ERS Trustee Elections and Appointments
Section 815.003(d) of the Texas Government Code states that before August 31 of each odd-numbered year, the Board of Trustees (Board) of the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) is required to hold an election for the members and retirees of the system to nominate and elect a trustee.
NOTE: ERS does not provide state employees’ or state retirees’ contact information to candidates for campaign or any other purpose.
ERS Board of Trustees 2025 election
State employees have valuable benefits offered through the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS), and the ERS Board of Trustees works to ensure those benefits remain valuable and competitive.
If you’re a State of Texas agency employee or retiree, one way to make sure you are represented in benefits discussions is to vote in the 2025 ERS Board of Trustees election. Retirees and current employees of state agencies and non-contributing members of ERS will have the opportunity to vote to fill the Board seat currently held by Brian Barth, who works for the Texas Department of Transportation. His term expires Aug. 31, 2025. The elected candidate will serve a six-year term as a member advocate.
Candidate eligibility
In this year’s election, Texas state agency employees who are contributing to the ERS Retirement Trust Fund as of Jan. 31, 2025, are eligible to serve on the Board.
Note: Employees of the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and retirees cannot run in the 2025 election because an HHSC employee and a retiree currently serve on the ERS Board. State law prohibits two trustees employed by the same agency or two retirees from serving at the same time. But, HHSC employees and retirees can nominate candidates from other agencies, sign a nomination petition and vote in the election.
Nominator/voter eligibility
Texas state agency employees, retirees and non-contributing members of ERS can sign a nomination petition and vote in the ERS Board of Trustees election if they have an ERS account balance as of Jan. 31, 2025, or are receiving an annuity from ERS.
Nomination process
ERS will accept nominations from March 3 through March 31 at 5 p.m. CT to fill one elected position on the ERS Board of Trustees.
To get on the 2025 ballot, a Texas state agency employee not employed with HHSC must:
- complete and submit the “Questionnaire for Board of Trustees Position” AND
- file a petition bearing the signatures of 300 eligible voters. (See “Voter eligibility” below for information on who can sign a nomination petition.)
In addition to the paper petition forms traditionally used in ERS Board elections, Texas state agency employees and retirees will have the option to electronically nominate candidates. A potential candidate can contact the ERS election coordinator on or after March 3 to request a personalized electronic nomination site platform. This hybrid nominations process will provide candidates an additional avenue to collect signatures, rather than or in addition to gaining support in person.
The process for an eligible voter to cast an electronic signature for a nominee is very similar to online voting. On the ERS nominations website, the individual will log in by typing in their individual credentials: their ZIP code, date of birth and portions of their first and last names. Using the known credentials, the website will automatically authenticate the individual’s voting eligibility.
A signature is counted only if the:
- printed first and last name, ZIP code and date of birth are legibly included;
- person is eligible to vote in the upcoming election; and
- signature appears only one time for only one candidate.
ERS encourages potential candidates to gather signatures from 400 to 500 eligible voters, to allow for invalid entries. If an eligible voter signs a nomination petition for more than one candidate, ERS will not count either signature.
The questionnaire and other nomination materials will be available on the ERS website March 3.
2025 ERS Board of Trustees Election Calendar
Nomination process | |
|---|---|
| Monday, March 3 | ERS distributes nominating petitions to agencies. |
| Monday, March 31 | Candidate nomination petitions are due to ERS by 5 p.m. CT. |
| Tuesday, April 15 | ERS certifies candidates and draws for ballot order. |
Thursday, May 15 | ERS holds candidate forum. |
| General election | |
|---|---|
| Friday, May 16 | Voting begins |
| Friday, June 20 | Voting ends |
| Thursday, July 24 | ERS executive director certifies election results |
| Monday, September 1 | New trustee begins their term |