Red State AG Threatens Dem Lawmakers With Arrest After Anti-Redistricting Stunt

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Sunday that Democrat lawmakers who fled the state in order to sabotage a vote on new congressional maps will be arrested if they do not return immediately.

A number of Texas Democrats are leaving the state in an effort to prevent a vote on the new maps on Monday, which advanced out of committee in a 12-6 vote along party lines on Saturday. Under the proposed redraw, Republicans will pick up an additional three “safe” red districts and another two that lean strongly to the GOP, a move that could prove decisive in deciding control of the House next November.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows took to X Sunday evening in order to state that the body will be convening at 3 p.m. local time on Monday. “If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table. . .” Burrows wrote.

Attorney General Paxton soon responded to Burrows’ post by stating that his office is willing to take action if Democrats skip the legislative session, which is classified as a civil violation in Texas.

“I support the immediate arrest of these rogue lawmakers who’ve fled their duties. These radical Democrats are spitting in the face of every Texan they swore to represent,” Paxton wrote in an X post of his own. “This is cowardice and dereliction of duty, and they should face the full force of the law without apology.”

The Texas House – which is currently comprised of 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats – cannot take the vote scheduled for Monday unless two-thirds of its members are present. “This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.

Under Texas law, the House sergeants-at-arms and the state Department of Safety have legal authority to locate and retrieve absent members within Texas borders, State Rep. Nate Schatzline explained.

Texas Democrats previously broke quorum in 2003 and 2021. In 2003, they attempted to stop a mid-decade redistricting, while in 2021 they tried to block an election bill with sweeping voting restrictions. Both efforts were unsuccessful.

Fines for breaking quorum can reach a maximum of $500 per day, in addition to any costs incurred when retrieving the absent lawmakers. It can also result in operating budget reductions, reprimands, censure and even expulsion.

“Should members flee the state for an extended period, the Governor has the constitutional authority to declare their seats vacant under the Texas Election Code. This would lower the quorum threshold and allow the House to act,” Schatzline said. “The question is… Are Republicans willing to STAND UP AND FIGHT? I know I am!”

A large chunk of the fleeing Democrats are fleeing to Illinois, where Governor JB Pritzker had been in quiet talks with them for weeks about offering support if they chose to leave the state to break quorum, according to a report from Newsmax. Last week, Pritzker hosted several Texas Democrats in his home state to publicly oppose the redistricting effort.

California Governor Gavin Newsom did the same and has threatened to call for redistricting in his own state, even though California’s maps are already less proportional than the proposed map in Texas. California is also constitutionally barred from mid-decade redistricting due to its “independent commission” system.

“Gavin Newscum is so desperate to distract from his record of destroying CA,” Paxton said of Newsom’s comments. “You don’t know the difference between boys and girls so I’m not shocked you missed the fact that the witch hunts against me all failed because they were bogus, politically-motivated lies the entire time.”