Following the events of last year’s 2020 election, Republicans in Texas are working to strengthen their state’s election regulations, as are Republicans in numerous other states. However, Democrats are attempting to pull the same stunt in Texas as they have in other states, claiming that the bill is a somehow a voting suppression bill, despite the facts.
So Democrats orchestrated a big walkout late yesterday night to ensure Republicans didn’t have the quorum needed to vote on the bill on the final night of the legislative session.
Greg Abbott, on the other hand, promptly announced that he will convene a special legislative session to address the bill:
Here’s more on what happened:
NY POST – Texas Democrats staged a mass walkout late Sunday night as a last-ditch effort to stave off a vote on a GOP “election integrity” initiative that would overhaul the state’s voting laws, reports said.
“Members, take your key and leave the chamber discreetly,” state Rep. Chris Turner, the Democratic caucus chair of the house, wrote in a text message to party members at 10:35 p.m. local time, the New York Times reported.
Turner added: “Do not go to the gallery. Leave the building.”
The dramatic departure came after a marathon tug-of-war with the Republican party and prevented the House of Representatives from having the minimum number of lawmakers necessary for a vote before the midnight deadline.
Around 11 p.m., the State House speaker Dade Phelan was forced to adjourn the session as the required 100-member quorum was 14 members short following the walkout, leaving the bill effectively dead until the next legislative session.
While the protest did buy Democrats some time — it’s not expected to last long.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement on Twitter late Sunday saying he plans to call a special session to make sure the bill gets passed.
“I declared Election Integrity and Bail Reform to be must-pass emergency items for this legislative session. It is deeply disappointing and concerning for Texans that neither will reach my desk,” Abbott said.
“Ensuring the integrity of our elections and reforming a broken bail system remain emergencies in Texas. They will be added to the special session agenda. Legislators will be expected to have worked out the details when they arrive at the Capitol for the special session.”
Republicans are still favored to get the bill through in a special session but they’d have to start over from scratch following months of roadblocks and staunch opposition from Democrats.
Texas’ bill included punishments for mistakes or offenses committed by election officials and adds new ID requirements for mail-in voting. It also makes it a crime for local officials to send ballot applications to voters who haven’t requested them.
Sounds like a great bill to me. But people like Beto O’Rourke are the ones leading the fray in trying to demonize the bill:
Notice how the Democrats criticizing this bill NEVER say what’s in it?
Because if they did, you’d realize it’s just common sense reforms and nothing remotely resembling “voter suppression.”
The demagoguery is really staggering. https://t.co/DRTK2exU2m
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) May 31, 2021
This is exactly what Democrats said about the Georgia bill, which turned out to be a great bill. Just like Crenshaw notes in his counter tweet, Democrats like Beto just say these things without revealing what’s actually in the bill, because they know the American people would approve.
