2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · Senate bill

SB901

SB901 disqualifies a candidate who files for a general-primary ballot place or convention nomination with more than one political party in the same voting year.

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Official caption: Relating to the declaration of a candidate's ineligibility on the basis of filing an application for a place on the general primary election ballot or for nomination by convention with more than one political party.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Kolkhorst. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

SB901 disqualifies a candidate who files for a general-primary ballot place or convention nomination with more than one political party in the same voting year.
If the secretary of state determines this ineligibility no later than the 10th day after the regular general-primary filing deadline, the candidate’s name must be omitted from the primary ballot of every party with which the candidate applied.
The referenced withdrawal statute has its own deadline: a candidate may not withdraw after the first day following the regular filing deadline, and must file the request with the authority that receives the ballot application.
The act also adds this ineligibility ground to the certification restrictions for the state party chair, convention presiding officer and county party chair.

Read the full explanation ↓

What does it do?

SB901 disqualifies a candidate who files for a general-primary ballot place or convention nomination with more than one political party in the same voting year. The candidate becomes ineligible for a general-primary ballot place, convention nomination, and the succeeding general election as a party nominee or as an independent or write-in candidate in a partisan election. The trigger is filing with multiple parties, not merely changing political views or voting for different parties in different general elections. New Election Code 162.0151(a).

If the secretary of state determines this ineligibility no later than the 10th day after the regular general-primary filing deadline, the candidate’s name must be omitted from the primary ballot of every party with which the candidate applied. The secretary must give written notice explaining the ineligibility, the ability to withdraw under section 172.052, and omission if the candidate refuses to withdraw, and must prescribe implementation procedures. The act does not say that withdrawing from one party cures the multi-party filing disqualification. Notice and omission rules.

The referenced withdrawal statute has its own deadline: a candidate may not withdraw after the first day following the regular filing deadline, and must file the request with the authority that receives the ballot application. SB901 does not amend that provision or create an unrestricted new 10-day withdrawal period. Existing withdrawal rule; New procedure.

The act also adds this ineligibility ground to the certification restrictions for the state party chair, convention presiding officer and county party chair. The convention and county-chair rules additionally bar certification for an office where the application is invalid under section 141.033, the existing restriction on filing for incompatible offices elected on the same day. Under that existing rule, applications after the first are invalid; candidacy for U.S. president or vice president together with another office is excepted. These provisions restrict ballot certification; SB901 creates no new criminal penalty. Signed May 29, 2025, it took effect September 1, 2025. Sections 2–5; Existing multiple-office rule and its exception; History.

What changed along the way?

The introduced bill did not limit the independent and write-in branches of the succeeding-general-election disqualification to partisan elections. The Senate committee substitute added “in a partisan election” to both branches. Those limits survived in the final law; do not describe those branches as a ban on every nonpartisan candidacy. The substitute, engrossed text, House committee text and final act have identical operative provisions. All five versions were compared, and the amendment index lists no floor amendments.

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

Candidates who file with multiple parties face loss of the specified ballot and nomination opportunities; party officials and election administrators have explicit certification and omission instructions. Written notice is required. The act does not make ordinary voters ineligible to vote, and it is separate from existing restrictions based on primary voting or candidacy. Filing-based rule; Existing primary participation and candidacy restrictions.

Both the March 21 introduced fiscal note and March 28 substitute fiscal note anticipate no significant fiscal impact to the state or local governments. They do not estimate the number of candidates affected, litigation expenses for an individual candidate, or changes in election outcomes.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.