Texas House voted Tuesday morning to send the Sergeant-at-Arms to round up Democratic lawmakers who were absent from the governor’s special session.
On Monday, dozens of House Democrats left Texas for Washington DC to break the quorum in the Capitol and effectively halt all House votes. First and foremost, the Democrats said they were working to stop a vote on electoral laws that they said were in fact voter suppression.
With only 80 out of 150 members of the House of Representatives present on Tuesday, the House lacks the 2/3 of the lawmakers it needs to do business. A “Call of the House” motion has been launched, forcing all members of the House to appear in the Chamber. Anyone who does not appear will be arrested.
After the Democrats flee to Washington, many seats in the Texas parliament are empty. This morning the Republicans officially asked the NCO to summarize them with arrest warrants if necessary. But DC is way outside of state jurisdiction. https://t.co/YOuOMb0A2m pic.twitter.com/OSC2OtEEgD
– ScottGordonNBC5 (@ ScottGordonNBC5) July 13, 2021
The Call of the House was approved 76-4, with four Democrats voting no in the House of Representatives Chamber. After the vote, the doors to the Chamber of Representatives were locked so that no one could come or go.
State troopers from the Texas Department of Safety can now be hired to search for the missing lawmakers in their respective shops and homes, but they likely won’t find any of them since they left the state the day before.
Explainer: Texas Democrats fled the state. Here’s why
Texas law enforcement agencies are unlikely to track down lawmakers after DC as they have no jurisdiction in the country’s capital.
During an interview on FOX News Monday night, Governor Greg Abbott (R) said that as soon as the Democrats who “fled” the state return to Texas, they will be arrested and taken back to the Capitol.
“You are a resigner. That’s not how we do things,” Abbott said in a television interview.
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If the House Democrats stay out of the state until the end of the special session, the governor, who can convene as many special sessions as he likes, said he would just convene another.
“I will continue to call special sessions after special sessions as the overtime will continue until they go to the polls,” Abbott said.
Abbott defended the electoral law, saying that the premise the Democrats operate under is wrong and that Texas law does not prevent anyone from voting and add extra hours for voting. Abbott said during the television interview that voting hours will be extended during early voting and on election day.
Democrats say Republican law bans 24-hour polling stations, bans ballot boxes, and empowers partisan election observers.
The Senate side had a quorum of 22 members on Tuesday and are expected to debate their version of the Voting Act.
NBC 5’s Scott Gordon contributed to this report.
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