Texas Democrats Block GOP From Passing New Voter Restrictions For Now

Texas Democrats prevented a bill that would have significantly restricted the voting rights, left the state House floor late Sunday right before a midnight deadline.

Following the session, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) said he was disappointed with the results and would try to push the bill again in a special session.

“I declared Election Integrity and Bail Reform to be must-pass emergency items for this legislative session,” he said late Sunday. “It is deeply disappointing and concerning for Texas that neither will reach my desk.”

The Texas legislature, controlled by Republicans, has only 67 Democrats in the House and 13 Democrats in the Senate, as opposed to 83 and 18 Republicans in those chambers respectively. The Democrats do not enough numbers to stop the bill if Abbott assembles a special session.

“Democrats used the last tool available to us,” said Texas state Rep. Chris Turner (D-Texas) during a press conference after the session. “We denied them a quorum and we killed that bill.”

Article by Dongyoon Shin