Texas Democrats Leave State to Try to Block Republicans from Voting on Bills: NPR

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Texas lawmakers gather on Saturday for hearings on bail reform and election bills at the Texas Capitol in Austin. Tamir Kalifa / Getty Images Hide caption التوضيح

Toggle Caption Tamir Kalifa / Getty Images

Texas lawmakers gather on Saturday for hearings on bail reform and election bills at the Texas Capitol in Austin.

Tamir Khalifa / Getty Images

Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives announced Monday that they are leaving the state in a second attempt to block controversial Republican legislation that critics have called voter suppression.

Once again trying to break a quorum and stop voting on Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3, the Democrats said they were on their way to Washington, D.C., where they planned to push for federal voter protection.

“Today, Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives stand united in our decision to break a quorum and refuse to allow the Republican-led legislature to be empowered through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texas’ freedom to vote,” a statement from House Democratic leaders said. “Now we’re taking the fight to our nation’s Capitol. We live in lost time in Texas. We need Congress to move now to pass a bill for the people and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect Texas – and all Americans – from Trump’s Republican war on democracy nationwide. “.

The statement was attributed to Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Chris Turner, Mexican-American Legislature Speaker Rafael Ancia, Texas Black Legislative Caucus Speaker Nicole Collier, Representative Garnett Coleman and Representative Sinfonia Thompson.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa confirmed the news, describing the Republican Party’s efforts to change voting laws as “an escalation of their attacks on voters.”

“There is no democracy without the right to vote,” Hinojosa said. “Once again, Democrats stand strong and united to defend the right of every eligible voter in Texas to be heard. I am so proud of the Texas Democratic legislators, who continue to fight relentlessly on behalf of Texas, the electorate, and democracy.”

Two Texas Republican priority voting bills would ban 24-hour voting, make mail-in voting more difficult, increase criminal penalties for voting errors, and give partisan poll watchers more power at voting sites.

It was not immediately clear whether Democrats would stay out of the state until the end of the session, which is scheduled to run through early August. If successful, it would be the first time in 18 years that Democrats have left the state to break a quorum. In 2003, lawmakers fled to New Mexico to block Republican-led redistricting efforts.

Additional GOP Priorities Blocked

Republican Governor Greg Abbott accused Democrats of abdicating their responsibilities.

In addition to the vote bill, the withdrawal would prevent the passage of other priority legislation in the Republican Party, including a measure that would make it more difficult for people accused of crimes to get out of prison.

“The Texas Democrats’ decision to breach the quorum of the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol harms the Texans who elected them to serve,” a statement from Abbott said. “As they fly across the country on flimsy private jets, they leave unfinished issues that can help their regions and our state.”

Texas House of Representatives Speaker Dad Phelan said the House of Representatives “will use all available resources under the Texas Constitution and House rules that it has unanimously passed to secure a quorum to meaningfully debate and consider” bills on the agenda.

“The clock for the special session is ticking — I expect all members to be present at our Capitol in order to immediately begin working on these issues,” Phelan said.

Harris shows support

During a voting rights “hearing” in Detroit, Vice President Harris praised the Texas Democrats, saying they showed “extraordinary courage and commitment.”

“I salute them for standing up for the rights of all Americans and all Texans to express their voice through their unrelated vote,” she said. “They are leaders who are going the way so many did before, when so many fought and so many died for our right to vote.”

Similar voting legislation was killed at the end of the regular legislative session in May when Democrats withdrew at the last minute, breaching a quorum. In response, Governor Abbott opposed funding to the Legislature, and put the voting bill on the agenda for this first session of two special sessions.

Abbott could put the agenda items back on a second session planned later this year, which aims to address redistricting.

Additional reporting by Andrew Schneider of Houston Public Media and David Martin Davis of Texas Public Radio.

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