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Texas Democrats refused to return to the State Capitol as Gov. Greg Abbott began a third attempt to pass new election laws, extending a months-long standoff that escalated in July when dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state and squatted in Washington, DC.
“There is no quorum,” Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan said on Saturday, who then adjourned the chamber until Monday.
More than 50 Democrats visited the nation’s capital last month, but the precise fate of each is unclear. In a joint statement on Saturday, Democrats said 26 of them would remain “as part of an active presence in Washington maintained as long as Congress is functioning.”
But there were also signs that the stalemate could thaw. Two of the Democrats who decamped last month returned to Austin on Saturday, and one said enough of his colleagues could also start returning to ensure a quorum next week.
Notably, Republicans did not invoke a procedural measure that would give Phelan the power to sign arrest warrants for missing lawmakers, as they did when Democrats left town.
Democratic state representative Eddie Lucio III said those who may return feel the pull of personal and professional demands.
“I was encouraged by the fact that the baton would be carried by my colleagues in Washington at the federal level, that there would be radical reform at the national level,” said Lucio III.
Republican Jim Murphy, chairman of the House Republican Caucus, also believed more Democrats would return in the coming days.
“People are talking to their friends, and we think we’re going to see a lot more,” he said.
It was not just Democrats who were absent on Saturday: six Republicans were also absent, including one who recently tested positive for Covid-19.
Prior to the weekend, Democratic leaders had made no commitment to remain seated for the entire 30-day session, leaving open the possibility that a sufficient amount could come back at some point to end the standoff. Republicans want to push forward an overhaul of the Texas election under legislation that remains largely the same despite months of walkouts and protests from Democratic lawmakers.
Under the bill Republicans were set to pass in May, Texas would ban 24-hour polling stations, drive-thru voting, and give more access to observers who support polls. But that effort was foiled by Democrats who abruptly left Capitol in a late-night walkout.
Democrats made a bigger bet – by decamping to Washington on chartered jets – to miss time on the GOP’s second try. Democrats had hoped to pressure President Joe Biden and Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation, but a Republican obstruction in the Senate continues to block such a move.
Democrat Jasmine Crockett, one of the state officials remaining in Washington, said she would be disappointed if enough of her colleagues returned to give Republicans a quorum next week. She said their group was not “naive” and knew they did not have the voices to permanently delay the passage of a bill in Texas, but is still hoping for a move in Congress.
“I’m not letting go. I won’t come home until the fat lady sing, ”Crockett said.
Biden has never met the Texas Democrats in Washington. The group was quickly forced to change some plans after several of their members tested positive for Covid-19. Reports of two Democrats sneaking into Europe also made headlines and prompted Republicans to poke fun at their country.
There has recently been a sharp rise in Covid infections in Texas, where the number of people hospitalized with the virus stands at more than 8,500, the highest number since February. But Abbott is adamant that Texas will not reinstate pandemic restrictions or mask warrants and has banned schools from requiring face coverings. Many of the state’s 5 million students are expected to return to class this month.
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