Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that the Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to stop the passage of a voting restriction bill may face arrest when they come home, The Washington Post reports.
Why did Democrats leave Texas?
Per The Washington Post, close to 50 Texas House Democrats landed in Washington, D.C., on Monday after they left the state to deny Republicans the chance at approving a voting rights bill. Leaving the floor denies the Republicans the two-thirds attendance needed to vote on the legislation.
- Texas Democratic lawmakers said they would avoid the state until Aug. 7, when the ongoing special session of the legislature would end.
Why will the Texas governor arrest them?
Abbott said Monday that the Democratic lawmakers could face arrest when they arrive home in Texas, The Washington Post reports.
- “So if these people want to be hanging out wherever they’re hanging out on this taxpayer-paid junket, they’re going to have to be prepared to do it for well over a year,” Abbott told Austin’s KVUE-TV. “As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done.”
Can Gov. Abbott arrest Democrats?
Now, Abbott can’t arrest the Texas Democrats unless they’re in Texas. Per The Washington Post, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan can call for the arrest of the Democrats. He said Monday that he would “use every available resource under the Texas Constitution and the unanimously-passed House Rules to secure a quorum.”
- It’s unclear if Phelan plans to call for the arrest of the Democrats, though.
Abbott said he would continue to call special sessions of the legislature in the state until the Democrats come back to Texas and until the legislature can vote on the bill.
Texas Democrats left Congress before
Back in May, Texas Democrats abandoned the House floor to stop the passage of a voting bill before the bill’s deadline, according to The Texas Tribune.
- The bill would “create new limitations to early voting hours, ratchet up voting-by-mail restrictions and curb local voting options,” The Texas Tribune reports.
- Democrats suggested the bill would make it harder for people to vote in Texas. So they left the floor to make sure the bill wouldn’t be voted on by the legislature.