Texas law enforcement enlisted to end Democrats’ holdout – KIRO 7 News Seattle

AUSTIN, Texas – (AP) – Texas Republicans first enlisted law enforcement assistance Thursday to force the return of Democratic lawmakers who fled the state a month ago to block new election restrictions .

The move, a major escalation in the denial, came a day after Texas House officials issued civil arrest warrants to the offices of more than 50 Democrats who had not returned to the Capitol since fleeing to Washington, DC on July 12 Some have returned to Texas but remain absent from the state House of Representatives.

“This morning the House Sergeant-at-Arms represented members of the Texas law enforcement agency to support the House’s efforts to enforce a quorum. This process will begin in earnest immediately, “said Enrique Marquez, a Republican House spokesman, Dade Phelan.

He didn’t say what law enforcement agencies were involved or what action they would take, but the Democrats did allow arrest and spent days seeking orders from Texas courts that would prevent a return to the Capitol.

But in another setback, the Texas Supreme Court halted those orders on Thursday. Some Democrats have previously said they would not rule out leaving Texas again – and outside of state troopers’ jurisdiction – if there was no judicial protection.

“The Dems have filed some of the most embarrassing lawsuits ever. Time for them to come to the Capitol and do the job they were elected to do, ”tweeted Republican Governor Greg Abbott.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, the state’s law enforcement agency, said in a statement it was not discussing “operational specifics” and referred additional questions to Phelan’s office.

The NAACP had entered on behalf of the Texas Democrats and asked the Justice Department to investigate whether a federal crime had been committed when the Republicans threatened arrest.

Law enforcement’s increased potential to search for missing lawmakers came hours after the recent high-profile Democratic protest against election changes in Texas – a 15-hour senator filibuster who was not allowed to sit or take toilet breaks.

Democrat Carol Alvarado’s filibuster only delayed the Senate Republicans, who approved a version of the comprehensive electoral law just minutes after its end. But with the Democrats still not showing up in the House of Representatives, the bill cannot go any further.

“What’s wrong with drive-through voting during a pandemic? What’s wrong with the 24-hour voting? Why can’t we have extended voting hours for people who have to work late? Where’s all the so-called fraud? ”Alvarado asked before finally putting the microphone down on her desk. “Where does it end?

The Texan legislature has entered unusual territory, with neither side showing certainty about what will come next, as Republicans remain determined to get a quorum of 100 legislators in attendance – a threshold they just four members couldn’t match.

Democrats admit they cannot permanently prevent the passage of the GOP Voting Bill due to Republican dominance in both houses of the Texas legislature.

Refusing to attend legislative sessions is a violation of house rules – a civil offense, not a criminal one. Sandra Guerra Thompson, director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston’s Law Center, said civil arrest warrants generally involve officials finding someone and bringing them up.

“There shouldn’t be any threats to the officer’s public that would really warrant the laying on of hands, let alone the use of handcuffs,” she said. “It’s really just about escorting the person.”

Republicans are now in the middle of their third attempt since May to pass a series of tweaks and changes to the state’s electoral law that would make it more difficult – and sometimes even legally risky – to cast a vote in Texas that already has some to the most restrictive electoral laws in the country.

Texas is one of several states where Republicans have rushed to introduce new voting restrictions in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 elections were stolen. The current bill is similar to the one the Democrats blocked last month when they went to the country’s capital. Among other things, it would ban 24-hour polling stations, drive-thru voting and give party election observers more access.

It was unclear on Wednesday how many Democrats remained in Washington, where they had hoped to get President Joe Biden and other Democrats to pass federal laws that would protect voting rights in Texas and beyond. Senate Democrats have promised to make this the first order of business when they return this fall, despite lacking a clear strategy for overcoming staunch Republican opposition.

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Acacia Coronado is a corps member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a not-for-profit national utility that places journalists on local newsrooms to cover undercover issues.

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