Houston man blocked from mayoral ballot files lawsuit against state of Texas
HOUSTON - Next Tuesday would’ve been Derrick Broze’s second run for Houston’s mayor, but a new interpretation of Texas election code prevented him from the ballot this time around.
It all stems from a nonviolent felony drug conviction back in 2005. He served his time and is now clean.
"That overall is just not a good feeling to kind of have that judgment held over me, and more importantly there were people in Houston who wanted to vote for me, and wanted to support me on the ballot. So it was disappointing to not see that be the end result," said Broze.
So he’s doing something about it by filing a lawsuit against the state of Texas, specifically focusing on one line now found on the candidate application form.
It says you can run if you’ve been pardoned, "or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities of that felony conviction."
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Broze says it's ambiguous, adding, "It’s just some confusion on the language. Are felons allowed to run? This court says yes, this person says no. We’re going to try to actually make the courts decide by putting it to the test. Does the Texas election code not only align with the Texas Constitution but the U.S. Constitution?"
He wasn't the only one to find the language ambiguous, so there was a call for the Texas Attorney General's opinion a couple of years ago.
"In Texas, when there is ambiguity regarding any type of law, what holds weight is the Attorney General’s opinion," said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. "In this case, Attorney General Ken Paxton has said in cases like that of Mr. Broze, he cannot run for office."
Broze has two options, which would be either to file this lawsuit or lobby with the state legislature when they reconvene in 2025. However, Jones thinks what stands in Broze’s way is Republican control over Texas.
"As things stand today, I think it’s very unlikely Mr. Broze will be eventually successful with his legal challenge if it gets to the Texas Supreme Court," he said. "And his prospects for getting the legislature, right now under Republican control, to pass legislation providing more rights for former felons seems like a pretty tough sell."
Broze says he’s willing to negotiate understanding that violent felony convictions are vastly different that what he faced.
"I think there’s a conversation there," said Broze. "Maybe not all felons and not all crimes should be treated equally, but I do think in cases of people like myself, non-violent, no weapons involved, etcetera, that we should be allowed to continue our lives and serve our communities."
The lawsuit was only filed less than a week ago, so Broze is currently awaiting the legal process to begin.