Source: http://www.demblognews.com/2015/03/running-for-elected-office-in-2016.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 02:48:53+00:00

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The 2015 Texas legislative session enacted SB 1139 legislation to newly create the 469th and 470th Judicial District Courts to hear family law matters for Collin County, plus Collin County Court at Law No. 7. Temporary Judges will initially be appointed to the new courts, with judges elected to a full of office during the 2016 election cycles. These new court position will appear on 2016 Collin County Primary and General Election ballots.
More localized and focused political organizing activity often achieves greater success in build a base of voters who more regularly turn out for every election to elect local Democratic candidates to office. In many counties where Democrats are electing Democrats to represent them in the Texas State House of Representatives, grassroots activists living in the district have come together to form house district clubs or political action committees, or PACs. These clubs and PACs maintain organizing activity and issue awareness across election cycles.
Most clubs schedule monthly meetings so district Democrats have a regular time and place to come together, and bring their friends and neighbors, to discuss issues. Those clubs support their Democratic incumbent or where a Republican is the incumbent office holder, help recruit and groom candidates and provide a foundation for candidates to build their campaign teams.
Organized clubs can also exert more pressure on the Republican incumbent Representative to represent all district residents, not just their conservative Republican constituents.
The district club concept can be applied to any election district division - Senate District, Congressional District, Commissioner District, Court of Appeals District, etc.
The Texas Courts of Appeal are distributed in fourteen districts around the state of Texas. Like the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals, Justices of the Texas Courts of Appeals are elected to six-year terms by general election. The Fifth District Court of Appeals includes one Chief Justice and twelve Justices. The 5th District Court of Appeals is one of our region's most important courts with jurisdiction over criminal, family and civil appeals cases for Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, Kaufman, Grayson and Hunt counties.
In order to become the Republican or Democratic Party nominee for a particular office, you must file an application (PDF) for a place on the ballot with the county or state party chair, as appropriate. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §172.022. The application for a place on the primary ballot must be accompanied by either a filing fee or a nominating petition (PDF) signed by a certain number of qualified voters. Certain judicial candidates in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Travis must file additional petitions (PDF). Certain Statewide judicial candidates must also file additional petitions using the Statewide Judicial Office on Primary Ballot petition form (PDF).
File with county chair if district is composed of only one county.
For candidates running for Courts of Appeals in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 14th Districts and all candidates running for judicial offices in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, and Tarrant Counties, a 250-signature judicial petition is required in addition to the filing fee, or 750 signatures must be collected on the petition in lieu of filing fee. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 172.021(e).
Percentage of all votes for all gubernatorial candidates cast in the applicable territory in the 2010 general election. If number is less than 50, a larger percentage may be required. Consult Secretary of State for further information.
Pay higher fee if county has at least 200,000 inhabitants according to 2010 Census.
Pay higher fee in Courts of Appeals Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 14. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 172.024(7), (8).
Pay higher fee in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, and Tarrant Counties. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 172.024(10), (12).
A candidate for the office of chief justice or justice, supreme court, or presiding judge or judge, court of criminal appeals, who chooses to pay the filing fee, must also accompany the application and fee with a petition. The minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition is 50 from each of the fourteen court of appeals districts, for a total requirement of 700 signatures. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. §172.021(g).
The minimum number of signatures that must appear on candidate’s petition for statewide office is 5000. The minimum number of signatures that must appear on candidate’s petition for district, county, or precinct office is the lesser of (1) 500, or (2) 2% of the total vote received in the district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all gubernatorial candidates in the 2010 general election, subject to (c) above. Tex. Elec. Code Ann. § 172.025.
The following charts depict November 2012 demographics and turnout by age cohort and turnout projections for November 2016.

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