TEXAS REDISTRICTING & ELECTION LAW

There’s a deal on the primary date.  Here are the details:

February 1, 2012 - New residency deadline for candidates seeking election to the Texas House and Texas Senate. (There is no residency requirement for Congress).

February 1, 2012, 6:00 p.m. - New deadline of court-ordered reopened filing period, in which candidates for all offices have the opportunity to amend, withdraw or file a new application for the ballot.

February 3, 2012 - New deadline for Democratic and Republican county executive committees to conduct drawing for candidate order on ballot.

April 3, 2012 - Date of the 2012 General Primary Election.

April 14 or April 21, 2012 - Date of County and Senatorial District Conventions, as determined by the State Chair of each political party.

June 5, 2012 - Date of the 2012 General Primary Runoff Election.

Although there was discussion yesterday about a conditional trigger that would move legislative and congressional primaries to a later date if maps could not be finished in time, the deal announced today does not contain any such provision (although the court presumably could revisit the issue as and if needed).

Here’s the proposed order submitted this morning to the San Antonio court:

http://tinyurl.com/ceuwupy

UPDATE:  To answer questions , the filing period is open until 6 p.m. on December 19.  It then closes but will be reopened once legislative and congressional maps are settled.  It then will re-close on February 1 @ 6 p.m.