Chuck Meyer lost the Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 race on Nov. 3 but says he is not done fighting over how independent candidates appear on the ballot.
Meyer, a Woodlands resident since 1995, drew 29,583 votes as an independent. That was 34.76% of the vote in a two-candidate race against Republican Brittany Gable-Hale, who won with 55,518 votes, according to unofficial results published by Woodlands Online with all 121 Montgomery County precincts reporting. The results have not yet been certified by the Elections Commission.
In an op-ed published Nov. 4 on Woodlands Online, Meyer congratulated Gable-Hale and thanked the 520 neighbors who signed his petition to get on the ballot. He also announced he would press forward with his lawsuit, Meyer v. Howden, filed in the 284th District Court.
The case targets Texas ballot-order rules. Under the Texas Election Code, party nominees appear before independent candidates on the ballot. Meyer wrote that the suit "does not challenge this year's result" but "seeks fairer rules for whoever runs next."
"A candidate who qualifies deserves to be treated the same as everyone else on the ballot," Meyer wrote. "Parties should not hold a superior position to citizens who want to serve, least of all in races for judge."
The Texas Secretary of State's Election Advisory No. 2026-22, issued Aug. 28, confirmed that Sections 52.091 and 52.092 of the Election Code govern the order of parties on the ballot. Independent candidates appear after party nominees under those provisions.
Meyer argued in his op-ed that his vote share landed in the same range as Democratic judicial candidates across Montgomery County. He wrote that nine Democrats running for statewide appellate courts each received between 32.9% and 35.2% of the Montgomery County vote, despite widely different backgrounds. His 34.8% fell squarely in that band, he wrote, evidence that party labels drive judicial races more than candidate qualifications.
A separate federal lawsuit raises related questions about independent ballot access in Texas. In Collier v. Howden, independent lieutenant governor candidate Michael Collier challenged the state's signature requirements for independents. Texas argued in a September filing that the case was moot, according to Ballot Access News.
Meyer, a patent attorney, arbitrator and mediator, listed several community roles he plans to continue: the Rotary Club of The Woodlands, the Library Advisory Board, volunteer mediation with the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County and substitute teaching in Conroe Independent School District (Conroe ISD) classrooms.
He wrote that he expects to run again in 2030.
No public response from Gable-Hale to Meyer's op-ed or his lawsuit appeared in available records as of publication. The current procedural status of Meyer v. Howden, including whether any hearings have been scheduled, is not reflected in available records.
