Woodfill Announces Revised Filing Deadlines for Harris County

Recently I wrote about the denial by the Justice Department of the new re-districting plan put forward by the Texas legislature. Because the Justice Department is allowing the lawsuits against the plan to move forward, the filing deadlines have been adjusted for the upcoming March 2012 primary elections.

HERE is what I wrote about that decision and the new dates.

Harris County Republican Party chairman Jared Woodfill issued a press release about the new filing deadlines and information for Harris County precinct chairs:

Today, Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill issued an advisory for all precinct chairs, elected officials and announced candidates with an update on the 2012 primary election filing period and changes to the election calendar over the next several weeks and months.



Said Chairman Woodfill, "As a result of a court order from a federal panel of judges in San Antonio, the new filing period for the March 2012 Primary Elections has been condensed and pushed back to November 28 to December 15, 2011. These changes apply to all races on the March 2012 Primary Election ballot in Texas - federal, state, county, and local offices."



In a court order this past weekend, a three-judge federal panel in San Antonio overseeing the legislative redistricting trial, issued the mandate of these changes in order to allow for enough time to complete the process of drawing interim legislative maps for the 2012 Texas Primary Elections.



Chairman Woodfill remarked, "At this time, it is not clear what legislative lines and districts will be ordered by the court, and this delay in their ruling has necessitated the changes in the election calendar. We do expect that the federal panel will be handing down interim maps later this month. In a related topic for our Harris County Commissioners Court to decide, once those interim maps are implemented, the federal panel in San Antonio has granted a deadline of December 13 for new precinct lines to be enacted so that our county's precincts can be properly organized along the lines of the new districts."



To comply with the new filing period, Chairman Woodfill also announced the Party will be available to receive applications for a place on the Republican primary ballot at the following location and date.



November 28, 2011 through December 15, 2011
Harris County Republican Party Headquarters
3311 Richmond, Ste. 219, Houston, TX 77098
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (6:00 PM 12/15/2011)



Chairman Woodfill concluded by thanking his executive committee and county election officials. "This will be a very busy time for many people who would rather be spending time with their friends and loved ones in the holiday season. On behalf of the Harris County Republican Party, I would like to thank all of you in advance for the support and dedication in helping us pull together this condensed schedule and for understanding the importance of this work to our county and state. If you have any questions about the new filing period and related changes, please call our Primary office at 832-303-2021."