Over 50 lawmakers left Texas to deny Republicans the quorum needed for a controversial vote on new congressional maps
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered Democratic lawmakers to be brought back to the state capital after they left Texas in a bid to prevent voting on a Republican plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts.
The exodus by Democratic members of the Texas legislature was intended to deny Republicans the quorum necessary to vote on the redistricting plan, which President Donald Trump has championed.
By redrawing district lines in hopes of flipping some seats currently held by Democrats, the Republicans aim to protect the party’s narrow US House of Representatives majority in next year’s midterm elections.
At Monday’s session the Republican speaker of the state House issued civil warrants for the Democrats - most of whom have gone to Illinois, New York or Massachusetts - to be brought back to Austin. But the orders apply only within the state, and breaking quorum is not a crime.
