Opinion issued April 29, 2002
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-02-00369-CV
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IN RE KENNETH BOWEN, RYAN CARNEY, DIANA J. BRASELTON, JAMES ANDERSON, DENNIS A. BAILEY, JUDY BREEDLOVE, RODNEY D. KENAS, JAMES D. SUMMERS, RICHARD H. SUTTON, AND DARRELL CARNEY, Relators
Original Proceeding on Petition for Writ of Mandamus
O P I N I O N
Relators (1) have filed a petition for writ of mandamus to compel the Dickinson Independent School District (DISD), (2) Dickinson, Galveston County, Texas to strike the name of Susan Wilcox from the ballot for position 1, Board of Trustees, DISD.
Ms. Wilcox filed her initial application for candidacy for position 1 on March 1, 2002. That application indicated she had resided for one month in the single member district 1. She filed her second application on March 14, 2002, which she amended to reflect residency duration of six months in district 1. Relators filed a petition for an injunction to have Ms. Wilcox stricken from the ballot on April 5, 2002. A hearing was held on April 15, 2002, and the trial court signed an order on April 16, 2002 denying injunctive relief. Mandamus relief was sought in this Court at 3:11 p.m. on April 16, 2002. Early voting commenced on April 17, 2002, (3) and Ms. Wilcox's name was on the ballot. (4)
In Sterling v. Ferguson, 53 S.W.2d 753 (Tex. 1932), the supreme court held that a trial court hearing a case to remove a candidate from the ballot cannot grant substantial relief once the time passes for the name of the contestant or certificate holder to be certified to the local election officers and to be placed on the official ballot. Id. at 763. A court cannot enjoin the holding of an election; a general election must be held on the statutory date. Id. See also Law v. Johnson, 826 S.W.2d 794, 796-97 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, orig. proceeding) (contest to candidacy is moot when contest cannot be tried and final decree issued in time for it to be complied with by election officials); Smith v. Crawford, 747 S.W.2d 938, 939-40 (Tex. App.-Dallas 1988, orig. proceeding) (challenge filed one day prior to beginning of absentee voting is moot; any order entered would interfere with orderly process of election).
We deny the petition for writ of mandamus and the motion for emergency ruling as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Cohen, Hedges, and Jennings.
Do not publish. Tex. R. App. P. 47.
1. 2. 3. 4.