Gov. Greg Abbott Orders Arrest Of Texas Democrats Who Fled State To Block Redistricting
The Texas redistricting saga escalated on Monday evening after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the civil arrest of the Texas Democrats who fled the state to block progress on a new electoral map.
According to CBS News, the Texas Democrats broke quorum by fleeing the state. This move prevented debate on the new map, which would add five new Republican seats and create a primary between Democratic Representatives Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett. Texas’ redistricting saga began last month at the request of President Donald Trump, who wants to protect the Republican Party’s narrow majority in the House of Representatives. A mid-decade redistricting is highly unusual, as it normally occurs every 10 years to implement new Census data.
Gov. Abbott called on the Texas Department of Public Safety to “locate, arrest, and return any House member who abandoned their duty to Texans.” The Texas Department of Public Safety has no jurisdiction outside of Texas, so it’s unclear how they’ll go about arresting the out-of-state Democrats. Gov. Abbott has also threatened to expel the Texas Democrats from their seats under a non-binding legal opinion by the Texas Attorney General stating that a court can dictate whether a state representative has forfeited their seat.
“In response to this dereliction of duty. In pursuant to the rules of the House, I am prepared to recognize a motion to place a call on the House and any other motions necessary to compel the return of absent members,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Monday. “Should such a motion prevail, I will immediately sign the warrants for the civil arrests of the members who have said they will not be here.”
State Republicans passed the motion 85-6, authorizing the civil arrest of the fleeing Democrats, which would force said Democrats to return to the Capitol. “To those who are absent: return now,” Burrows said. “Show the courage to face the issues you were elected to solve, come back and fulfill your duty. Because this House will not sit quietly while you obstruct the work of the people.”
The work of the people? Bro, you’re actively trying to disenfranchise the people. The work of the people would be fixing Texas’s broken energy grid. The work of the people would be providing relief for the hundreds of Texans trying to rebuild their lives after last month’s devastating floods. I absolutely can’t stand the moral grandstanding by a Party that believes in nothing but obtaining power by any means necessary.
“This is not normal,” Democratic Rep. Ann Johnson told CBS News. “Do not think that we can turn into a nation where you arrest and jail your political opposition for not only rendering their voice for the people, but doing something that is protected by the Texas Constitution. A quorum break is written into the Texas Constitution. It is a tool our founding fathers gave us. The threat of arrest is something that should be a red alarm for a lot of folks.”
“Greg Abbott is trying to silence the voices of Texans and prevent them from picking the elected officials of their choice, and now he’s literally saying he’s going to remove the representatives that the people have put into office,” Democratic State Rep. James Talarico told CBS News. “So he’s taken a page of Donald Trump’s authoritarian playbook, and it’s something we should all protect.”
Texas’ redistricting effort is having consequences nationwide, with several Democrat-led states publicly floating the idea of starting their own redistricting effort to combat Texas. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has perhaps been the most bullish, with a plan to make California’s electoral map even bluer starting to take shape. A bill was introduced in the New York state legislature that would authorize the state to begin a mid-decade redistricting if another state did it first.
The threat of counter-redistricting seems to be working as Republican representatives from California and New York introduced a bill on Tuesday blocking mid-decade, gerrymandered maps. It’s almost like we should’ve been playing their own game against them this entire time.
Who could’ve guessed?
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