The Texas House of Representatives returned to business on Thursday for the first time since the Legislature’s special session began in July, when more than 50 of the chamber’s Democrats fled the state Capitol to obstruct consideration of Republican-backed voting reform bills.
Enough Democrats gathered in Austin Thursday evening to ensure a legislative quorum, ending the caucus’s weekslong protest that took many absent lawmakers to Washington, D.C., and denied Republicans a chance to take up their election reform efforts.
Recommended Stories
Houston-area Democratic Reps. Garnet Coleman, Armando Walle, and Ana Hernandez, all of whom declined to appear in Austin beginning in July, were among the few in the caucus who returned on Thursday, citing the need to be in a position to respond to the surge of new COVID-19 infections in the state.
TEXAS SUPREME COURT SAYS QUORUM-BREAKING DEMOCRATS CAN BE ARRESTED. WILL THEY?
“We took the fight for voting rights to Washington, D.C. and brought national attention to the partisan push in our state to weaken ballot access. Our efforts were successful and served as the primary catalyst to push Congress to take action on federal voter protection legislation,” the three lawmakers said in a statement. “Now, we continue the fight on the House Floor.”
House Speaker Dade Phelan expressed his appreciation to the returning Democrats, whose presence gave the chamber the 99 members needed for a quorum, adding, “I’m looking forward to working with you over the coming week or two.”
Some Democrats took issue with their colleagues’ return and publicly rebuked them for appearing in the House chamber.
“This is how Texas Democrats lose elections,” tweeted Democratic state Rep. Michelle Beckley.
State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos accused the present members of aiding the Republicans in passing the “voter suppression bills.”
“We were literally on caucus calls for 2 hours this morning and none of the defecting Democrats mentioned they were planning on helping the Republicans pass voter suppression bills,” Ramos tweeted. “Guess what the other defecting Democrats have accomplished by going back—NOTHING!”
The lawmakers’ participation provides the Republican-led chamber a chance to take up the measure to amend the state’s voting laws, an initiative among Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities in calling the special session. The chamber referred its version of the voting reform proposal to committee on Thursday. The state Senate has already passed its version of the measure.
The Democratic House members’ weekslong boycott set off an intense partisan battle, with top Republican leaders accusing them of a dereliction of duty and promising to have them arrested upon their return to Texas, as provided by the state’s constitution.
Initial threats made in July by Abbott and Phelan escalated in the last few weeks as the speaker renewed promises to order the arrest of the absent lawmakers to bring them to Austin for work.
Phelan signed 52 civil warrants on Aug. 10 to arrest the absent lawmakers, which were later challenged in court.
Democrats briefly won relief from the threat of arrest, but the state’s Supreme Court paused a number of lower court restraining orders stopping Republican officials from ordering the arrests before ultimately siding with Phelan.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The initial special session Abbott called to begin in July has expired, but he called a second one to begin on Aug. 7 to continue consideration of Republicans’ priorities.
