A judge ruled on Monday afternoon on a new voting schedule because polls were closed for the past two days due to the weekend winter storm.
Both candidates say the closures have been frustrating. Former City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards and former County Attorney Christian Menefee are on the ballot.
"You lost people on Sunday who might have been doing after church voting," Edwards said.
"There's only seven days of early voting, so when you cut that seven down to five because of a storm which was out of everybody's control, I think people in this district deserve the opportunity to get to the polls," Menefee said.
A judge has now signed an order, giving voters two make-up days. The Harris County attorney did not oppose the change.
This is the new schedule for early voting:
Tuesday, Jan. 27: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 28: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 29: 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Election Day:
Saturday, Jan. 31: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"Accessibility, that is what early voting really gets to," Karla Maradiaga, an attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, explained. "Especially in Congressional District 18, there has been a delay in getting Sylvester Turner's seat filled, so we think that it's crucial that we have this full opportunity."
Texas' 18th Congressional District has had three different representatives in the past and a half and has been without any representation for nearly a year. U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee died in 2024. Her daughter, Erica Lee Carter, finished her term before former Houston Mayor Sylester Turner was elected and took office in January 2025. He then died two months later.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott scheduled a special election to replace Turner for November. Sixteen people ran, and Menefee and Edwards made it to a runoff. The winner will finish Turner's term, which goes until the end of 2026.
Due to redistricting, the district boundaries will change for the upcoming primary this March, for a term that would begin in 2027.
For voters like Jocelyn Matson, all the changes are even more reason to go to the polls.
"My mother voted every time the polls opened," she said. "When I think about the people that gave what they gave for voting, the right to early vote is just something I really hold dear in my heart."
According to the Harris County Clerk's office, about 11,000 people have voted early so far in this race, which is only 3.4% of eligible voters.
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