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Updated July 12, 2021 at 4:52 PM ET
Texas House Democrats announced Monday that they ve left the state in a second attempt to block controversial GOP legislation that critics have slammed as voter suppression.
Democrats, in an attempt again to break quorum and stop votes on Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 3, said they were flying to Washington, D.C., where they planned to push for federal voter protections. Today, 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, a statement from House Democratic leaders said. We are now taking the fight to our nation s Capitol. We are living on borrowed time in Texas. We need Congress to act now to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect Texans and all Americans from the Trump Republicans nationwide war on democracy.
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(WASHINGTON) For the second time since May, Texas House Democrats will break quorum in protest against state Republicans’ push to revise the election and voting laws in the Lone Star State.
The much-speculated move was officially announced by Democrats Monday afternoon, a day before the Texas House was slated to be back in session to continue working through the items set by Gov. Greg Abbott for the ongoing, 30-day special session agenda.
“Today, 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,” a joint statement from several high-profile Texas House Democrats read.
Hello readers!
We’ve got another walkout on our hands! Texas House Democrats are on the lam, denying the state’s Republican majority the quorum necessary to pass a package of voting restrictions after a marathon weekend of rushed hearings on the bills. Nearly out of options at home, they’re on their way to Washington, D.C. for another round of lobbying.
> “We are now taking the fight to our nation’s Capitol. We are living on borrowed time in Texas,” several leaders in the Democratic caucus said in a statement. “We need Congress to act now to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect Texans and all Americans from the Trump Republicans’ nationwide war on democracy.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Texas House Democrats announced Monday that they’ve left the state in a second attempt to block
controversial GOP legislation that critics have slammed as voter suppression.
Democrats, in an attempt to again break quorum and stop votes on
House Bill 3, said they were flying to Washington, D.C., where they planned to push for federal voter protections.
“Today, 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,” read a statement from House Democratic leaders. “We are now taking the fight to our nation s Capitol. We are living on borrowed time in Texas. We need Congress to act now to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect Texans and all Americans from the Trump Republicans nationwide war on democracy.”
Monday, July 12, 2021
State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) joined Texas House Democrats effort to break quorum when the House of Representatives reconvenes Tuesday morning by leaving the state.
Texas Democrats announced Monday they were leaving the state in an attempt to block Republican-led voting legislation from being passed during the current special-called legislative session. At least 51 of the 67 Democratic representatives the number needed to break quorum were in the process of leaving the state Monday afternoon with a majority boarding a chartered flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Washington D.C., according to The Texas Tribune.
“The decision to leave the state was not an easy one, but I know that this is the only way to keep the harmful legislation that Governor Abbott has prioritized for the special session from passing,” Zwiener said in a statement. “I do not take this move lightly, and it is with a heavy heart that I leave my commun