This is not the first time lawmakers have fled the Texas State Capitol avoid voting on a measure they disagreed with.
Since Sunday, Texas Democratic legislators have been embroiled in a face-off against state Republicans and Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor has threatened to oust and replace the representatives for leaving the state to prevent redrawing Texas congressional maps.
But this is not the first time lawmakers have fled the Texas State Capitol avoid voting on a measure they disagreed with, “breaking quorum” by depriving the statehouse of enough legislators to conduct business. They’ve been doing it since 1870 — more than 150 years ago.
Texas state lawmakers last broke quorum in 2021 when Democratic house representatives fled Texas to prevent measures restricting voting options. The measures eventually passed after internal Democratic fissures led to enough representatives returning to form a quorum.
The legislators first stalled the election bill during the regular session through a last-minute walkout. After Abbot called a special session, 57 Democrats fled to Washington, D.C., prompting Republicans to enact a “call of the House“, a procedure which mandates legislators’ attendance at the statehouse and allows the sergeant-at-arms to arrest members within Texas and bring them there.
When one state representative, Philip Cortez, briefly returned to Austin in late July before rejoining the other quorum-breakers out of state, then-House Speaker Dade Phelan signed a civil warrant for his arrest. By that time, however, Cortez was outside of Texas law enforcement’s jurisdiction.
Democrats ran out the clock on the first special session but were not able to keep members from returning to Texas after Abbott called a second.
While a state district judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent Abbott and Phelan from arresting the Democrats, the Texas Supreme Court quickly temporarily blocked that order, allowing Phelan to sign warrants for the 52 remaining absent Democrats.
