the internet website of the district. Election Code 85.007(d)

Note:For additional website posting requirements regarding the date and location of the next election, see CQA.

Notice to County Clerk and Voter Registrar

The board shall deliver notice of the election, including the location of each polling place, to the county clerk and voter registrar of each county in which the district is located not later than the 60th day before election day. The county clerk shall post notice of the election, including the location of each polling place, on the county's internet website, if the county maintains a website, as provided by Election Code 4.003(b). Election Code 4.008(a) [See Posting, above]

Notice to Election Judge

Not later than the 15th day before election day or the seventh day after the date the election is ordered, whichever is later, the board shall deliver to the presiding judge of each election precinct in which the election is to be held in the district a written notice of:

The nature and date of the election;

The location of the polling place for the precinct served by the judge;

The hours that the polls will be open;

The judge's duty to hold the election in the precinct specified by the notice; and

The maximum number of clerks that the judge may appoint for the election.

Election Code 4.007

Failure to Give Notice of Election

Failure to give notice of a general election does not affect the validity of the election. Election Code 4.006

Filing Information

Notice to Candidates

A district shall post notice of the dates of the filing period in a public place in a building in which the district has an office not later than the 30th day before the first day on which a candidate may file an application for a place on the ballot. Election Code 141.040

Note:For additional website posting requirements regarding the requirements and deadline for filing for candidacy of board member, see CQA.

Application

A candidate application for a place on the ballot must:

Be in writing;

Be signed and sworn to before a person authorized to administer an oath in this state by the candidate and indicate the date that the candidate swears to the application;

Be timely filed with the appropriate authority; and

Include all statutorily required information.

Election Code 31.0021, 141.031, .039

Deadline

An application for a place on the ballot may not be filed earlier than the 30th day before the date of the filing deadline.

An application must be filed not later than 5:00 p.m. of the 78th day before the date of the election for an election to be held on a uniform election date.

Education Code 11.055(a); Election Code 144.005(a), (d)

Death of Candidate

If a candidate dies on or before the deadline for filing an application for a place on the ballot:

The authority responsible for preparing the ballots may choose to omit the candidate from the ballot; and

If the authority omits the candidate's name under item 1, the filing deadline for an application for a place on the ballot for the office sought by the candidate is extended until the fifth day after the filing deadline.

Election Code 145.098(b)

Write-in Candidate

A declaration of write-in candidacy must be filed not later than 5:00 p.m. of the 74th day before election day for an election to be held on a uniform election date. Education Code 11.056(b); Election Code 146.054

Special Election

An application for a place on a special election ballot may not be filed before the election is ordered.

An application must be filed not later than:

5:00 p.m. of the 62nd day before election day if election day is on or after the 70th day after the election is ordered; or

5:00 p.m. of the 40th day before election day if election day is on or after the 46th day and before the 70th day after the date the election is ordered.

Exception

For a special election to be held on the date of the general election for state and county officers (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years under Election Code 41.002), the day of the filing deadline is 6 p.m. of the 75th day before election day.

Write-in Candidate

A declaration of write-in candidacy for a special election must be filed not later than the filing deadline.

Election Code 201.054

Delivery or Submission of Documents

Under the Election Code, delivery, submission, or filing of an application, notice, report, or other document or paper with an employee of the district at the district's usual place for conducting official business constitutes filing with the district. The district may accept the document or paper at a place other than the district's usual place for conducting official business.

A delivery, submission, or filing of a document or paper under the Election Code may be made by personal delivery, mail, telephonic facsimile machine, or any other method of transmission.

Election Code 1.007

Election of Unopposed Candidate

The board may declare each unopposed candidate elected to office in accordance with the provisions below. Election Code 2.053(a)

A special election is considered to be a separate election with a separate ballot from a general election for board members or another special election held at the same time. Election Code 2.051(a)

Single-Member Districts

If any members of a board are elected from single-member districts, the procedures to declare unopposed candidates elected apply to the election in a particular single-member district if each candidate for an office that is to appear on the ballot in that single-member district is unopposed and no opposed at-large race is to appear on the ballot. Election Code 2.051(b)

Procedure for Canceling Election

The authority responsible for having the official ballot prepared shall certify in writing that a candidate is unopposed for election to an office if, were the election held, only the votes cast for that candidate in the election for that office may be counted. The certification shall be delivered to the board as soon as possible after the filing deadlines for placement on the ballot and list of write-in candidates.

A certification may be made following the filing of a withdrawal request by a candidate after the deadline prescribed by Election Code 145.092 if:

The withdrawal request is valid except for the untimely filing;

Ballots have not been prepared; and

The other conditions for certification are met.

A certification under these circumstances shall be delivered to the board as soon as possible.

Election Code 2.052

On receipt of the certification, the board by order may declare each unopposed candidate elected to office. If a declaration is made, no election is held.

If no election is to be held by the district on election day, a copy of the order shall be posted on election day at each polling place used or that would have been used in the election.

The ballots used at a separate election held at the same time as an election that would have been held if the candidates were not declared elected shall include the offices and names of the candidates declared elected listed separately after the measures or contested races in the separate election under the heading "Unopposed Candidates Declared Elected." The candidates shall be grouped in the same relative order prescribed for the ballot generally. No votes are cast in connection with the unopposed candidates.

Election Code 2.053

[See BBBB regarding issuance of a certificate of election to an unopposed candidate declared elected and qualification for office.]

Ballot

The ballot shall be prepared in accordance with Election Code Chapter 52.

Drawing

The district shall conduct a drawing to determine the order of the candidates' names in an election at which the names of more than one candidate for the same office are to appear on the ballot. The district shall post notice of the date, hour, and place of the drawing. The notice must remain posted in the district's office continuously for 72 hours immediately preceding the scheduled drawing. The district shall mail written notice of the date, hour, and place of the drawing to each candidate not later than the fourth day before the date of the drawing. Each candidate affected by a drawing is entitled to be present or have a representative present at the drawing. Election Code 52.093–.094 [See BBBB regarding ballot order in a runoff election or election to resolve a tie.]

Ballots for an election by position must clearly show the position for which each person is a candidate. A board shall arrange by lot the names of the candidates for each position. Education Code 11.058(g)

Election Services Contract

The county election officer, as defined by Election Code 31.091(1), may contract with the board of a district situated wholly or partly in the county served by the officer to perform election services, as provided by Election Code Chapter 31, Subchapter D, in any one or more elections ordered by the board.

If requested to do so by a district, the county elections administrator, as defined under Election Code Chapter 31, Subchapter B, shall enter into a contract to furnish the election services requested in accordance with a cost schedule agreed on by the contracting parties. A county elections administrator is not required to enter into a contract to furnish elections services for an election held on the first Saturday in May in an even-numbered year.

Election Code 31.092, .093, 41.001(d)

Election Judges and Clerks

By written order, a board shall appoint a presiding election judge and an alternate presiding judge for each election precinct in which an election is held. A board shall prescribe the maximum number of clerks that each presiding judge may appoint for each election. The judges and clerks shall be selected and serve in accordance with Election Code Chapter 32. Election Code 32.001(a), .008, .033

Polling Places

A board shall designate polling places for election day and early voting. Each polling place shall be accessible to and usable by the elderly and persons with physical disabilities. Election Code 43.004, .034, Ch. 85 (early voting by personal appearance)

In an election held on the November uniform election date, a district shall use the regular county election precincts. The district shall designate as the polling places for the election the regular county polling places in the county election precincts that contain territory from the district. Election Code 42.002(a)(5), .0621, 43.004(b)

Electioneering

A person commits an offense if, during the voting period and within 100 feet of an outside door through which a voter may enter the building in which a polling place is located, the person loiters or electioneers for or against any candidate, measure, or political party.

A district that owns or controls a public building being used as a polling place or early voting polling place may not, at any time during the voting period or early voting period, as applicable, prohibit electioneering on the building's premises outside of the area described above, but may enact reasonable regulations concerning the time, place, and manner of electioneering.

Definitions

"Electioneering" includes the posting, use, or distribution of political signs or literature. The term does not include the distribution of a notice of a party convention authorized under Election Code 172.1114.

"Voting period" means the period beginning when the polls open for voting and ending when the polls close or the last voter has voted, whichever is later.

"Early voting period" means the period prescribed by Election Code 85.001.

Election Code 61.003, 85.036

Early Voting

In each election, early voting shall be conducted by personal appearance at an early voting polling place and by mail, in accordance with Election Code Title 7, Chapters 81–114. Election Code 81.001

November Early Voting Polling Places

In an election on the November uniform election date in which the district is not holding a joint election with a county and has not executed a contract with a county elections officer under which the district and the county share early voting polling places, the district:

Shall designate as an early voting polling place for the election an eligible county polling place located in the district; and

May not designate as an early voting polling place a location other than an eligible county polling place unless each eligible county polling place located in the district is designated as an early voting polling place by the district.

"Eligible county polling place" means an early voting polling place, other than a polling place established under Election Code 85.062(e), established by a county.

Election Code 85.010(a), (a-1), (b)

Temporary Branch Days and Hours

Early voting by personal appearance at each temporary branch polling place shall be conducted on the days that voting is required to be conducted at the main early voting polling place under Election Code 85.005 and remain open for at least:

Eight hours each day; or

Three hours each day if the city or county clerk does not serve as the early voting clerk for the territory holding the election and the territory has fewer than 1,000 registered voters.

Election Code 85.064(b)

Records

Branch Daily Register

The early voting clerk shall provide, in a downloadable database format, a current copy of the register for posting on the internet website of the district, if the district maintains a website, each day early voting is conducted. At a minimum, the voter registration number for each voter listed in the register must be posted. Election Code 85.072

Early Voting Rosters

Information on the roster for a person who votes an early voting ballot by personal appearance shall be made available for public inspection as provided below not later than 11 a.m. on the day after the date the information is entered on the roster. Information on the roster for a person who votes an early voting ballot by mail shall be made available for public inspection as provided below not later than 11 a.m. on the day following the day the early voting clerk receives a ballot voted by mail.

The information must be made available:

On the publicly accessible internet website of the district; or

If the district does not maintain a website, on the bulletin board used for posting notice of board meetings.

Election Code 87.121(g)–(i)

Conducting Elections

Elections shall be conducted in accordance with Election Code Title 6, Chapters 61–68.

Bilingual Materials

Spanish

Bilingual election materials shall be used in each election precinct situated wholly or partly in a county in which five percent or more of the inhabitants are persons of Spanish origin or descent according to the most recent federal decennial census that may be officially recognized or acted upon by the state or political subdivisions. Election Code 272.002

Other Languages

If the director of the census determines that a district must provide election materials in a language other than English or Spanish, the district shall provide election materials in that language in the same manner in which the district would be required to provide materials in Spanish, to the extent applicable. Election Code 272.011; 52 U.S.C. 10503

Voting Systems

A voting system shall be adopted and utilized in accordance with Election Code Title 8.

Accessible Voting Stations

Except as provided below, each polling place must provide at least one voting station that complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794) and its subsequent amendments, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Section 12131 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, and the requirements for accessibility under 52 U.S.C. Section 21081(a)(3) [formerly 42 U.S.C. Section 15481(a)(3)] and its subsequent amendments, and that provides a practical and effective means for voters with physical disabilities to cast a secret ballot. Election Code 61.012

Electronic Voting System Exceptions

For an election other than an election of a district that is held jointly with another election in which a federal office appears on the ballot, a district is not required to meet the requirements for accessibility under Election Code 61.012(a)(1)(C) if the district is located in a county that meets certain population and other requirements set forth in Election Code 61.013(a). A district that intends to use this provision to provide fewer voting stations that meet the requirements for accessibility than required must provide notice under Election Code 61.013(d). Election Code 61.013 

District Policy BBB(Legal)