Republican Representative Mayes Middleton from Wallisville, Tx – House District 23

HB 4416, which would increase the ballot access requirements for the Libertarian Party of Texas, has effectively been defeated in the Texas House of Representatives.

After many calls and much pressure, Rep. Mayes Middleton, the Republican sponsor of HB 4416 which would double the requirements to maintain ballot access, chose to postpone House discussion of his bill until March of 2020, after the 2019 Texas legislative session ends.

Current election law requires that a party’s candidate obtain at least five percent of the vote in a state-wide race in order for that party’s candidates to qualify for automatic inclusion on the ballot in the next election. Rep. Middleton wanted to make the requirement 10 percent in an effort which he characterized as making elections more serious and only allowing those on the ballot who can obtain substantial electoral support. He stated on the House floor that if candidates were truly serious, they would run as independents.

The Libertarian Party of McLennan County disagrees with this assertion and labels this as a thinly veiled attempt to reduce ballot choices for Texans and competition in politics.

Furthermore, we applaud Republican Rep. Travis Clardy who opposed the bill on the House floor and fought to ensure that Texans continue to have more choices on their ballots.