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Running as an Independent Candidate in 2022

NOTE: Please note that information on this page is subject to change as a result of legislation or court order

Candidates may have their name placed on the general election ballot as an independent candidate if they are not affiliated with a political party. (Section 1.005(9), Texas Election Code).  If you vote in a party’s primary elections or participate in a party’s conventions, you thereby affiliate with the party. (Sections 142.008, 162.003, 162.007, Texas Election Code).

To file as an independent candidate, candidates must follow a two-part process. A candidate MUST:

See our FAQs on Party Affiliation and Candidacy for more details about how primary voting or candidacy affects (or does not affect) candidacy in the general election.

Contact the Secretary of State’s office concerning the number of signatures required.

Independent (Nonpartisan) Candidate
Public Office Sought in 2022 File Declaration of Intent and Application with Nominating Petition  
  Sec of State County Judge % Signatures a Maximum Number of Signature b
United States Representative x - 5% 500
Governor x - 1% -
Lieutenant Governor x - 1% -
Attorney General x - 1% -
Comptroller of Public Accounts x - 1% -
Commissioner of General Land Office x - 1% -
Commissioner of Agriculture x - 1% -
Railroad Commissioner x - 1% -
Justice, Supreme Court x - 1% -
Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals x - 1% -
State Senator x - 5% 500
State Representative x - 5% 500
Member, State Board of Education x - 5% 500
Chief Justice and Justice, Court of Appeals x - 5% 500
District Judge x - 5% 500
Criminal District Judge x - 5% 500
Family District Judge x - 5% 500
District Attorney x - 5% 500
Criminal District Attorney x - 5% 500
County Judge - x 5% 500
Judge, County Court-at-Law - x 5% 500
Judge, County Criminal Court - x 5% 500
Judge, County Probate Court - x 5% 500
County Attorney - x 5% 500
Sheriff - x 5% 500
Tax Assessor-Collector - x 5% 500
District Clerk - x 5% 500
District & County Clerk - x 5% 500
County Clerk - x 5% 500
County Treasurer - x 5% 500
County Surveyor - x 5% 500
County Commissioner - x 5% 500
Justice of the Peace - x 5% 500
Constable - x 5% 500
Source: Texas Election Code Section §§142.002, 142.005 §142.007
  1. Percentage of all votes for all gubernatorial candidates cast in the applicable territory in the 2018 general election. If number is less than 25, the required number of signatures is the lesser of (1) 25 or (2) 10% of all votes for all gubernatorial candidates cast in the applicable territory in the 2018 general election. For candidates elected statewide, the one percent figure for the 2018 gubernatorial election is 83,435.
  2. The minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate’s petition for statewide office is 1% of the total vote received by all gubernatorial candidates in the 2018 general election. The minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate’s petition for district, county or precinct office is the lesser of (1) 500 or (2) 5% of the total vote received in the district, county or precinct, as applicable, by all gubernatorial candidates in the 2018 general election, subject to (a) immediately above. (Section 142.007, Texas Election Code).