Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives plan to leave the state and fly to Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon, according to sources with knowledge of the plan, in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 27 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose.
Upping the ante in both the legislative fight at home and the national debate over voting rights, most House Democrats are expected to board a flight out of Austin headed for the capital without a set return date. They'll need at least 51 of the 67 Democratic representatives to flee for their plan to work. The House is set to reconvene Tuesday morning, but the absent Democrats could mean there will not be enough members present to conduct business under House rules.
With the national political spotlight on Texas’ efforts to further restrict voting, the Democratic exodus offers them a platform to continue pleading with Congress to act on restoring federal protections for voters of color. Back in Texas, the decamping will mark a more aggressive stance by Democrats to block Republican legislation further tightening the state’s voting rules as the GOP works against thinning statewide margins of victory.
