The short version.
Texas has a quirk that catches almost every first-time candidate out: if you are running in a party primary, you do not file with the county elections office. You file with your county party chair — the Republican or Democratic chair for your county — and you pay the fee to them.
The county elections office still matters enormously. It runs the election, holds the precinct and district maps, and is who you ask about anything specific to your county. It is just not where the primary paperwork goes.
This page covers that for Ellis County and points you at your local election office for anything specific to your county. It is not legal advice; the official rules live with your election office and the Texas Secretary of State.
Ellis County by the numbers.
- In 2024, Ellis County cast 99,485 votes for president: 65.1% Republican, 34.0% Democratic.
The campaigns that win the field are the ones who start building their list of supporters and volunteers before qualifying even opens, not after. Motion51 is ready to load your Ellis County voter file the moment you send it over, so you can start finding your people now.
Key Texas dates.
Still open for the November 3, 2026 ballot
For a COUNTY office, every route closed on August 17. For a city, school district, hospital, library, junior-college or water-district seat on the same November ballot, one door is still open.
- Fri Aug 21, 2026, 5:00 p.m. WRITE-IN DECLARATION for the regular officers of a city, school district, library, junior college, hospital, common school or Water Code district (Elec. Code secs. 144.006(b), 146.054(b), 146.055). This does NOT cover county offices.
- Thu Aug 20, 2026, 6:00 p.m. Last day to file for a place on the ballot, or a write-in declaration, in a SPECIAL election called to fill a vacancy on November 3 by a city, school or other district (sec. 201.054(f), (g)).
- Tue Aug 25, 2026, 5:00 p.m. INDEPENDENT route for an unexpired term. Where a vacancy arose after May 26 and on or before August 21 in an office not otherwise on the ballot, an independent files an application plus petition with the county judge and no declaration of intent is required (secs. 142.002(c)(1), 142.006, 202.007). The deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the 30th day after the vacancy, or this date, whichever comes first.
- Mon Aug 17, 2026, 5:00 p.m. COUNTY and state write-in declarations -- CLOSED (sec. 146.025(a)).
- Mon Dec 8, 2025, 6:00 p.m. Primary filing deadline for the 2026 county offices -- CLOSED (secs. 172.022, 172.023).
- Thu Jun 25, 2026, 5:00 p.m. Independent applications and petitions for the regular ballot -- CLOSED (sec. 142.006).
Write-in votes are counted only for candidates who filed a declaration, and a write-in must also pay the filing fee or file a petition in lieu of it. If your name was on that party's primary ballot for the same office, sec. 162.015 bars you from the write-in list entirely.
2028, the next county cycle
Texas county offices run on a four-year stagger, so only half are up in any given year. Sheriff, county attorney, tax assessor-collector, constables and Justice of the Peace Place 1 are 2024 and 2028 offices. County judge, county clerk, district clerk and county treasurer are 2026 and 2030 offices. Ask your county elections office which of your commissioner precincts is up.
- Sat Nov 13 to Mon Dec 13, 2027, 6:00 p.m. COMPUTED filing window for the 2028 primary. Sec. 172.023(a) sets the deadline at 6:00 p.m. on the second Monday in December of the odd-numbered year, with applications accepted from 30 days before. County and precinct applications go to your COUNTY PARTY CHAIR (sec. 172.022), not the elections office and not the Secretary of State.
- Mon Dec 13, 2027, 6:00 p.m. COMPUTED deadline for an independent's Declaration of Intent, which must be filed inside that same primary filing window (sec. 142.002(b)(2)). Miss it and the independent route is gone too.
- Tue Mar 7, 2028 PRIMARY, published by the Secretary of State.
- Tue May 23, 2028 COMPUTED primary runoff, the fourth Tuesday in May (sec. 41.007(b)).
- Thu Jun 22, 2028, 5:00 p.m. COMPUTED independent deadline: application plus nominating petition, 30 days after the runoff (sec. 142.006(a)). Signatures cannot be collected until after the primary or runoff and cannot come from anyone who voted in that party's primary (secs. 142.008, 142.009).
- Sat Jul 22 to Mon Aug 21, 2028, 5:00 p.m. WRITE-IN declaration window, published by the Secretary of State.
- Tue Nov 7, 2028 GENERAL ELECTION.
The real Texas deadline is roughly eleven months before the election, it falls in December of the ODD year, and you file with a political party volunteer rather than with the government. Find your county party chair early and confirm where they will physically accept a filing on the last day. Also: if you already hold one of the listed county offices and more than a year and 30 days remain on your term, announcing for a different office is an automatic resignation under Art. XVI, sec. 65 of the Texas Constitution.
The 2026 dates come from the Texas Secretary of State's November 3, 2026 election law calendar (Advisory 2026-21), Election Advisory 2025-14 and the 2026 Candidate's Guide, checked on 2026-08-20. Texas has published no 2028 candidate calendar, so dates marked COMPUTED are arithmetic from the Election Code. Confirm anything you rely on with your county elections office.
Offices on the ballot in Ellis County.
Texas county offices run on four-year terms, and most of the countywide ones are elected in the same years as the governor — so the seats below were on the 2026 ballot and are next up in 2030. County commissioner precincts are staggered deliberately, with roughly half up in each even year, so a commissioner seat may be next in 2028 rather than 2030.
- County Judge (four-year term)
- County Clerk, and District Clerk where the county elects them separately
- County Treasurer, where the county still has the office
- Tax Assessor-Collector
- Sheriff
- County Attorney, or Criminal District Attorney depending on the county
- County Commissioner — precincts are staggered, so only about half are on any given ballot
- Constable and Justice of the Peace, by precinct
- Statewide and legislative seats on the same ballot: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Land Commissioner, Agriculture Commissioner, a Railroad Commissioner, U.S. Senate, all 38 U.S. House seats, the entire Texas House and roughly half the Texas Senate
Which commissioner and justice-of-the-peace precincts are up, and whether your county elects a treasurer or a separate district clerk at all, varies from county to county. Your county elections office holds the definitive list.
How to get on the ballot.
Every primary candidate does the same two things: file an application, and attach either a filing fee or a petition signed by voters instead of the fee. You cannot do one without the other, and both must be handed in together.
Where the paperwork actually goes.
For county and precinct offices, the application and fee go to your county party chair — the Republican or Democratic county chair, depending on whose primary you are entering. For statewide and most district offices it is the state party chair instead. This surprises people who assume the elections office handles it.
- County offices, county commissioner, constable, justice of the peace: county party chair.
- Offices whose district covers more than one county: state party chair.
- Independent and write-in candidates follow a separate, later process and do not file with a party at all — ask your county elections office.
The application and the fee (or the petition) must be filed at the same time. Filing one without the other does not hold your place.
Option 1: Pay the filing fee.
Texas sets fees by office in statute, and for county offices the amount depends on how big the county is:
- County Judge, County Clerk, District Clerk, County Treasurer, Tax Assessor-Collector, Sheriff, County Commissioner: $750, rising to $1,250 in counties with at least 200,000 people at the 2020 Census.
- Constable and Justice of the Peace: $375, rising to $1,000 in those same larger counties.
- County Attorney: $750, or $1,250 where the county attorney also does a district attorney's job.
- County Surveyor: $75.
- For scale: State Representative is $750, State Senator $1,250, U.S. Representative $3,125.
The fee is paid to the party, not to the county or the state. Confirm the exact amount for your seat with your county party chair before writing the cheque.
Option 2: Petition in lieu of the filing fee.
You can collect signatures instead of paying, and for a county or precinct office the requirement is unusually modest — it is capped, not a straight percentage:
- The lesser of 500 signatures, or 2% of the total vote cast for all candidates for governor in that county or precinct in the 2022 general election.
- If that calculation comes out below 50, the requirement becomes the lesser of 50 signatures or 20% of that same 2022 gubernatorial vote.
- For statewide office the minimum is a flat 5,000 signatures.
- Signers must be registered voters in the territory the office covers, and signing one party's petition affects whether you can take part in the other party's primary.
In a small county the petition route can mean a couple of dozen signatures, which is why it is worth asking for the exact number rather than assuming you have to pay.
If you are running for a judicial office.
Judicial candidates face an extra requirement in the state's largest counties. In Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant Counties — and this includes justice of the peace — a candidate paying the filing fee must also file a 250-signature judicial petition, or collect 750 signatures if using the petition in lieu of the fee.
Statutory references: Tex. Elec. Code 172.023 (filing period) · Tex. Elec. Code 172.022 (where to file) · Tex. Elec. Code 172.024 (filing fees) · Tex. Elec. Code 172.025 and 141.062 (petition in lieu) · Tex. Elec. Code 172.021 (judicial petitions). Fees and signature counts change; confirm before you file.
The Ellis County Elections Administrator.
Your county's election office does not take the primary paperwork — that goes to the party chair — but it is who you ask about everything else: which precinct and district you live in, what is on the ballot, early voting sites, and how independent or write-in candidacy works. Texas counties do not all use the same office for this, so the one named below is the one that actually runs elections in this county.
- Office
- 204 E. Jefferson St., Waxahachie, TX 75165
- Phone
- (972) 825-5195
Contact details verified 2026-08-11. Official statewide sources: Texas SOS 2026 Candidate's Guide · Filing in the 2026 primary — fees and petition table · County elections officials directory.
Common questions.
When is the filing deadline for county office in Ellis County?
For the 2026 cycle it was 6:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2025 — filing opened the previous month, on November 8, 2025. That window has closed. Texas runs the same schedule each cycle, so the next filing period for Ellis County offices opens in November 2027 and closes in early December 2027, for the 2028 election.
How much does it cost to run for county office in Ellis County?
For most countywide offices in Texas the filing fee is $750, rising to $1,250 in counties with at least 200,000 people at the 2020 Census. Constable and justice of the peace are $375, or $1,000 in those larger counties. You can also skip the fee entirely by filing a petition instead — for a county office that is the lesser of 500 signatures or 2% of the 2022 vote for governor in Ellis County, which in a smaller county can be a very short list.
Where do I file to run for office in Ellis County?
Not at the county elections office, which is what most people assume. If you are running in a party primary for a Ellis County office, your application and filing fee go to your county party chair — the Republican or Democratic chair for Ellis County. The elections office named on this page runs the election itself and is who to ask about districts, precincts and deadlines.
Where is the Ellis County election office?
The office that runs elections in Ellis County is named on this page, with its address, phone number and website. Texas is unusual in that this is not the same office in every county — some counties have a dedicated elections administrator, others run elections through the county clerk, and a few through the tax assessor-collector.
Do I have to win a primary to run for county office in Ellis County?
If you are running with a party, yes. Texas holds its primary in March and a runoff in late May for any race where nobody cleared 50%, and the winner goes on to the November general election. Independent and write-in candidates skip the primary but must qualify separately, on a later calendar.
How many registered voters are in Ellis County?
Motion51 does not hold the Texas voter file, so we do not publish a registration count for Ellis County. How the county voted in the last presidential election is shown at the top of this page, and the official registration figures come from the Texas Secretary of State and your county elections office.
After you qualify: the field operation.
Texas filing is over before most campaigns have really started, and the deadline is early enough that a lot of would-be candidates miss it entirely. What decides the race is the year that follows: working out which precincts turn out, recruiting people to knock doors, and covering ground in a county that may be geographically enormous.
That is the part Motion51 was built for. You scope your district, cut turf, and send volunteers out with a phone instead of a clipboard. It works offline, so canvassing does not stop where the cell signal does, and every door is logged with a timestamp for your records. Our For Candidates page walks through what that looks like.
Counties next to Ellis.
Running in a district that crosses a county line? Each of these has its own guide.