Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the Capitol for a second time to stop the vote on election integrity legislation, this time heading to Washington, D.C.
More than a month after staging a walkout at the end of the 87th legislative session, Texas Democratic leaders once again blocked a vote on Senate Bill 7 by flying to the nation's capital and denying the House a quorum necessary to hold a vote, according to NBC News.
"Democrats must get back to the job they were elected to do," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in a July 12 Twitter post. "Their constituents must not be denied important resources simply because their elected representatives refused to show up to work."
The Democratic lawmakers are urging Congress to prioritize passing the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which they say is the only way to permanently block the Republican-proposed election restrictions, The Hill reported.
"My Democratic colleagues and I are leaving the state to break quorum and kill the Texas voter suppression bill, state Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) wrote in a July 12 Twitter post. "We’re flying to DC to demand Congress pass the For The People Act and save our democracy."
The Lone Star Dems are hoping to run the clock out on the special session, which can last up to 30 days, while they advocate for federal voting legislation.
"Our democracy is on the line," state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) told NBC News. "It became very clear to us that this weekend that any attempts to negotiate some Democratic concessions were cut off, making it very clear that Republicans were hellbent on having it their way."
According to the text of SB 7, the bill would reform current Texas voting laws to eliminate drive-thru and 24-hour voting, require a state ID or Social Security number for mail-in ballots and change the legal standard for voter fraud from “beyond a reasonable doubt” to “by a preponderance of the evidence.”
Republicans say that the bill is necessary to safeguard the integrity of elections while Democrats argue that these measures are part of an ongoing attempt by Republicans at voter suppression that disproportionately affects black and Hispanic voters.
President Joe Biden has gone on the record and called the legislation part of an "assault on democracy."
