No. CS/HB 91
Filed under Elections.
Candidate Qualification; Specifying that a person seeking to qualify for office as a candidate must be a registered member of a political party, or registered without any party affiliation, for 365 consecutive days preceding the beginning of qualifying for an election; specifying that such person may not have legally changed his or her name through a specified petition during such 365-day period; providing that compliance with specified requirements is mandatory; providing construction; authorizing qualified candidates or certain political parties to challenge compliance with specified provisions by filing suit in a specified circuit court; prohibiting a person from being qualified as a candidate for nomination or election and appearing on the ballot under specified circumstances.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA candidate must now swear they have not legally changed their name through a court petition in the 365 days before qualifying begins, unless the change came from marriage, divorce, or adopting a child.
A party candidate must also have belonged to that party for a full, unbroken 365 days before qualifying, and a no-party candidate must have stayed unaffiliated for that same stretch -- gaps or party-hopping now count against them.
Both requirements are enforced only one way: a rival candidate or an opposing party with a candidate in the race can sue in circuit court. If a judge's final order finds a violation, the candidate cannot qualify or appear on the ballot.
AIA candidate must attest they have not legally changed their name through a court petition in the 365 days before qualifying begins, except for a change from divorce, adopting a child, or a marriage certificate.
AIA candidate must have been continuously registered with their party, or continuously unaffiliated with any party, for at least 365 straight days before qualifying begins -- a broken or non-consecutive registration no longer counts.
AICompliance with the name-change and registration-length requirements can be challenged only by a qualified candidate or a political party that has a qualified candidate in the same race.
AIIf a circuit court's final order finds that a candidate violated the name-change or registration-length requirement, that person may not be qualified as a candidate and their name may not appear on the ballot.
AIThe bill states that filing this circuit-court action is the sole method for enforcing the name-change and party-registration requirements -- no other enforcement route is provided.
AIA challenge to a candidate's compliance must be filed in the circuit court for the county where the qualifying officer is headquartered, not wherever the candidate or the challenger happens to live.