Understanding what’s happening with Texas politics

Can you imagine Pennsylvania Democratic Elected officials at the state level, in an effort to keep Republicans from forcing archaic voting law changes, sneaking out of the state to hold up a vote? Further, can you imagine a Governor of Pennsylvania, if he were a Republican, threatening to arrest Democratic Lawmakers for not coming to the floor of the State House or Senate to take the vote? I can’t imagine it happening in the keystone state, but if it’s happening in Texas, who says it couldn’t happen here one day.
Question is, is what the Republicans are doing in Texas legal? The answer is a yes and no answer. If Democratic lawmakers were arrested in Texas by Texas police, at the orders of the Governor, it would be legal, although in my mind very wrong. But to try and have Texas Police leave Texas, and for example, try to come into our nation’s capital and arrest Democratic Texas Lawmakers, would not be legal because they would be out of their jurisdiction.
According to The Texas Tribune Newspaper, July 13, 2021 edition, the procedural move carries little apparent weight since the Democrats who fled the state to break quorum are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas law enforcement.
Republicans in the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to send law enforcement after Democrats who fled the state this past week in protest of what Republican lawmakers are trying to get passed in the House, a GOP priority elections legislation.
The Democrats who left the Lone Star state, a little more than 50 of them headed straight to the nation’s capital, making it impossible for the GOP lawmakers to have a quorum.
The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbot has set the agenda, which includes House Bill 3, and Senate Bill 1, the election legislation that would make some radical changes to the Texas voting system. In short, like in some other states, let’s just tell the truth, Republicans want to make it as difficult as possible for people to vote, who don’t carry the same mindset and opinions as them. If I can speak any plainer let me just say, these new recommended laws would make it darn near impossible in many instances for African Americans in rural areas and for all kinds of nonsensical reasons, to have their right to vote.
If Republicans were to have their way, the new voting laws in Texas would ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options and further restrict the state’s vote by mail rules. Right now, only 80 of the 150 lawmakers are showing up for work in the Texas state capitol. Without a two-thirds quorum required to do business on the floor of the House in Texas, nothing can get done.
While Republicans sit stewing in Texas, Texas Democrats were busy meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris this past week in D.C. and holding a press conference. During the press conference, the Democrats repeated what they’ve been saying all along, and that’s that they intend to stay out of Texas until after the special session that was called. Democrats are also challenging Governor Abbot in court. Funding for the Texas Legislature will run out on August 31st.
Enough Democrats have committed to remaining in Washington until the special legislative session ends on August 6th to stop the Republicans’ plan to ruin voting rights for so many and making the Republicans’ plans for critical change to voting laws in Texas dead in the mud.
Even though the Texas Republican Lawmakers voted to send law enforcement officials after the Democrats to “arrest them,” they don’t have jurisdiction outside of Texas, so arresting the Dems will not be happening.
Vice President Kamala Harris was quoted as saying to the Texas Lawmakers in D.C., “I know what you have done comes with great sacrifice, both personal and political. Defending the right of the American people to vote is as American as apple pie. I have in mind that person who was working two or three jobs and needs to have the ability to early vote. I’m thinking about that single parent who has his or her kids in the backseat and needs to be able to have a drive-thru or a dropbox to vote. I’m thinking about the American with a disability who needs to have the option of voting by mail.”
Next week in our Civics 101 column, we’ll define what a Filibuster is and why its under so much debate right now. Stay tuned. And now your civic rights and duties.