The Houston, Texas charter says no one may circulate a city initiative petition who is not a resident and registered voter in the city. On October 23, the Fifth Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court and reinstated a lawsuit filed by Trent Pool in 2019 against the residency/registration requirement. Pool v City of Houston, 19-20828.

The decision is by Judge Gregg Costa, an Obama appointee. It is also signed by Judge James E. Graves, an Obama appointee; and Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt, a Bush Jr. appointee. The city had admitted the law is unconstitutional but claimed that Pool didn’t have standing and also that the case is moot. But the Fifth Circuit pointed out that the petition form still says circulators must be eligible to sign their own petition, so it sent the case back to the U.S. District Court with instructions that there is no standing or mootness problem with the lawsuit. Here is the eleven-page opinion.