What? Silly Texas Law Allows Dead Man to Become Mayor

Palmhurst, Texas has reelected its mayor. There's just one big issue - he's been dead for over a month. That's how you know you did a good job of serving the public!

R.I.P. Ramiro Rodriguez Jr.

Ramiro Rodriguez Jr. was the incumbent mayor of Palmhurst, and had been in office for 23 years. He planned to run for reelection, but passed away at the age of 68 on April 5th, more than a month before the election could actually take place.

According to Valley Central, Rodriguez Jr. had held the position since 1999. House Rep. Henry Cuellar announced Rodriguez Jr.'s death with a Facebook post:

"Mayor Rodriguez served South Texas with pride and dignity during his many years of service as Mayor of Palmhurst. He was known as a passionate public servant and was a pillar of the community."

Mayor Rodriguez served his city well, and will be missed.

Re-Elected Despite Death

Even though Rodriguez died over a month before the election, he still beat his opponent Israel Silva by 95 votes.

How Did the Palmhurst Election Happen?

So how did Rodriguez get elected if he was deceased?

He died after the deadline to remove his name from the race. Apparently, Texas election code states that without authorization, a candidate's name can't be removed from a ballot once it's been certified by the secretary of state.

Seems kind of silly that a deceased candidate would be allowed to remain on a election ballot, and that some sort of special authorization would need to take place in order to remove that person's name. However, that is how the code works in Texas.

The city of Palmhurst has announced that a new election will take place in order to elect a mayor that is actually living.