This is the last section of the memo below:
OTHER ISSUES
The requirements for voting and candidacy are often confused. Under Texas law, the rules are different for voting and candidacy. Section 141.001 of the Texas Election Code generally provides that to be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public elective office, a person must have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities. This means there is no automatic restoration of the right to be a candidate, as there is for voting purposes, after a full discharge. Absent a pardon, the candidate must have obtained a judicial release from his or her disabilities in order to run for any office to which this section applies.
Similarly, the requirements for voting and for serving on a jury are different. Section 62.102 of the Government Code provides that a person who has been finally convicted of a felony is not eligible to serve on a jury, and that right may not be automatically restored as it is for voters.
Candidacy:
Sec. 141.001. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC OFFICE. (a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
(1) be a United States citizen;
(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable;
(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;
(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
Jury Service
Sec. 62.102. GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR JURY SERVICE. A person is disqualified to serve as a petit juror unless the person:
(1) is at least 18 years of age;
(2) is a citizen of the United States;
(3) is a resident of this state and of the county in which the person is to serve as a juror;
(4) is qualified under the constitution and laws to vote in the county in which the person is to serve as a juror;
(5) is of sound mind and good moral character;
(6) is able to read and write;
(7) has not served as a petit juror for six days during the preceding three months in the county court or during the preceding six months in the district court;
(8) has not been convicted of misdemeanor theft or a felony; and
(9) is not under indictment or other legal accusation for misdemeanor theft or a felony.
