OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The state of Texas has deputized to “immediately” start tracking down the state’s House Democrats who have been absent from Austin to deny the House a quorum to pass new voting laws.
The decision was made by the House sergeant-at-arms after the state Supreme Court blocked an attempt from Democrats to stop top Republicans from ordering the arrests of the Democrats, The Washington Examiner reported.
“Earlier today, the House sergeant-at-arms deputized members of Texas law enforcement to assist in the House’s efforts to compel a quorum. That process will begin in earnest immediately,” a spokesperson for Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan said.
Phelan signed the civil warrants on Tuesday to arrest the Democratic lawmakers, who left the state a month ago in protest of Republicans’ efforts to pass a voting reform bill, after the state’s high court stayed a separate temporary restraining order issued out of Travis County preventing the lawmakers’ arrest.
The warrants directed the sergeant-at-arms to take custody of any member named under warrant and “bring said member before the bar of the House instanter” to participate in the special legislative session called by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Nobody can detain or drag us back to the House floor against our will,” state Rep. Gene Wu said to the Texas Tribune. “We will not be willing participants in the silencing of our communities.”
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that House Democrats who refuse to show up for the Legislature can be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol.
“The Supreme Court of Texas swiftly rejected this dangerous attempt by Texas Democrats to undermine our Constitution and avoid doing the job they were elected to do,” said Renae Eze, an Abbott spokeswoman.
“We look forward to the Supreme Court upholding the rule of law and stopping another stall tactic by the Texas Democrats,” Eze added.
The Statesman reported:
Responding to an emergency motion filed hours earlier, the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked an Austin district judge’s order that prohibited the arrest of Democrats participating in the ongoing quorum break.
Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan, represented by Attorney General Ken Paxton, argued that state District Judge Brad Urrutia’s order improperly stopped them from exercising authority specifically granted by the Texas Constitution.
“Compelling the attendance of its members is a prerogative given to the House by the Texas Constitution,” the petition said.
The appeal asked the all-Republican Supreme Court to overturn the order by Urrutia, a Democrat, before 5 p.m. Tuesday, noting that the second special session is ongoing and the “House Democrats’ return to Texas is imminent.” Abbott and Phelan also said Uruttia’s plan to hold an Aug. 20 hearing on the matter would come too late in a special session that can run no later than Sept. 5.
In response, the state’s highest civil court blocked enforcement of Urrutia’s order while justices weighed the legal issues. The House Democrats were given until 4 p.m. to file a response.
The state Senate did pass the new voting bills this week.
The vote came less than 20 minutes after a near 15-hour filibuster by State Senator Carol Alvarado which she accomplished as she wore a back brace and did not sit, lean, eat drink or use the restroom as required by Texas law, CNN reported.
The bill will now head to the House where it will be slowed as not enough of the House Democrats have returned to create a quorum but, as CNN stated, the bill’s passage is all but assured.
“Senate Bill 1 slowly but surely chips away at our democracy. It adds rather than removes barriers for Texas seniors, persons with disabilities, African Americans, Asian and Latino voters from the political process,” state Sen. Alvarado said during her filibuster. “Senate Bill 1 is a regressive step back in the direction of that dark and painful history.”
“My friends, voter suppression anywhere is a threat to democracy everywhere,” she said. “As we draw this discussion to an end, it is my sincere hope that civil acts by everyday Texans — from the Senate floor to the ballot box — can help shed the light.”
“What do we want our democracy to look like?” she said. “Do we want our state to be more or less inclusive? . . . Instead of making it easier to vote, [this bill] makes it easier to intimidate. Instead of making it harder to cheat, it makes it harder to vote.”
But Republican Sen. Bob Hall said that it was “one of the best bills we’ve passed in a long time.”
“We made changes, fundamental changes that will benefit all people,” he said. “It doesn’t matter your background, your ethnicity. It’s aimed at everyone in Texas to ensure that every vote counts.”
“There was a lot of input from all parties in there, that, I think, made the bill better,” he said. “There is absolutely nothing racist in this bill.”
