Democrats prevent Texas voting bill from passing with a walkout

Thomas Catenacci
Daily Caller
Mon, 31 May 2021 11:27 UTC

© Lynda M. Gonzalez/Pool/Getty Images

Texas Governor Greg Abbott

Texas Democrats successfully executed a rare legislative move to temporarily prevent a voting integrity bill from passing Sunday night.

Democratic state representatives walked out of the Texas Capitol chamber by 10:45 p.m. Sunday night in protest of a sweeping bill that would establish new voting-related crimes, The Dallas Morning News reported. With Democrats vacating the chamber, or breaking quorum, Republicans were forced to abandon the legislation.

"We used all the tools in our toolbox to fight his bill and tonight we pulled out that last one, and we used what the rule book allows," Democratic State Rep. Nicole Collier told reporters afterward, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Democrats' move marked just the fourth time Texas lawmakers have pulled such a stunt, according to The Dallas Morning News. Lawmakers previously broke quorum in protest of legislation in 1870, 1979 and 2003.

The Texas State Senate had passed the bill earlier Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

Democratic Texas State Rep. Carl Sherman said breaking quorum was the "only option," according to The Dallas Morning News. Republicans sought to silence Democrats and prevent debate on the bill, he added.

However, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who promised to sign the bill, said late Sunday he would add the legislation - in addition to a bail reform bill that Democrats also killed - to a special session and that lawmakers are expected to have worked out their differences before then.

The 2021 Texas legislative session ended Monday, meaning bills not passed would effectively be dead for the year unless revived in a special session, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Abbott said in a statement:

"I declared Election Integrity and Bail Reform to be must-pass emergency items for this legislative session. It is deeply disappointing and concerning for Texans that neither will reach my desk. Ensuring the integrity of our elections and reforming a broken bail system remain emergencies in Texas."

If passed, the voting integrity legislation would halt early voting at 9 p.m., end drive-thru voting, limit vote-by-mail, allow poll watchers to freely roam polling places and create penalties for election officials who count invalid ballots or reject valid ballots, according to the Houston Chronicle. It would also allow judges to overturn an election's results if the margin of victory was less than the number of invalid ballots.

Comment: New Rules: Vacating legislative sessions comes with steep penalties:

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday said the Democratic lawmakers who left the state earlier that day to deny Republicans a quorum to convene a special legislative session and consider a sweeping elections reform bill will be arrested upon their return to the Lone Star State.

A majority of Texas House Democrats fled the state on a charter flight bound for Washington, D.C., on Monday in an effort to stop the passage of a measure that would overhaul the state's election procedures, in addition to other controversial priorities backed by Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), during a special legislative session.

Members of the caucus carried out a similar effort in May, staging a walkout from the state House floor late one night to block the passage of the elections procedures bill, which would have restricted access to the ballot box.

The bill called for new limits on early voting and curbside voting, banned round-the-clock voting centers and voting facilities in outdoor structures like parking garages, eliminated straight-ticket voting and limited the use of drop boxes.

Abbott on Monday vowed to arrest the lawmakers who fled and hold them inside the state Capitol "until they get their job done."

"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. 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."

Abbott told local station KVUE the Speaker of the state House can also "issue a call to have these members arrested."

The governor added that he "can and I will continue to call a special session after special session after special session all the way up until election next year."