A district judge ruled in an emergency hearing Monday that residents eligible to cast ballots in the special Congressional District 18 Runoff election will have extended early voting hours on Wednesday and Thursday to compensate for the two days that polls were closed due to inclement weather.
The Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit Sunday on behalf of Houston advocacy groups Pure Justice and Houston Justice, demanding that voters be allowed ample time to vote early in the District 18 runoff between Amanda Edwards and Christian Menefee.
Texas Civil Rights Project voting rights attorney Karla Maradiaga said after Monday’s hearing that Harris County officials agreed to extending early voting hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday.
An already-scheduled early voting day will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Election Day is Saturday, January 31.
A staff member from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office was on Monday’s Zoom hearing in Judge Latosha Lewis Payne’s 55th District Court and had no comment, Maradiaga said.
The civil rights attorney noted that Harris County election officials had prepared their staff for the possibility of extending early voting and “there weren’t any concerns about poll workers or some of the administrative burdens that we thought might be an issue.”
The District 18 seat has been vacant since March 2025, when former U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner died. Gov. Greg Abbott could have called a special election immediately, but instead postponed the race to November. Sixteen candidates competed for the seat and Menefee and Edwards were the top two vote-getters.
Voters expressed confusion over whether they could still cast ballots in District 18 after a Republican-led redistricting effort last summer changed the boundaries. Because the runoff is to fill an unexpired term, the boundaries remain the same as when Turner was elected in 2024 for the runoff.
Menefee, the former Harris County attorney, and Edwards, a former Houston City Council member, have both already filed to run for the full term and will compete again in a March primary.
Both candidates said they were supportive of the extended early voting hours and were working Monday afternoon to get the word out about the judge’s ruling.
“This delayed special election is overdue for the 800,000 people who have been without their voice, vote and federal advocate for funding,” Edwards said.
Menefee pointed out that Houstonians are resilient and are ready to have their voices heard in Washington, D.C.
“Our communities have watched from the sidelines as major bills and budget decisions were made without us,” he said. “Folks are tired of not having a representative who will fight back against the harm we’re seeing from this administration. Now is our time to be heard in every way we can, including at the ballot box.”
Maradiaga said she mentioned in her oral arguments that District 18 has been without representation for almost a year.
“At TCRP, we believe that everyone should vote and it should be as accessible as possible,” she said. “This seat has been vacant for a long time, and it is a historic district here in Harris County. It’s very important for voters to have a full opportunity to vote.”
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.