Former Lt. Gov. nominee sues Texas over independent candidate rules

A former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor is suing Texas over what he calls an "insurmountable" burden to get on the ballot as an independent candidate.

Mike Collier lost to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in 2018 and 2022 while running as a Democrat, is looking to land on the November ballot as an independent.

The Texas election code requires a candidate seeking to get on a statewide ballot as an independent to obtain signatures equal to 1% of the total vote cast in the previous gubernatorial election. For 2026, that number is 81,030. Voting in either party's primary makes you ineligible to sign a candidate's petition.

The lawsuit argues that most candidates seeking to get on the ballot have 113 days to collect the required signatures. Signatures can only be collected after the primary election has taken place. Because the Democratic lieutenant governor's race went to a runoff, Collier said he only has 30 days to collect those signatures.

What they're saying:

"This requirement is so burdensome that no independent candidate for statewide office has ever qualified for the ballot in Texas in a race that had a primary runoff," the lawsuit states. "No state in the nation requires independent candidates for statewide office to gather more signatures in less time than Texas, and no other state is even close."

The lawsuit claims Collier and volunteers have put in hundreds of hours since May 27 to collect signatures and that the campaign has retained a firm to help him make the ballot. Court documents state Collier's campaign received quotes from professional petitioning firms ranging from $1.6 to $3.2 million.

"These price quotes, staggering though they are, are consistent with current market rates," the lawsuit states. "That also assumes the full 113-day petitioning period, and the cost for each firm would increase substantially if the petitioning period were cut short to just 30 days, as it was for Collier."

Collier is joined in the lawsuit by some notable names, such as former Dallas mayor and U.S. Representative Steve Bartlett, former state Sen. Kel Seliger and Sarah Stogner, a district attorney in West Texas.

"Texas voters deserve real choices at the ballot box," Collier said. "Instead, our election laws are designed to protect the political establishment and prevent competition. This lawsuit is about defending the rights of voters—not political parties or incumbent politicians."

The lawsuit is asking the court to block the provision that blocks independent candidates from collecting signatures until after the primary election or primary runoff election and find that Texas Election Code rules for independent candidates seeking statewide office are unconstitutional.

"My strongest supporters were unable to sign my petition unless they gave up their right to vote in important primary contests, including races for the United States Senate and other critical offices," Collier said. "I refused to ask Texans to sacrifice one constitutional right in order to exercise another."

If Collier gets the required signatures or the court sides with him, he will face the Republican Patrick and Democratic candidate state Rep. Vikki Goodwin in November.

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