Texas Democrats to flee state in effort to block GOP-backed voting restrictions

The lawmakers will head to D.C., risking arrest by leaving town during the special legislative session.

With Republican-backed voting bills moving rapidly through a special session of the state Legislature, Texas Democrats are planning to make a break for it — again.

At least 58 Democratic members of the state House of Representatives are expected to bolt from Austin on Monday in an effort to block the measures from advancing, a source familiar with the plans told NBC News. The unusual move, akin to what Texas Democrats did in 2003, would paralyze the chamber, stopping business until the lawmakers return to town or the session ends.

The majority of the members plan to fly to Washington, D.C., on two private jets chartered for the occasion and use the time there to rally support for federal voting legislation, the source said. Others will make their own way.

The lawmaker’s risk arrest in taking flight. Under the Texas Constitution, the Legislature requires a quorum of two-thirds of lawmakers is present to conduct state business in either chamber. Absent lawmakers can be legally compelled to return to the Capitol, and the source said Texas Democrats expect state Republicans to ask the Department of Public Safety to track them down.

“It’s really exciting to see Texas Democrats taking a bold move with this potential walkout,” Carisa Lopez, political director for civil liberties group Texas Freedom Network, said.

House Democrats already staged one successful walkout to defeat election legislation prioritized by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Members quietly left the House floor in the final minutes of the regular legislative session that ended in May, breaking quorum and forcing Republicans to adjourn without passing the key agenda item. But that victory was always likely to be short-lived, as Republicans control both legislative chambers. Abbott kept his vow to call a special session, which began July 8.

Republicans didn’t waste time. Lawmakers advanced a pair of voting measures — House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1 — Sunday after marathon committee hearings in both chambers, with the House hearing lasting nearly 24 hours. Both panels featured members of the public waiting hours to give testimony in the middle of the night. Floor votes were expected to take place as soon as this week.

 

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