In a stunning vote of 76-4, members of the Texas House of Representatives agreed to send law enforcement to locate and return the absconding Democrats “under arrest warrant if necessary” a day after they fled the state in protest of the advancing election integrity legislation.
By leaving the state, Democrats hoped to kill the election bill by eliminating the necessary two-thirds quorum needed to pass bills.
Despite the House Democrats evading their duties, state Senators are drafting their own version of the election integrity bill that will mirror many of the security measures found in the House version.
Both chambers of the Texas legislature are controlled by Republicans.
Governor Greg Abbott called a special legislative session this weekend in response to another Democrat stunt which happened earlier this year in May. Before a vote on the current election bill, the Democrats walked out, denying the lawmakers a quorum right as the deadline struck. The special session last weekend advanced the bill yet again. The election security bill is likely to pass, and without any credible reasons besides “racism” to oppose the bill, the Dems must pull taxpayer-funded stunts in order to halt the vote.
On Monday, the Texas Dems walked out and boarded a private plane headed for Washington D.C. There they plan to pressure the Biden-Harris administration to act on a federal level to bypass any state legislation that seeks to eliminate cheating tactics the Democrats use so liberally to secure victories.
In order to run out the clock and destroy the chances of passing the election reform bill, House Democrats must must remain out of the state for weeks.
State Rep. Chris Turner, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a news conference on the steps of the Capitol Tuesday at least 57 of 67 Democrats in the chamber had formally asked for their voting machines to be locked, the Journal reported.
In the House, 80 members who came Tuesday morning voted to approve a procedural move to record who is present, ban members from leaving the chamber without approval, and call for law enforcement to track down absentee lawmakers — arresting them if necessary and forcing them to return to the chamber, the Journal reported.
A total of 63 of the body’s 67 Democrats were gone, two of them with approved absence, the news outlet reported.
While Texas Democrats have promised to stay in Washington until the end of the special session Aug. 7, Abbott could continue to call special sessions to pass the voting bill. Democrats acknowledged the only long-term solution was federal legislation.
Former U.S. and presidential failure Beto O’Rourke encouraged Twitter followers to support the Lone Star Democrats:
We've now raised $142,000 to support the Texas Democrats putting it all on the line to save democracy.
They're working to protect the right to vote for each and every one of us — in Texas and across the country.
Let's do our part by continuing to donate: https://t.co/2A08e6Tn0q https://t.co/ZiWEP9zziN
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) July 12, 2021
Author: Asa McCue
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