Harris: Texas Democrats displayed 'courage' by leaving state to block GOP voting bill Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY Replay Video UP NEXT Democratic lawmakers in Texas received high praise from Vice President Kamala Harris Monday, after they left the state to block a GOP voting bill that would have remade elections in the Lone Star state. Harris, who was attending a press conference at a vaccination event in Detroit, Michigan, said members of the Texas Legislature displayed "extraordinary courage and commitment" by leaving the state Monday. The lawmakers risked arrest by traveling to Washington, D.C. to avoid filling a quorum needed to vote on bills introduced in the Republican-led legislature, according to the Austin American-Statesman.