§ 30.023.Special Procedures for Contest of Constitutional Amendment Election

An expedited procedure for one narrow kind of election contest, and every provision in it is about speed or finality.

The petition must be filed and service on the secretary of state obtained before the final official canvass is completed. A short window, measured against an event rather than a period of days.

Subsection (c) is the substantive choice: filing a contest does not suspend implementation of a constitutional amendment approved by the majority of the votes cast. The amendment takes effect while the contest proceeds, so a contest cannot hold up an approved amendment by its mere pendency.

Four deadlines structure the case. A written ruling on a pretrial motion must be entered not later than the 30th day after filing. Trial may not be earlier than the 45th day after the election except at the contestant's request, and judgment must be filed not later than the 180th day after the election. On appeal, the action must reach final disposition not later than the 60th day after the judgment becomes final.

Subsection (e) gives a cushion where the case changes: an amended petition alleging additional grounds means trial may not be called earlier than the 20th day after it is filed, unless the secretary of state agrees.

Subsection (f): the judgment must direct the governor to declare the election valid or void not later than the 10th day after it becomes final.

Subsection (g) makes the contest exclusive. Any question about the validity or outcome of such an election may be raised in a contest, and a contest is the exclusive method for adjudicating those questions. There is no collateral route.