After Texas Republicans advanced a series of new voting laws Sunday, Lone Star Democrats reportedly are planning to flee the state — once again — in an effort to stop those measures from taking effect.
Republicans are planning the first of several votes on the proposed measures this week, according to The Associated Press. At least 58 state House Democrats are expected to bolt from Austin on Monday in an effort to block the measures from advancing, NBC News reported.
Most members plan to fly to Washington, D.C., on two private jets and use the time there to rally support for federal voting legislation, according to an unidentified source quoted by the network.
The last time Texas Democrats left the state to deny a quorum was 2003, when they decamped to Oklahoma and New Mexico to try to block new GOP-drawn voting maps. They were gone more than a month, but ultimately, Republicans passed a new redistricting plan.
Both parties are playing a game of chicken, according to Dr. Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “Democrats are trying to deny a quorum so the Legislature can take no action on some of the high-priority items of the session, and election reform was the top priority of this special session.”
Texas is among several states with GOP-controlled statehouses where Republicans have enacted new voting laws in response to former President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims the 2020 election was stolen from him.
A second walkout by Texas Democrats — which some are describing as their best, if not only option — would mark a high-stakes escalation of their efforts to deny Republicans a major priority, and in turn, put more pressure on President Joe Biden to act on voting at the federal level.
The latest GOP voting measure in Texas would prohibit 24-hour polling places, ban drop boxes and stop drive-thru voting.
“Democrats are dead-set against any of the GOP’s voting measures,” Wilson said. “But eventually they have to come. They’re not going to leave the state permanently, and the governor can keep calling special session after special session. Democrats are destined to lose, but they can delay and gum up the process as long as they want to stay away.”
Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic former Texas congressman who is considering challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022, said he has already offered help, saying he was ready to raise money “literally to feed and house the legislators” if they go that route.
“Should we stick around? Hell no. For what?” Democratic state Rep. Jarvis Johnson said. “There’s nothing being done in earnest. There’s nothing being done with the utmost respect for one another.”
For weeks, Democratic leaders in the Texas House have said they are not ruling out another revolt but have also expressed hope of weakening the bill during the 30-day special session. Johnson, however, believes a large number of his colleagues are ready to deny Republicans a quorum for a second time, though most continue speaking cautiously.
“You may know my next move, but you can’t stop it. You never knew when Mike Tyson was going to throw the uppercut, but you knew he was going to throw it,” he said.
Another walkout may merely buy more time: Abbott could keep calling more 30-day special sessions until voting measures are passed. Paychecks for nearly 2,000 Capitol staffers could also be on the line because Abbott vetoed funding for the legislative branch following Democrats’ late-night walkout. He has signaled he will restore that funding this summer — if lawmakers are around to put a bill on his desk.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the elected head of the governing body for the county where Houston is located, said Abbott was “extorting” lawmakers to get the legislation passed. Hidalgo said she would support Democratic legislators breaking quorum again to block the bill’s passage.
“It is very important to me to recognize voting rights should be above politics,” Hidalgo said. “We can do that with all manner of issues, but not voting, not democracy.”
The versions of the revived voting changes passed Sunday by a House panel — at 7:30 a.m., almost 24 hours after debate began — and by a Senate committee later that afternoon no longer include two of the most contentious provisions: prohibiting Sunday morning voting, when many Black churchgoers go to the polls, and language that would have made it easier for a judge to overturn elections.
Hundreds of opponents packed overflow rooms at the Capitol and waited for hours to testify. It was the biggest turnout against a bill this year in Texas, where COVID-19 concerns have dampened crowds.
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