Texas House Democrats, hours after deplaning at a Washington, D.C-area airport in the middle of the night, arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday to lobby members of Congress on voting rights legislation — all part of their latest effort to stop a vote on restrictive election laws in their state.
The more than 50 lawmakers – who for months have been battling with Republican Gov. Gregg Abbott and the GOP-controlled legislature in Austin over election changes — were turning to the powers in Washington, where Congress is also at odds on a pair of voting rights bills aimed at protecting Americans at the ballot box.
The group left their state Monday in a gambit to deny Republicans a quorum during a special session Abbott called to pass sweeping voting restrictions. A minimum number of lawmakers must be present to advance laws in Texas and their departure means Republicans can’t advance any of their bills.
Several Texas Democrats, speaking to reporters in front of the U.S. Capitol on a sweltering 90-degree day Tuesday, called on Congress to pass both the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, bills aimed at expanding voting protections but that have stalled in a divided Congress.
