Texas Libertarians and Green Party members have launched a lawsuit against the State of Texas over ballot filing fees for the upcoming 2020 elections.
This week, it was announced that the Libertarian Party of Texas had joined with a number of citizens and other parties to sue the State of Texas over a new law requiring third-party candidates to pay filing fees comparable to those filed by Republicans and Democrats running for office. As filing fees have traditionally been earmarked to pay for the primary elections, the plaintiffs argue that since their parties do not hold primary elections, the fees are unnecessary.
“These unreasonable fees, ranging into the thousands of dollars just to be on the ballot, place an unreasonable burden on our candidates and are clearly designed to hurt any party challenging the status quo of control by the two old parties,” the Libertarian Party of Texas said via a press release.
The change to filing fees for Libertarians and other candidates came earlier this year when the Texas Legislature passed a bill that, while making it easier for third-parties to obtain ballot access based on electoral performance, places filing fee requirements on all candidates across the board.
Officially, the law instituting the filing fees will take effect on September 1st, just months before the kickoff of the 2020 election cycle in Texas.
