Texas Democrats Are Blocking Republicans From Passing Restrictive Voting Laws
We have seen a series of voting laws that are restricting voting popping up around the country since the 2020 election. Texas set forth their own bills aimed at restricting voting within the Lone Star State but Democrats found a way to delay the vote.
Texas House Democrats fled the state to prevent a quorum needed to vote on legislation.
The Texas House was getting ready to vote on legislation that has been pushed by Republicans and would restrict voting access for people in Texas. Included in the bill is limiting drive-thru and 24-hour voting options and restricting vote-by-mail.
In response, 50 House Democrats fled the state to deny the Republicans a quorum to vote on the legislation. A quorum is having a certain number of people present in order to vote on legislation brought forth. By fleeing to Washington DC, the House Democrats have blocked House Republicans from voting on the legislation.
The state legislators have been warmly received from nation Democratic politicians.
In a symbolic gesture, the Republicans in the House voted to send law enforcement to retrieve the Democratic politicians from DC. The vote by the House Republicans is symbolic in that Texas law enforcement has no jurisdiction in DC so there is nothing they can do.
Four Democrats stayed behind and have voted against Republicans on measures aimed at compelling their colleagues to Texas. Reps. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, Tracy King of Batesville, Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass, and John Turner of Dallas all remain in Texas.
“I believe that my efforts would be best if I stuck around here and fought the fight here,” Morales told The Texas Tribune.
People are celebrating the Texas Democrats and their effort to preserve voting rights in their state.
Texas politician Beto O’Rourke and country music icon Willie Nelson have teamed up to raise money to help the Texas Democrats. So far, O’Rourke has raised $525,000 to help the Texas Democrats financially when they return to Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest all Democratic legislators when they return to Texas.
“They will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done,” Gov. Abbott threatened during an interview with KVUE ABC.
The Texas Democrats are standing steady in their decision.
In response to the outpour of criticism from their Republican colleagues, the Democrats released a memo detailing their perceived failures from Republicans to Texans. Included on the list is the massive power grid failure that led to millions living without power during a winter storm. Conditions were so bad that people died and Sen Ted Cruz fled to Mexico to escape the cold.
