JUST IN: Texas Moves To Oust Dem Lawmakers Who Fled State

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office would be formally moving to oust Democrat lawmakers who fled to blue states in order to sabotage a vote on GOP-led redistricting, which is set to draw out five Democrat-controlled districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The controversy erupted earlier this week when Democrat lawmakers in the Texas state house fled to a number of blue states, mostly Illinois, in an effort to block the vote.

The Texas House – which is currently comprised of 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats – cannot vote on the proposed redraw 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.

On Tuesday, Paxton announced that he will be pursuing a court ruling seeking to ensure that all seats held by Democrats who fled would be declared vacant. If successful, state Republicans could schedule special elections in order to fill the seats. The move comes after Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows gave absent lawmakers until Friday, August 8, to return to Texas and present themselves before the House.

In a press release, Paxton announced that any lawmaker who has not been arrested and returned or fails to appear by the Speaker’s deadline will be subject to “aggressive” legal action.

“Democrats have abandoned their offices by fleeing Texas, and a failure to respond to a call of the House constitutes a dereliction of their duty as elected officials,” the attorney general said in a press release. “Starting Friday, any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating their office. The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don’t show up to work, you get fired.”

Under Article III, Section 13 in the Texas constitution, vacancies in the legislature due to death, resignation or removal and are required to be filled through special elections. The section does not specifically list absence as a cause, however.

Paxton’s press release cites previous state Supreme Court races prohibiting minority factions from improperly blocking the majority’s business, including a 2021 case that authorized arrest for quorum breakers.

“By removing themselves from the State for the explicit purpose of interfering with the proceedings of the Texas Legislature, Democrats are refusing to perform their duties in a manner that amounts to abandonment of office,” the release continued. “If the runaway members of the legislative minority do not return to the House and resume performance of their duties by the deadline, Attorney General Paxton will seek judicial relief confirming that their office is vacant.”