1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I write to express my outrage—and that of nearly 800,000 residents of Texas’s 18th Congressional District—that you have deliberately delayed calling a special election to fill the seat vacated by the death of U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner (March 5, 2025) It is unconscionable that you have allowed this vacuum of representation to persist through hurricane season, pivotal budget debates, and critical votes on Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs vital to our predominantly Black and Latino communities . By deferring the election to November 4, 2025—a full seven months after the vacancy—you have effectively silenced our voices in Washington and strategically bolstered a narrow Republican majority. Your claim that Harris County cannot conduct a prompt special election due to past “election mismanagement”—despite oversight reforms and eight successful elections since the law change—is a transparent and offensive excuse . It disregards the urgency of our needs and smacks of partisanship, not gubernatorial responsibility. Houston City Controller Chris Hollins rightly denounced your delay as a political maneuver that “silences nearly 800,000 Houstonians” . House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused you of “openly conspiring with House Republicans to rig the system” . These are not hyperbole—they are sober assessments of a real threat to our democracy. Governor, this is not a policy option—it is your constitutional duty to ensure timely representation for every Texan. I demand that you immediately issue a proclamation setting a special election before the end of June 2025, as Harris County has proven it can manage secure and efficient elections . Anything less is an insult to democracy and to the people you serve.