Three times in five years he went to court over an election — to stop one, to force one, and to get himself on a ballot.

The public record shows David Rogers as a named party in three separate pieces of election litigation between 2021 and 2026, in three different postures. David Rogers is the only Pflugerville councilmember who appears in any of them.

2021 — to stop an election

Rogers et al. v. ESD #17 sought to keep an annexation proposition off the November 2021 ballot. A temporary restraining order was denied, mandamus was denied by both the Texas Supreme Court and the Third Court of Appeals, and the case was dismissed in September 2021 without any court reaching its central question. Voters rejected the annexation anyway. The city settled in 2024 by paying the district's $275,000 legal bill.

Posture
Sought to prevent an election
Outcome
Dismissed; the election went ahead

2023–2024 — to force an election

In re David Rogers, Jennifer Pakenham, and Kristi Powell, No. 23-0595, sought to compel Travis County ESD No. 2 to call an election on a petition to reduce its sales tax. The Third Court of Appeals denied relief in July 2023. On May 24, 2024 the Supreme Court of Texas conditionally granted mandamus, directing the ESD 2 board to determine whether the petition carried signatures of at least five percent of registered voters and, if so, to call an election. This is the one he won.

Cause
No. 23-0595, Supreme Court of Texas
Opinion
May 24, 2024
Posture
Sought to compel an election
Outcome
Mandamus conditionally granted

2025–2026 — to get on a ballot

After the Republican Party of Texas rejected his application for Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 8, Rogers sued. A Travis County district judge dissolved his temporary restraining order and denied an injunction. On January 13, 2026 the Supreme Court of Texas denied mandamus, noting he had neither appealed that denial nor sought emergency relief in the court of appeals and instead “appears to have abandoned those proceedings, changing tactics.” The incumbent ran unopposed.

Cause
In re David Rogers, No. 26-0010
Opinion
January 13, 2026
Posture
Sought ballot access for himself
Outcome
Mandamus denied

What this does not assert

  • bringing litigation is lawful and this entry does not suggest otherwise
  • he prevailed in the 2024 case; the record is not one of uniform failure
  • does not allege any of the three suits was frivolous — no court has so found
  • does not allege a common motive across the three cases
  • the 2023-24 and 2025-26 cases concerned his activity outside the council; only the 2021 case produced a cost to the city

Sources