AUSTIN, Texas — Taking an admittedly desperate step, Democrats in the Texas House will leave the state Monday to break quorum and derail GOP plans to pass sweeping changes to election and voting laws during the special session of the Legislature.
The Democrats chartered two flights to Washington, D.C., with the House Democratic Caucus picking up the tab of around $100,000, sources said.
"Texas House Democrats stand united in our decision to break quorum and refuse to let the Republican-led legislature force through dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans’ freedom to vote," Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.
In addition to drawing national attention to the voting fight in Texas, the Democrats said they hoped to pressure Congress to pass federal legislation "to protect Texans — and all Americans — from the Trump Republicans’ nationwide war on democracy."
"We are living on borrowed time in Texas," said the statement from Democratic Reps. Chris Turner, Rafael Anchía, Nicole Collier, Garnet Coleman and Senfronia Thompson.
By leaving just days after Gov. Greg Abbott convened a special legislative session, Democrats would again deny the GOP majority a quorum to pass bills, barely a month after their walkout in the state House of Representatives thwarted the first push for sweeping new voting restrictions in Texas – including outlawing 24-hour polling places, banning ballot drop boxes and empowering partisan poll watchers.
What's behind it?:Gov. Greg Abbott stirs talk of 2024 run as special session of Texas Legislature tackles voting limits, other GOP priorities
It would mark the first time since 2003 that Texas Democrats, shut out of power in the state Capitol for decades, have crossed state lines to break quorum.
Legislators will leave Texas to avoid arrest
House rules allow absent legislators to be arrested by the sergeant-at-arms "or an officer appointed by the sergeant-at-arms" and returned to the House floor, which is why quorum-busting representatives head out of state, where Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction.
An order to arrest House members must be voted on by a majority of lawmakers present after the lack of a quorum is established.
The Texas House was not scheduled to meet until 10 a.m. Tuesday, allowing the Democrats to leave Texas on Monday without fear of reprisal.
But House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said he planned to use "every available resource under the Texas Constitution and the unanimously passed House Rules to secure a quorum."
In the closing hours of the Texas Legislature's regular session that ended May 31, Democrats killed a sweeping GOP-led elections bill, Senate Bill 7, by walking off the floor in the middle of debate, breaking quorum and forcing the House to adjourn.
Bail system, critical race theory, state funding also on agenda
The unusual move not only blocked passage of the elections bill, it also meant the demise of legislation to change the state's bail system — bringing the hammer down on two legislative priorities of Abbott, who quickly vowed to bring lawmakers back to handle both items in a special session.
Another walkout would endanger a host of conservative Republican priorities that Abbott added to the agenda of the 30-day special session that began Thursday, including border security, transgender student athletes, critical race theory, abortion regulations and complaints that social media companies are censoring conservatives.
Leaving the state also would endanger funding for the Legislature and associated agencies — not to mention pay and benefits for several thousand employees — that Abbott vetoed in retaliation for the House Democrats' walkout at the close of the regular session.
Abbott's special session agenda allowed lawmakers to restore the funding before the next budget begins Sept. 1, and Republicans hoped the opportunity would keep Democrats from fleeing.
But Democrats remained committed to killing two wide-ranging GOP elections bills — both of which were passed by House and Senate committees Sunday after marathon public hearings. Senate Republicans were planning to bring SB 1, their version of the voting bill, up for a floor vote Tuesday.
It and a similar measure, House Bill 3, would ban 24-hour and late-night voting, prohibit drive-thru voting, add an identification requirement to mail-in ballots, protect partisan poll watchers' ability to move freely in polling places, and create new or stiffer penalties for voter fraud, among other provisions.
Republicans insist the changes are needed to bolster eroded confidence in election results, particularly by limiting opportunities for voter fraud.
Democrats argue that the limits would unnecessarily suppress the vote in deference to the "big lie" that widespread voter fraud denied Donald Trump a second term in the White House. Lawmakers should act to make it easier, not harder, to cast a ballot, they said.
The Texas Senate had a quorum present for its brief meeting Monday morning when three Democrats — Sens. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa of McAllen, John Whitmire of Houston and Judith Zaffirini if Laredo — joined 18 Republicans to reach the required 21 senators present.
Senate Democrats' plans are as-yet unclear.
More:Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes part of budget that funds Legislature after Democrat walkout
Staying away and grinding the Legislature to a halt for an extended time could carry repercussions in next year's midterm elections, although many Texas Democrats are already expecting a difficult cycle in 2022, particularly with Republicans set to begin drawing new voting maps this fall that could cement their majorities.
Challenges to voter access
Adding to the fresh anger, a Houston man who gained attention last year after waiting more than six hours to cast a ballot was arrested on illegal voting charges and put in jail one day before the special session began Thursday. Attorneys for Hervis Rogers say the 62-year-old did not know that his being on parole for a felony burglary conviction meant he wasn't allowed to vote.
How Republicans respond next will be a major test of their resolve.
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris announced $25 million in new spending by the Democratic National Committee on actions to protect voting access ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Biden and his team are stressing ongoing legal efforts to safeguard voting rights. They've also promised a major legislative push after Senate Republicans blocked a sweeping election overhaul last month. The president has told reporters he plans on "speaking extensively" on voting rights and that he would be "going on the road on this issue."
More:'Your vote matters': Harris announces $25 million DNC voting rights campaign
Contributing: Associated Press
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