CASE STUDIES IN EMERGENCY ELECTION LITIGATION

Federal Judicial Center 8/14/2023 1

Adding a Weekend Day to Early Voting 

LULAC v. Texas 

(Xavier Rodriguez, W.D. Tex. 5:06-cv-1046) 

A federal complaint challenged the exclusion of weekend days from 

an early-voting period for a special congressional runoff election, 

and the district judge ordered that counties that included parts of the 

congressional district would have the discretion to extend the early 

voting period by one day to include a Saturday. 

Subject: Absentee and early voting. Topics: Early voting; case 

assignment; attorney fees; malapportionment; three-judge court. 

The League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and three voters filed a federal complaint in the Western District of Texas on December 1, 2006, challenging the elimination of weekend early voting for a runoff special congressional election to be held on December 12, the holiday celebrating the Virgin 

of Guadalupe, “a feast of special significance to the Mexican American population of the United States.”1

 With their complaint, the plaintiffs filed a motion 

for a temporary injunction.2

The runoff election was for district 23, which the Supreme Court held on 

June 28 violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.3 On remand, because primary elections had already been held for the districts that the Supreme Court 

decided were improperly drawn, a three-judge district court in the Eastern 

District of Texas ordered special open elections for newly court-drawn districts to be held at the same time as the November 7 general election.4

 Because 

candidates would not have been winnowed by a primary election, the court 

ordered that Texas hold a runoff election for any special congressional race in 

which no candidate received a majority of votes.5

Western District of Texas Judge Xavier Rodriguez transferred the December 1 case to the Eastern District of Texas three-judge court on the day that the 

case was filed.6 Four days later, Judge Rodriguez reconsidered and accepted 

the case back.7

 On that same day, he ordered that counties including parts of 

district 23 have the discretion to extend early voting by one day to include 

Saturday, December 9.8

1. Complaint, LULAC v. Texas, No. 5:06-cv-1046 (W.D. Tex. Dec. 1, 2006), D.E. 1. 

2. Motion, id. (Dec. 1, 2006), D.E. 2. 

3. LULAC v. Perry, 548 U.S. 399 (2006). 

4. Order, LULAC v. Perry, No. 2:03-cv-354 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 4, 2006), D.E. 336 [hereinafter 

Special-Election Order], 2006 WL 3069542; see LULAC v. Perry, 457 F. Supp. 2d 716 (E.D. 

Tex. 2006). 

5. Special-Election Order, supra note 4, at 2; see Carlos Guerra, Stunning Election Results 

Are Product of a Convoluted Contest, San Antonio Express-News, Dec. 14, 2006, at 1B. 

6. Order, LULAC, No. 5:06-cv-1046 (W.D. Tex. Dec. 1, 2006), D.E. 3. 

7. Order, id. (Dec. 5, 2006), D.E. 7. 

8. Order, id. (Dec. 5, 2006), D.E. 8. 
Adding a Weekend Day to Early Voting 

2 Federal Judicial Center 8/14/2023 

On December 5, Judge Rodriguez dismissed the case as settled.9 On May 

22, 2007, he awarded the plaintiffs $19,562.50 in attorney fees and costs.10

9. Order, id. (Dec. 5, 2006), D.E. 9. 

10. Opinion, id. (May 22, 2007), D.E. 15.