Texas state lawmakers plan to break quorum, derailing a Republican-led attempt to redraw the state’s voting districts, because they do not have the votes to win by legitimate means.
Politico reported on Sunday that Texas Democrats planned to flee — by the dozens — in order to put a stop to the legislative process that would likely result in Republicans gaining as many as five GOP-leaning seats in the already traditionally red state.
“The choice was clear: Stand by while Abbott silences millions of Black and Latino voters, or use every tool available to stop this assault on our democracy. This corrupt special session is over,” the Texas Democrats declared in a statement.
The choice was clear:
Stand by while Abbott silences millions of Black and Latino voters, or use every tool available to stop this assault on our democracy.This corrupt special session is over.#txlege pic.twitter.com/zjs2Qz4nku
— Texas House Democrats (@TexasHDC) August 3, 2025
The full statement read:
For two weeks, while families in the Hill Country mourned the loss of over 130 Texans in catastrophic floods, Texas Democrats fought to make their relief the legislature’s top priority. Instead, Governor Abbott and Republican leadership used the tragedy as political cover.
After thousands of Texans testified against this corrupt bargain in hearings across the state, their pleas were ignored.
“Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump. We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander. As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”
Objecting to what they claim is an effort to “gerrymander” the districts in favor of Republicans, the Democrats plan to run away to a state where lawmakers wrote the book on partisan gerrymandering: Illinois.
Texas Democrats fleeing to Illinois — home to one of America’s most brutal partisan gerrymanders — is not the win they think it is pic.twitter.com/Pbf9RZZFM3
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) August 3, 2025
Democrats attempted the same stunt in 2021 over an election bill, which passed along party lines in their absence but then could not proceed until they returned to the state 38 days later and they were able to achieve a quorum.
Governor Greg Abbott threatened to take action against the lawmakers who went AWOL in 2021 instead of doing their jobs, saying at one point that he would veto the section of the state constitution that ensured their pay.
I will veto Article 10 of the budget passed by the legislature.
Article 10 funds the legislative branch.
No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities.
Stay tuned.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 31, 2021
“Once they step back into the state, they will be arrested and brought back to the Capitol and we will be conducting business,” Abbott told Fox News host Laura Ingraham at the time, saying that if the legislators returned to the state, he would dispatch law enforcement in order to force a quorum.
Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison has called on Abbott to take the same stance as Democrats attempt to employ the same strategy once again.
🚨DEMOCRATS FLEE TEXAS TO BREAK QUORUM.
I am calling on Speaker Burrows to IMMEDIATELY issue a Call of the House and have them ARRESTED.
This was 100% preventable, and is yet another failure of Austin Republican “leadership.” pic.twitter.com/QwQ6EVeMi9
— Brian Harrison (@brianeharrison) August 3, 2025
