![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fund_jurnlist_lgad_1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nChairman Apodaca responded by text:<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly judicial candidates who need to get signatures are Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals candidates. They have to get 50 signatures per Court of Appeal district.\u201d<\/p>\n
For all other judicial candidates, he explained:<\/p>\n
\u201cState district courts and county courts ONLY either pay the filing fee OR file by petition (500 signatures).\u201d<\/p>\n
He also clarified why the petition event focused only on the two statewide candidates:<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, it\u2019s a practice throughout the state for the county party to assist the Supreme Court and CCA candidates with signatures\u2026 typically they are unopposed, but this year there will be two on Place 7, and we helped both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why the Wording Matters<\/p>\n
While I very much appreciate the response and clarity from the Chairman, the text message did not say \u201cstatewide.\u201d It said:<\/p>\n
\u201cevery candidate for judge\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
One missing word completely changed the meaning.<\/p>\n
A first-time candidate considering a local judicial race could easily have read that and assumed they were suddenly required to gather signatures over a weekend \u2013 which is not true. With the filing deadline only days away, wording like that can discourage people from running at all.<\/p>\n
Accuracy isn\u2019t a small detail in election messaging. It directly affects how voters \u2013 and potential candidates \u2013 understand the process.<\/p>\n
The Bottom Line<\/p>\n
Only statewide judicial candidates are required to gather petition signatures.<\/p>\n
All other judicial candidates can qualify simply by paying the filing fee.<\/p>\n
The Democratic Party\u2019s text overstated the requirement \u2013 maybe unintentionally \u2013 but the effect is the same: voters and potential candidates were given incorrect information.<\/p>\n
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![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/eph_7-980x551.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/dem_sms-735x1024.png\")
Text message sent by the Democratic Party, Chris Hernandez\/El Paso Herald Post<\/p>\n