Texas Democrats to stay out of Texas until August 6 to block voting bill

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WASHINGTON – Shortly after landing in Washington DC in an attempt to deny Texas House a quorum to block a voting restrictions bill, House Democrats indicated they planned to stay out of the State until the end of the special legislative session which ends on August 6.

The departure of state Democrats on Monday shakes up the legislature’s ability to turn any bill into law just days into a 30-day session that was convened in large part to push forward legislation backed by the government. GOP that would enact new restrictions on voting.

Asked by a reporter what the caucus planned to do if Gov. Greg Abbott called another special session for the next day, State Representative Chris Turner D-Grand Prairie suggested that was why they had scampered into the capital.

“This is our message to Congress,” said Turner, the Fort Worth Democrat who chairs the Democratic House caucus. “We need them to act now.”

At least 51 of Texas House’s 67 Democratic members – the number needed to break the quorum – fled the state on Monday, most boarding two chartered planes that landed in Washington around 7 p.m. Central time.

Last month, a delegation of Democratic state officials and senators traveled to the U.S. capital to advocate for a pair of federal bills. The former would prevail over significant parts of Texas bills and set new federal standards for elections, such as same-day automatic voter registration. The second would restore sweeping guarantees for voters of color by restoring federal election monitoring in states like Texas with a troubling history of discrimination against voters of color.

This time around, the group was much larger – at least two buses packed with members on Tuesday night – and State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, called the increased numbers “reinforcements.”

State legislation currently under consideration resembles the GOP’s regular legislative session priority voting bill that initially prompted Democrats to step aside and break the quorum in late May. Republicans’ bills would ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options, improve access for pro-poll observers, and bar local election officials from proactively distributing postal ballot requests. They also include language to further restrict the state’s postal voting rules, including new identification requirements for absent voters.

Since news broke that Democrats were leaving the state, Republicans have rushed to characterize them as quitting their jobs.

“The Texas Democrats’ decision to break the quorum in the Texas Legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol hurts the Texans who elected them to serve,” Abbott said in a statement earlier today. “As they fly over the country on cushy private planes, they leave out issues that can help their districts and our state.”

Republican colleagues from across the state and nation joined in the criticism.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Turner said. “We are doing our job. We were elected to represent our constituents and fight for the interests of our constituents. We are not going to sit in Austin in the House chamber and watch the Republican majority destroy the voting rights of our constituents. “

Democratic State Representative Barbara Gervin-Hawkins of San Antonio said in an interview that she was “definitely” ready to be out of state for three weeks as well and that she was light-hearted.

“It wasn’t even about clothes, it was about doing what we need to do to protect our right to vote,” she said. “We cannot go back to the days of yore … think of our ancestors who died so that we have the opportunity to vote.”

“What I did, I got into my clothes and got all those things that are washable,” she added, when asked how she prepared for a trip as well. uncertain.

There was a feeling in that group Tuesday that Abbott’s threat to cut salaries for legislative staff could come true.

“I told my staff to prepare for unemployment,” Gervin-Hawkins said. ” OKAY ? Think about it. If you are released from a job beyond your control, you are entitled to unemployment.

“We hope that does not happen,” she added.

State Representative Joe Moody D-El Paso called the bill “toxic law.”

“We are here to fight,” Moody said, referring to Congress. “We just hope we’re not alone.”