Protecting Democracy: Texas Democrats in Exile
Not long ago, Gov. Gregg Abbott of Texas swore to have Texas Democrats, who left the state to break legislative quorum, arrested when they return from Washington D.C. But what drove Democratic lawmakers to exile themselves in a fashion that has only occurred one other time in Texas legislative history?
On July 12, Texas House Democratic leaders released a statement confirming that they left the state heading towards Washington D.C. in an effort to block Republican-led legislation (SB1 and HB3) that “would trample on Texans’ freedom to vote.” House Democrats had previously walked out back in May, in a successful attempt to block Senate Bill 7(SB7) from passing. Building upon previous attempts in the state and in other GOP-led legislatures, Texas Republicans are working tirelessly to push legislation built on an agenda fueled by misinformation and conspiracies regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. In both instances, Republican legislators have attempted to increase voting restrictions that make voting harder, primarily for ethnic and racial minorities. President Biden previously released a statement highlighting the fact that such restrictions “disproportionately target Black and Brown Americans.'' The tactics are thinly-veiled attacks on the right to vote for many minority groups that many would deem as Modern Jim Crow laws. With Republicans controlling both the Texas House (83 Republicans to 63 Democrats) and Senate (18 Republicans to 13 Democrats), they are able to pass bills without any Democrat votes. Hence, House Democrats fled to D.C., taking away the ability for bills to be passed in the House, since not enough legislators are present to hold a vote.
Newly proposed restrictions include banning drive-thru and 24-hour voting options, which served as a part of previous voting reforms that looked to expand access to polls in neighborhoods that were predominantly made up of minorities. The previous introduction of drive-thru and 24-hour voting locations helped many individuals vote during the 2020 election season, particularly minorities with conflicting work schedules with many polling stations’ operation hours. In Harris County, Texas’ most diverse county, 140,000 people voted using these methods.
“With democracy being threatened, Texas Democrats— and the citizens of our state as a whole—have everything to lose, and will continue to fight as champions for voting rights.”
Texas Republicans’ proposed legislation also includes empowering partisan poll watchers. In Texas and other states, Republican poll watchers have used their power to intimidate minorities at polling stations. The proposed bill contains protections allowing poll watchers the right to remain at a polling station until they commit a second violation. This would enable conservative poll watchers to intimidate voters and get away with it, proving to be a threat to voters. Such intimidation tactics are deeply rooted in racist motives that date back to the Jim Crow South, where white supremacists would intimidate former slaves exercising their newly granted right to vote.
Additional restrictions involve making the process to vote by mail even more difficult than it already is. Currently, only those who are sick or disabled, 65 years and older, or will be out of the county during the election period are allowed to vote by mail. The proposed bill would make it illegal for election officials to send mail-in ballot request forms to individuals who have not requested them already, and also adds additional hurdles that require extra layers of identification on mail-in ballots. These requirements for mail-in ballots create more confusion and open up more opportunities for voters to make an error when attempting to cast their ballot. GOP lawmakers insist that such measures are necessary to preserve the integrity of elections, but Democrats and voting rights activists have raised concerns that such actions increase the likelihood of ballots being discarded. Allegations regarding the large existence of voter fraud are “largely baseless”, with research showing that cases of voter fraud are so miniscule that they couldn’t possibly amount to a rigged election. As for mail-in ballots, research shows that rates of voter fraud committed by mail are “infinitesimally small”, and will remain as such. It’s clear that these measures are built on a facade of election integrity, with the real intention being a part of another play by the GOP that focuses on maintaining power in Texas. Their fears come as President Trump just narrowly won Texas by one of the smallest margins in recent history during the 2020 presidential election. Trends show that Texas is shifting away from being red, primarily because of a growing base of minority voters that, if empowered, could push for a blue shift. The key to keeping the GOP’s grip on Texas is to suppress the very populations that threaten their chances, just what Republican lawmakers are pushing for.
Texas Democrats have extended their fight to stop voter suppression across the nation as a whole. Having fled to D.C, Texas Democratic lawmakers are using their time and presence at Capitol Hill to pressure Congress into passing the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bills have already passed the House, so it is now up to the Senate to pass these acts that would allow the federal government to intervene in an effort to expand voting opportunities and protect voters from discriminatory policies that suppress their ability to vote. Democrats must now work to convince at least 10 of their Republican colleagues to have the necessary votes needed for these policies to be passed by the Senate. Having met with Vice President Harris to discuss the journey they have taken to protect voting rights, the Texas Democrats now prepare to continue a battle that Abbott vows to drag on all the way until Texas’ next gubernatorial election. With democracy being threatened, Texas Democrats— and the citizens of our state as a whole—have everything to lose, and will continue to fight as champions for voting rights.