HOUSTON – Civil rights organizations Houston Justice and Pure Justice filed an emergency lawsuit Sunday, January 25, 2026, trying to extend early voting in Harris County after severe winter weather forced the closure of polling places for two critical days during the early voting period for the Congressional District 18 special runoff election.
The lawsuit names the Harris County Commissioners Court and all commissioners, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo as defendants. Plaintiffs are asking a court to issue a temporary restraining order and both temporary and permanent injunctive relief to restore lost voting time before Election Day on Saturday, January 31.
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On Friday, January 23, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Harris County, forecasting snow, ice, sleet, and hazardous travel conditions. That same day, the Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth announced that all early voting centers would be closed on Sunday, January 25 and Monday, January 26, citing severe weather conditions, one of the final two days of early voting.
In her initial announcement, Hudspeth emphasized safety concerns, stating, “the safety of employees, election workers, and voters is my top priority.”
Houston Justice and Pure Justice argue that the closures eliminated seven hours of early voting on Sunday and twelve hours on Monday, depriving voters of nearly two full days of access to the polls, the lawsuit said. The groups are asking a court to order Harris County to open all main, temporary, and permanent early voting locations for 12 hours on Wednesday, January 28 and at least seven hours on Thursday, January 29 to make up for the lost voting time.
Both candidates in the CD-18 runoff election support the moves by the two groups.
Amanda Edwards emphasized the broader context of voter disenfranchisement in the district.
“I am in alignment and agreement with the lawsuit that was filed to extend the early voting period so that the residents of the Congressional 18th District could have as much of an opportunity to participate in a democratic process that has been denied to them for far too long,” Ewards said in a phone interview to KPRC 2 News Rilwan Balogun. “They have been disenfranchised, made to be voiceless, for a period that is outrageous. Of course, due to inclement weather this would have shortened the period of time to which people could have an opportunity to cast a ballot, which is not the right outcome.”
Christina Menefee also voiced strong support, pointing to delays and legal constraints surrounding election administration.
“Houston Justice and Pure Justice just filed a lawsuit to add Wednesday (1/28) and Thursday (1/29) as early voting days because severe weather is causing us to lose two days of voting. I support it 100%,” Menefee said in a statement. “Governor Abbott delayed for months before calling this election for the 18th Congressional District. Now a storm has knocked out two of the seven days of early voting. That’s not right. Folks in TX-18 have already gone nearly a year without a voice in Congress.”
Menefee added that Texas law prevents local officials from extending voting days without a court order, underscoring the necessity of the lawsuit.
KPRC 2 reached out to the county clerk’s office but hasn’t received a response.
Houston Justice and Pure Justice are asking the court to schedule an emergency hearing as early as the afternoon of January 25 or the morning of January 26. They argue extending early voting would impose minimal cost on the county, as staffing and operational expenses were already budgeted, while failure to act would cause irreparable harm by burdening the fundamental right to vote.
The seat for Congressional District 18 has remained vacant for nearly a year following the death of Representative Sylvester Turner in March 2025.
Election Day is Saturday, January 31.