Dozens of elected Democrats in Texas left their southern US state on Monday in order to block the adoption of a controversial election law, wanted by the Republican majority in the Texas parliament.
Texas law authorizes the arrest of elected state officials who are absent during voting sessions and bringing them, by force if necessary, into the chambers of Parliament. This is why these elected officials decided to travel to a place where the Texas police had no authority to act.
“My fellow Democrats and I are leaving the state in order to block a quorum and torpedo a bill to restrict voting in Texas,” James Tallarico, a Democrat in the House of Commons, said in a tweet. Representatives from Texas.
The elected official claimed to have traveled to Washington, and later tweeted a photo showing him under the plane, with another Democratic congresswoman from Texas at his side.
US Vice President Kamala Harris made a point during a trip to Michigan to salute those elected officials who “defend the rights of all Americans and all Texans to speak up by voting unhindered.”
Former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke also praised their work, saying on Twitter that these elected officials represented “the courage the country currently needs.”
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott expressed his regret at their departure.
“The Texas Democrats’ decision to prevent a quorum from being achieved… is detrimental to the Texans who elected them to serve.” As they cross the country in comfortable private jets, they leave behind unresolved issues.”
Greg Abbott also argued on Twitter: “It’s time to get back to work.”
Elected Democrats in Texas had already at the end of May sabotaged the adoption of this restrictive law on the organization of electoral elections, which US President Joe Biden called an “attack on democracy.”
They collectively left the organized ballot for the bill in the Texas Parliament and the necessary quorum was not reached.
This law, wanted by Republicans like those already adopted in Georgia and Florida, is officially intended to make elections safer by banning “direct” voting or by placing numerous restrictions on voting times and mail voting.
But these restrictions often target provisions that facilitate voting for minorities, particularly African Americans who are generally more pro-democracy.
Since the presidential election, bills limiting access to voting in states have multiplied at the initiative of Republicans.
President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak Tuesday from Philadelphia on the East Coast about his “measures to protect the sacred and constitutional right to vote.”