texas-democrats-arrest-flee-dc-voting-bill

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texas-democrats-arrest-flee-dc-voting-bill

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https://www.the-sun.com/news/3272778/te ... ting-bill/

TEXAS Republicans voted on Tuesday to arrest at least 58 state Democrats who fled to DC this week to block a voting bill.

The Democratic lawmakers left Texas on Monday to avoid taking part in a vote on GOP-backed bills which they have branded as "racist."
At least 58 Democratic lawmakers left Texas to avoid taking part in a vote on GOP-backed voting bills
Gov. Greg Abbott said the 'runaway' politicians are facing arrest
The group's absence denied the Texas House quorum - the minimum number of lawmakers needed for business to be conducted.

The Texas GOP hit back at the Democrats' protest today as they voted to send law enforcement after the group to force them to return.

It's unclear what impact the vote will have with the Democrats still in the nation's capital.

Texas law enforcement does not have the authority to arrest the group in another jurisdiction.

Rep Jim Murphy admitted that the vote was a performative move to put pressure on the state lawmakers to return to Texas.

"We want them to come back — that’s our message," he said.

The Texas voting bills in question would’ve introduced requirements for mail voting and banned some early voting options, The Texas Tribune reports.

The proposed legislation would also ban drive-through and late-night voting.

Abbott has said the Democratic lawmakers will face arrest when they return to the Lone Star State.

He told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham before the official vote: “That’s why they fled the state. Once they step back into the state of Texas, they will be arrested and brought to the Texas capital and we will be conducting business.”

Abbott said they would be arrested under a mechanism known as a “call of the House'”

This tool allows cops to track down lawmakers who have fled the chamber.

The Republican governor branded the legislators “un-Texan.”

He said: “Isn’t that the most un-Texan thing you have ever heard. Texans running from a fight?

“They are quitters. It’s like during a football game or baseball game taking their equipment when they are way behind and just leaving the field.”

"They are trying to take away our right to vote and we’re not going to put up with it. We are going to fight."

Texas State Rep Trey MartinezCNN
The “runaway” Dems stopped the vote from taking place as two-thirds of legislators must be present.

To permanently kill the GOP bills, the lawmakers must stay away for 30 days.

State Rep Trey Martinez told CNN: "They are trying to take away our right to vote and we’re not going to put up with it. We are going to fight."

And Rep. Julie Johnson posted on Twitter: "When it comes to protecting our right to vote, all cards are on the table.

“We broke #quorum again today because the Gov & #txlege Repubs chose to bully Texans out of our constitutional rights instead of finding solutions to problems that really exist."

She uploaded a photo of the lawmakers on the bus and a box of Millers' Lite beer was pictured on one of the seats.

Diego Bernal, who represents the state's 123rd district, said: "Headed to DC. Voting is a sacred right that needs our protection, not be a game with rules that can be rigged to guarantee winners and losers.

"It is my job and duty to keep that from happening."

CONSERVATIVES HIT BACK
During a press conference on Tuesday morning, the group hit back at Abbott's comments, calling him and other Texas Republicans a "group of extremists."

"These Republicans have changed the Messiah from Jesus to Trump," blasted State Rep Senfronia Thompson.

The group also called on Biden for a "Lyndon Johnson" moment and for him to use the "power of the presidency" to end the stalemate.

Earlier on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the legislators for their “courage and commitment” for voter rights at an event in Detroit, Michigan.

She said: “I applaud them standing for the rights of all Americans, and all Texans to express their voice through their vote, unencumbered.

“I do believe that fighting for the right to vote is as American as apple pie.”

However, the group was criticized by conservatives after one of them claimed he was a "fugitive."

"My [first] meal as a fugitive," Houston-area representative Gene Wu tweeted.

It was slammed as "cringe-worthy" and Wu was accused of "narcissism."

“You follow the constitution. You don’t call facts fake just because you’re unhappy."

Joe Biden
Hours after the Democrats' press conference, Biden delivered a speech on voting rights in which he slammed Donald Trump's "big lie" and said the GOP has "no shame."

“If you lost, you accept the results,” he said.

“You follow the constitution. You don’t call facts fake just because you’re unhappy. That’s not statesmanship – that’s selfishness. That’s a denial of the right to vote.”

It comes as the former president continues to repeat allegations that last year’s presidential election was a “hoax” after previously branding the vote the “big lie”.

This was in relation to a litany of baseless assertions of political corruption, machine tampering, and mysterious votes appearing out of nowhere that allowed Biden to "steal" the election.

Yet no concrete proof of election fraud was ever made public.
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