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A final push to stop Texas Republicans from passing sweeping election legislation effectively ended Thursday night after enough Democrats returned to the state capital of Austin to allow lawmakers to proceed with the legislation. .
It’s a coda that came just over a month after Democrats in the state House of Representatives drastically left the state capital, denying Republicans a quorum to conduct legislative business. As Republicans threatened to arrest those fleeing, the effort electrified Democrats in Texas and across the country at a time when Republicans were able to impose new voting restrictions in state capitals across the country. country.
With a quorum now intact, Texas Republicans are expected to quickly approve legislation that would ban practices adopted by local election officials to facilitate voting in 2020, including drive-thru voting and 24-hour voting. The measure would also yield more power for pro-poll observers, would ban officials from sending unsolicited mail-in ballot request forms and provide new rules, and potential criminal penalties, for those who help others vote – a move which might make it more difficult for people with disabilities and others to get help voting.
Texas Democrats have always recognized that Republicans would be able to pass the legislation. But by denying a quorum, they hoped to buy time for Democrats in Congress to pass new federal voting legislation to blunt the measure in Texas. They’ve spent much of the past six weeks in Washington, pressuring Democrats to do just that.
Democrats in Congress have pledged to move forward shortly with two important voting rights laws, including one that would require Texas, among other states, to have their voting laws approved by the federal government before they are passed. come into force.
The three Democrats who returned on Thursday underline the possibility of federal action as justification for a return. But other caucus members continue to stay away from the capital and have openly criticized their colleagues for their return, saying it amounts to abandoning the effort.
“It was disappointing on so many different levels,” said Jasmine Crockett, a representative for the Dallas Democratic state, who said she had no plans to return to Austin anytime soon. “We are supposed to be a family.
Crockett was also among nearly three dozen Democrats who released a statement Friday saying they were “betrayed and heartbroken” that their colleagues returned to the capital. “Our determination is strong and this fight is not over,” they said.
The caucus was broadly divided into three camps on strategy, according to Rafael Anchía, a Democrat from Dallas who chairs the US-Mexico legislative caucus. One group felt the best strategy would be to return to Austin and try to negotiate with Republicans in the legislature, while another wanted to retain its influence by staying out of the capital and negotiating. A pitfall of both strategies, Anchía acknowledged, was that Republicans in the legislature showed no interest in negotiating. A third group, he said, was not interested in returning to the capital under any conditions.
“There has never been any disagreement over the ultimate goals,” he said. If there was a disagreement, he added, “it was always tactical.”
Texas Speaker Dade Phelan signed warrants last week allowing the Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest Democrats who refused quorum and bring them to Capitol Hill. But while law enforcement attended the homes of a few lawmakers, according to the Texas Tribune, none were arrested. Some of the Democrats who returned to the state were not taken aback by the possibility of being taken to the capital.
Celia Israel, a Democrat who represents the Austin area, said she recently returned to Texas to treat a medical issue. She said last week that she mainly works from home. While she said it was “disturbing” to have an arrest warrant against her, she would not let law enforcement enter her home if they showed up.
“They can kiss my Texas behind before I walk into this house and give them quorum on the horrible bills they’ve lined up,” she said. “I did not commit any crime. The Department of Public Security cannot enter my home and catch me.
Dallas Democrat Crockett also practices as a criminal defense attorney. She said she had been to the local courthouse in recent days, and although it was filled with law enforcement officers who knew who she was, no one had tried to detain her.
As Democrats at Home stayed away from the capital, Carol Alvarado, a Houston state senator, also tried to slow down the Republican effort. Last week, she spoke in the state Senate for 15 hours, obstructing the Republican vote bill.
Working only on a few hours of sleep the night before, Alvarado wore a catheter – she was prohibited from taking breaks in the bathroom – as well as a back brace and comfortable running shoes when she spoke on the floor. . Once she ended the filibuster, Republicans quickly passed the bill.
“This bill will eventually pass, no matter what we do or say it gets passed,” she said in an interview. “But, just because we don’t have the numbers doesn’t mean that we can’t fight and draw attention to it when possible, when possible, to make sure people know what. happening in our state. “
She also hoped the Texas Democrats “would serve as a motivator, an energizer, for other legislative bodies, that even if you’re outnumbered, don’t come down without a fight.”
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