AUSTIN, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the civil arrest of Democratic state lawmakers who left the state in July to block a vote on a new congressional redistricting map drawn by Republican legislators.
The order follows a mass departure that denied the Texas House the quorum required to pass legislation.
More than 50 Democratic lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C., in protest of the proposed map, which they argue dilutes minority representation and unfairly benefits Republican candidates.
The legislators said their goal was to pressure Congress to enact federal voting rights protections in response to what they called suppressive state-level measures.
Abbott has asked the Texas Supreme Court to authorize state law enforcement to detain and return the absent lawmakers to the Capitol.
The governor stated that the arrests are necessary to uphold the legislative process and ensure that governance continues in accordance with democratic procedures.
