A state appeals court is upholding a 2019 state law requiring minor party candidates to pay a filing fee or collect petition signatures to get their names on a general election ballot in Texas. On Wednesday, the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston overturned an earlier court order that blocked the fee, ruling it placed an unconstitutional burden on Greens, Libertarians, and other minor party candidates. Harris County Libertarians had challenged the new law's constitutionality. On Saturday, the Texas Supreme Court tossed out a GOP effort to remove 44 Libertarian candidates from the ballot for failure to pay the fee.
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