Acknowledging few options at home, Texas Democrats urge congressional action
| Texas House Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C., this week to block a GOP measure overhauling state election procedures urged Congress to pass sweeping new voting rights legislation, an acknowledgement that their high-profile stunt is unlikely to ultimately stop Republicans in their home state from enacting voting restrictions.
More than 50 state House members boarded private planes Monday to abscond to the nation’s capital in an effort to deny the Republican majority the quorum necessary to advance the voting rights overhaul and other items on the agenda in a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott (R). By traveling across state lines, the Democrats also escape the reach of Texas Rangers who have been sent to track them down and return them to Austin. “We have fought too long and too hard in this country,” state Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D) told reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. “I’m going to make sure I do everything I can to make sure my constituents’ rights are not stripped from them.” |
