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Harris County voters get two makeup days to vote early in District 18 special election
Early voting will be open on Wednesday and Thursday due to lost polling hours from the winter storm.
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https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/harris-county-early-voting-district-18-special-election/285-d3191f89-9215-4dd8-b6bb-8eb5a98dc47c
HOUSTON — Early voting for the special runoff in Texas’ 18th Congressional District is back on the calendar for midweek after a Harris County judge ordered the county to make up time lost to a winter storm that shut down polling places. The ruling comes just days after election officials suspended early voting on Sunday and Monday due to dangerous weather, urging voters to cast ballots before conditions deteriorated.
Houston Justice and Pure Justice sued Harris County, arguing that canceling early voting on Sunday, Jan. 25, and Monday, Jan. 26, would illegally cut into the final days of early voting guaranteed under state law. In an order signed Monday, Jan. 26, the 157th District Court agreed to a temporary restraining order, finding the groups are likely to succeed on the merits and warning that voters faced “imminent and irreparable harm” and violations of their rights under Sections 85.006 and 85.005(c) of the Texas Election Code.
Under the court’s order, Harris County must operate on Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all polling places that were supposed to be open for early voting on Monday, Jan. 26. The county also has to open all polling places that were scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 25, for at least seven hours on Thursday, Jan. 29, from noon to 7 p.m. Those added hours are intended to replace the time lost when early voting centers were shuttered because of the storm.
Houston Justice and Pure Justice sued Harris County, arguing that canceling early voting on Sunday, Jan. 25, and Monday, Jan. 26, would illegally cut into the final days of early voting guaranteed under state law. In an order signed Monday, Jan. 26, the 157th District Court agreed to a temporary restraining order, finding the groups are likely to succeed on the merits and warning that voters faced “imminent and irreparable harm” and violations of their rights under Sections 85.006 and 85.005(c) of the Texas Election Code.
Under the court’s order, Harris County must operate on Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all polling places that were supposed to be open for early voting on Monday, Jan. 26. The county also has to open all polling places that were scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 25, for at least seven hours on Thursday, Jan. 29, from noon to 7 p.m. Those added hours are intended to replace the time lost when early voting centers were shuttered because of the storm.