Texas Democrats Pressure Moderate Democratic Senators To Push For Voting Reform

Texas Democrats, who fled their own state on Monday in an attempt to stop restrictive GOP voting bills, are in Washington, D.C. pressuring moderate Democratic senators like Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) to put an end to filibuster rules used by Republicans to halt voting rights reform.

The state lawmakers hope to buy themselves time to hold off on the passage of the new Texas laws.

The Democrats are denying Gov. Greg Abbott a quorum in a special session over voting access. The Republican governor questioned the Democratic lawmakers’ decision to flee the state. “As they fly across the country on cushy private planes, they leave undone issues that can help their districts and our state,” Abbott said.

“We are coming to D.C. to put pressure on them to act, because this isn’t just Texas,” Texas Democratic state Rep. John Bucy III told CNN. “All over the South and in Republican states, we are seeing voter suppression bills. We need Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. This bill will make it harder for the people of Texas to vote. The secretary of state’s office in Texas told us that our elections ran smoothly, securely, and were a success. So, you have to question what is the problem these bills are trying to solve? Clearly, all they are trying to do is make it harder for the people of Texas to vote, specifically individuals with disabilities, women and people of color.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has praised the Texas Democrats who engaged in this act of civil disobedience. “They are leaders who are marching in the path that so many others before did when they fought – and many died – for our right to vote,” she said. “I do believe that fighting for the right to vote is as American as apple pie.”

Article by Elizabeth Letsou