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In an extraordinary attempt to prevent Republicans from introducing new voting restrictions, the Texas Democrats shot through – again.
A large group of State Democratic MPs arrived at Dulles International Airport Monday night after escaping the state on two charter jets. At least 51 members were on the flights, a source familiar with the plans told NBC News. At least seven others were also on the way.
The unusual move, similar to what the Democrats did in 2003, will cripple the Chamber and shut down business until lawmakers return to town or the session ends.
Speaking to reporters at the airport on Monday evening, lawmakers urged Congress to swiftly pass federal voting rights and promised to stay in Washington, DC until August, by the time the session began on Thursday allow.
Democrats say the For the People Act, a revised version that Republicans filibusted in the U.S. Senate last month, is the only way to permanently fend off the election restrictions that Republicans are pushing at the state level.
“Our democracy is at stake,” State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer told NBC News. “It became very clear to us that this weekend all attempts to negotiate some Democratic concessions were abandoned, which made it very clear that the Republicans were keen to do what they wanted.”
ON BOARD: Texas Democrats en route to DC where they plan to stay more than three weeks to deny the state house a quorum pic.twitter.com/hTE0mfxveZ
– Jane C. Timm (@janestreet) July 12, 2021
Legislators risk arrest by escaping. Under the Texas Constitution, the legislature requires two-thirds of the lawmakers to be present to conduct state business in any of the chambers. Absent legislators can be legally forced to return to the Capitol; The source said Democrats expect the state’s Republicans to ask the Department of Public Security to track them down.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has made tightening electoral rules a priority, criticized the move as a breach of duty.
“The Texas Democrats’ decision to break a quorum of the Texas legislature and abandon the Texas State Capitol is harming the very Texans they chose to serve,” Abbott said in a statement. “As you fly around the country in comfortable private planes, you leave issues open that can help your districts and our state.”
The Republican House of Representatives spokesman, Dade Phelan, promised in a statement Monday afternoon that “every available resource will be used to secure a quorum, in accordance with the Texas Constitution and the unanimously passed House Rules.”
“The clock for the special session is ticking,” Phelan said.
Many of the escaped Democrats have families, medical problems, or childcare responsibilities, making the three-week endeavor difficult. Nevertheless, the members have been thinking about the extraordinary move for weeks. In order to block the pending legislation, the democratic legislators would have to stay away until the end of the special session, which according to the state constitution can last up to 30 days.
“We are civil lawmakers, we don’t get any professional salaries,” said Fischer, emphasizing the personal toll that the three-week trip would bring with it. “We are a company or we are someone else’s employees.”
Initially, the members considered leaving for West Virginia and Arizona because Sens. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. have spoken out against the abolition of the filibuster in order to pass the For the People Act. However, they feared that the state’s Republican governors would help bring them back to Texas.
“The bottom line is that this special session is nothing special. It’s based on the big lie – Trump’s claim he won the 2020 elections, “said Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat from Austin, MP.
The Texas State Capitol in Austin.Bill Clark / CQ name retrieval via Getty Images file
Attorneys in Texas said the action is timely.
“The strike is a drastic measure in direct response to the governor’s refusal to listen to his constituents or to address the real needs of Texans,” Sarah Labowitz, director of politics and advocacy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said in one Explanation.
Carisa Lopez, political director of the Texas Freedom Network civil rights group, also applauded the move.
“Texas Republicans have proven time and again that they care more about winning primaries than solving Texans’ real problems, so I’m really proud that the Texas Democrats have taken bold action. We need federal law now, so the Texas Democrats are taking an immense risk “to try to move this forward and prevent this horrific voter suppression legislation from becoming law,” she said in an interview Monday afternoon.
My Democratic colleagues and I are leaving the state to break the quorum and destroy the Texas law to suppress the voters.
We’re going to DC to ask Congress to pass the People’s Law and save our democracy.
Good trouble. #txlege pic.twitter.com/gvDi8zcyey
– James Talarico (@jamestalarico) July 12, 2021
The State House Democrats have already carried out a successful strike to thwart the electoral law. In the final minutes of the regular legislature, which ended in May, members quietly walked out of the plenary, breaking the quorum and forcing the GOP to adjourn without passing a voting bill. But the victory was likely to be short-lived as the Republicans control both legislatures.
Abbott kept his vow to call a special session, and the Republicans wasted no time. Legislators proposed two voting measures – House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1 – on Sunday following the marathon committee hearings in both chambers, with the House hearing lasting nearly 24 hours. In the middle of the night, the citizens waited for hours in front of both chambers for their testimony. Voices from the plenary were expected for this week.
Both bills would add postal voting identification requirements, ban some early voting options, create criminal penalties for breaking election codes, and empower partisan election observers.
While lawmakers briefly did this in May, breaking the quorum is rare. In May 2003, more than 50 House Democrats left the state to block a republican majority-backed redistribution proposal. After the plan finally passed the State House, Democratic State senators fled before a defector eventually reinstated the quorum.
The reallocation plan passed the Senate in October. The redistribution bill was then known as House Bill 3 – the same name as one of the current voting bills.
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