Texas Democrats’ D.C. Escape Plan Has Limited Staying Power

State lawmakers left Austin to stop vote on election bill
Funding, redistricting votes may lure back legislators

A bus with Democrats from the Texas Legislature arrives to board a private plane headed for Washington, D.C., in Austin, Texas on July 12.Photographer: Eric Gay/AP Photo

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By Paul Stinson, Catarina Saraiva, and Thomas Black

July 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Texas Democrats’ flight out of state temporarily scuttled Republican efforts to tighten ballot access, increasing national focus on an issue that has swept GOP-led legislatures. The plan -- last tried during a 2003 redistricting fight -- has no good exit strategy.

The escape from Austin to Washington denied Republican Governor Greg Abbott the quorum to vote on legislation in a special session he called after Democrats walked out of the regular one in May. But Abbott can convene an unlimited number of 30-day special sessions. And two looming issues may persuade enough Democrats to return: redistricting and a measure to pay lawmakers and their staffs. Without a vote, the legislature will run out of cash at the end of the fiscal year on Aug. 31.