Two lawyers who have been gathering signatures on petitions to be placed on the 2018 State Bar of Texas ballot for president-elect can stop seeking more signatures—if they want to.

The State Bar Nominations and Election Subcommittee Wednesday voted during a teleconference meeting to recommend that the bar board of directors put Dallas attorney Lisa Blue and Houston attorney Randy Sorrels on the ballot.

State Bar President Tom Vick says both Blue and Sorrels began seeking petition signatures in September.

“They're dedicated to being on the ballot,” Vick said.

He said that the subcommittees co-chairmen had contacted other lawyers about seeking nomination but no one was interested because Blue and Sorrels have such a big head start.

Blue, a solo practitioner at Baron and Blue in Dallas, said she intends to collect more signatures.

“I'm honored that they did that, but I'm going to go ahead and collect signatures because I really want to be nominated by the membership to get on the ballot next year,” she said.

Blue served as president of the American Association for Justice in 2014-2015.

Sorrels, a partner in Houston's Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz, also said he was honored by the recommendation.

“I was ready to get on with the petition for sure, but I'll take the nomination with honor,” he said.

He is a past president of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists.

Austin solo Joe Longley, the bar's current president-elect, says that the bar board will vote on the recommendation to nominate Blue and Sorrels in January 2018.

Vick, an attorney with Vick Carney in Weatherford, said voting in the election will begin in early April and continue for 30 days. Whoever is elected president-elect will become the bar president in June 2019.