Texas House bill by Rep. DeAyala restricts political roles for county elections administrators

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Mano Deayala seeks to limit political involvement of county elections administrators by prohibiting them from candidacy or holding public or party offices, aiming to maintain impartiality in election administration, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 58 Democrats and 86 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while two Democrats opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 10 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, while one Democrat voted against it.

Mano Deayala introduced the bill in the Texas House on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, ahead of the official start of the 89th regular legislative session on Jan. 14, 2025.

Deayala graduated from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business in 1988 with a BBA and again in 1992 from Southern Methodist University with a JD.

Deayala, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 133rd House district, replacing previous state representative Jim Murphy.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the restrictions on political activities of a county elections administrator’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Election Code to impose restrictions on the political activities of county elections administrators. Specifically, a county elections administrator is prohibited from being a candidate for public office or an office within a political party, holding any public office, or holding any office or position within a political party or appointed by an elected official. If an elections administrator violates this restriction by becoming a candidate or accepting an office or position, they automatically vacate their role as administrator. The amendments apply only to appointments of county elections administrators made on or after the bill’s effective date, which is Sept. 1, 2025, while those appointed before this date remain subject to the existing law.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (Republican – District 98).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Monday, May 19, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.