A district judge has mandated an extension of the early voting period for the runoff election in Texas’ 18th Congressional District, following the closure of polling stations over the weekend due to extreme weather conditions.
On Sunday, the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit against Harris County on behalf of organizations Houston Justice and Pure Justice, seeking to add January 28 and January 29 as additional early voting days.
The lawsuit argued that while the closures were reasonable given the severe weather and safety issues, they would hinder many voters in Congressional District 18 from exercising their right to vote in this crucial special runoff election.
On Monday, Judge Latosha Lewis Payne granted the request from the organizations. As per her ruling, the county is required to open the same early voting locations that were scheduled for Monday on Wednesday, operating from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Additionally, polling places originally set for Sunday must be available on Thursday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The office of Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth did not provide a comment but announced the early voting extension through a social media post later that afternoon.
“Voters are encouraged to take advantage of these additional early voting opportunities,” Hudspeth stated in her post. “My office and election workers are prepared to process every eligible voter.”
The runoff election features a contest between former Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, both Democrats. Both candidates support the lawsuit.
“Folks in TX-18 have already gone nearly a year without a voice in Congress,” Menefee expressed in a social media post on Sunday. “We shouldn’t have to settle for just five days to vote early in such an important election.”
Menefee further labeled the judge’s ruling as “a big win for voter access.”
The district has lacked congressional representation since the passing of U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner in March 2025.
“This district has gone without its voice, without its vote, without anyone to advocate on its behalf of federal funding for far too long,” Edwards remarked. “We are finally on the cusp of it getting its voice back and we want to make sure that as many people in this 18th Congressional District as possible have the opportunity to participate in this process.”
The winner of this election will serve until the end of the year, with limited time to prepare for the primary election scheduled for March 3, which will ultimately determine the representative for the heavily Democratic district starting in 2027. The primary race also includes U.S. Representative Al Green, who is shifting districts due to recent redistricting, and Gretchen Brown, a candidate with experience in defense policy.
In the special election held on November 4 to replace Turner, Menefee secured the top position with 28.9% of the votes, while Edwards followed closely with 25.6%, competing against 16 candidates.
