An effort to keep Republican Brian Birdwell’s name off the state Senate special election ballot by one of Birdwell’s GOP opponents was unsuccessful in the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

Agency staffers certified late Wednesday the May 8 ballot, which had on it the names of Birdwell, former GOP state Sen. David Sibley, Waco Democrat Gayle Avant and Burleson Republican Darren Yancy.

Sibley had hired an attorney to make the case for the Secretary of State’s election division to administratively declare Birdwell ineligible based on public records.

Republican Brian Birdwell will remain on the May 8 state Senate special election ballot despite a rival's attempt to have him disqualified.

The records allegedly showed that Birdwell had not lived in Texas for the past five years, a requirement for state Senate candidates.

Agency workers decided the evidence was not conclusive, and a Sibley spokeswoman said Friday they would not mount a court challenge on the issue.

In a statement Birdwell said he was “disappointed” that “Sibley felt the need to hire lawyers in an attempt to have me kicked off the ballot.”

“But the process worked, and I have been officially certified as a candidate,” he said.

Sibley spokeswoman Kirsten Voinis said despite the agency’s decision, the fact that Birdwell voted in Virginia could make his eligibility vulnerable to legal challenge from the Democratic Party in the future.

“It is a real and valid concern to not let the Democrats knock an ineligible Republican off the November ballot and win the state Senate seat by legal default.”

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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