德克萨斯州奥斯汀——德克萨斯州共和党人周日提出了一些法案，这些法案将使该州的投票变得更加困难。在数百人发言反对这些提议后，该州已经有了一些全国最严格的限制——一些人等待发言将近24小时。
共和党人明确表示，他们打算在本周末推进一项新的选举法案，该法案将禁止24小时投票站、禁止投票箱和停止免下车投票，预计本周将对这些提案进行首次重大投票。这一时间表促使一些民主党议员呼吁进行第二次罢工，以再次阻止限制措施向前推进，就像他们在5月份突破法定人数时所做的那样。
德克萨斯州是共和党控制州议会的几个州之一，共和党人匆忙颁布了严格的投票法，以回应前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)谎称2020年大选是从他那里偷来的。德克萨斯州民主党人的第二次退出——一些人认为这是他们最好的选择，如果不是唯一的选择的话——将标志着他们否认共和党人是主要优先事项的努力的高风险升级，反过来，给乔·拜登总统施加更大的压力，要求他在联邦一级采取投票行动。
正在考虑在2022年挑战共和党州长格雷格·艾伯特(Greg Abbott)的前德克萨斯州民主党国会议员贝托·奥鲁克(Beto O’rourke)表示，他已经提供了帮助，称如果立法者走这条路，他准备筹集资金“养活和安置他们”。
“我们应该留下来吗?地狱没有。为了什么?”民主党州众议员贾维斯·约翰逊说。“没有什么事情是认真做的。没有对彼此最大的尊重，什么都做不了。”
数周以来，德克萨斯州众议院的民主党领导人表示，他们不排除再次发生叛乱的可能性，但也表示希望在为期30天的特别会议期间削弱该法案。然而，约翰逊认为，他的许多同事准备第二次拒绝共和党的法定人数，尽管大多数人继续谨慎发言。
“你可能知道我的下一步行动，但你不能阻止它。你永远不知道迈克·泰森什么时候会下勾拳，但你知道他会下勾拳，”他说。
另一次罢工可能只是为了争取更多时间:雅培可以继续召集更多30天的特别会议，直到投票措施获得通过。近2000名国会工作人员的工资也可能岌岌可危，因为在民主党深夜罢工后，雅培否决了对立法部门的拨款。他已经暗示他将在今年夏天恢复这笔资金——如果议员们准备向他提交一份法案的话。
哈里斯县法官莉娜·伊达尔戈(Lina Hidalgo)是休斯顿所在县的选举产生的管理机构负责人，她说雅培“敲诈”立法者以使立法获得通过。伊达尔戈表示，她将支持民主党议员再次突破法定人数，阻止该法案的通过。
伊达尔戈说:“对我来说，承认投票权应该凌驾于政治之上非常重要。“我们可以在各种问题上做到这一点，但不能投票，不能民主。”
纳卡·泰特是达拉斯地区科林县全国有色人种协进会分会的志愿者，她说，她周六早上4点醒来，开车几个小时去奥斯汀，作证反对拟议的投票限制。泰特说，这意味着错过了她侄孙女的生日聚会，但牺牲是值得的。其中一些条款，如果成为法律，将影响像她自己这样的老年人，以及其他在投票站接受帮助的人，因为有人提议对犯错误的投票志愿者进行处罚。
“这是对我们宪法权利的压制，”泰特说。
得克萨斯州民主党人上一次离开该州拒绝法定人数是在2003年，当时他们逃到俄克拉荷马州和新墨西哥州，试图阻止共和党绘制的新投票地图。他们离开了一个多月，但最终，共和党通过了一项新的选区划分计划。
周日，众议院一个小组——在辩论开始近24小时后的早上7点30分——和参议院一个委员会在当天下午晚些时候通过了恢复投票的修改版本，不再包括两个最有争议的条款:禁止周日早上投票，当时许多黑人教徒去投票，以及让法官更容易推翻选举的语言。
数百名反对者挤满了国会大厦的溢出室，等待数小时作证。这是得克萨斯州今年反对该法案的最大投票人数，新冠肺炎的担忧抑制了人群。
Texas GOP advances voting restrictions as hundreds push back
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Republicans advanced bills Sunday that would make voting harder in a state that already has some of the nation's toughest restrictions after hundreds spoke against the proposals — with some waiting to speak for almost 24 hours.
Republicans made clear they intended to advance a new election bill — which would prohibit 24-hour polling places, ban drop boxes and stop drive-thru voting — this weekend, with a first major vote on the proposals expected this week. That timeline is pushing some Democratic lawmakers toward calling for a second walkout to again stop the restrictions from moving forward like they did in May when they broke quorum.
Texas is among several states with GOP-controlled statehouses where Republicans have rushed to enact strict voting laws in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. A second walkout by Texas Democrats — which some are describing as their best, if not only option — would mark a high-stakes escalation of their efforts to deny Republicans a major priority, and in turn, put more pressure on President Joe Biden to act on voting at the federal level.
Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic former Texas congressman who is considering challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022, said he has already offered help, saying he was ready to raise money "literally to feed and house the legislators” if they go that route.
“Should we stick around? Hell no. For what?” Democratic state Rep. Jarvis Johnson said. “There's nothing being done in earnest. There's nothing be done with the utmost respect for one another.”
For weeks, Democratic leaders in the Texas House have said they are not ruling out another revolt, but have also expressed hope of weakening the bill during the 30-day special session. Johnson, however, believes a large number of his colleagues are ready to deny Republicans a quorum for a second time, though most continue speaking cautiously.
“You may know my next move, but you can't stop it. You never knew when Mike Tyson was going to throw the uppercut, but you knew he was going to throw it," he said.
Another walkout may merely buy more time: Abbott could keep calling more 30-day special sessions until voting measures are passed. Paychecks for nearly 2,000 Capitol staffers could also be on the line, because Abbott vetoed funding for the legislative branch following Democrats' late-night walkout. He has signaled he will restore that funding this summer — if lawmakers are around to put a bill on his desk.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the elected head of the governing body for the county where Houston is located, said Abbott was “extorting” lawmakers to get the legislation passed. Hidalgo said she was would support Democratic legislators breaking quorum again to block the bill's passage.
“It is very important to me to recognize voting rights should be above politics,” Hidalgo said. “We can do that with all manner of issues, but not voting, not democracy.”
Nacal Tate, who volunteers with the NAACP chapter in Collin County in the Dallas area, said she woke up at 4 a.m. Saturday to drive several hours to Austin to testify against the proposed voting restrictions. Tate said that meant missing her grand niece's birthday party, but that it was worth the sacrifice. Some of the provisions, if they become law, would affect senior citizens, like herself, and others who receive help at the polls due to proposed penalties for voting volunteers who make a mistake.
“It is a suppression of our constitutional rights,” Tate said.
The last time Texas Democrats left the state to deny a quorum was 2003, when they decamped to Oklahoma and New Mexico to try to block new GOP-drawn voting maps. They were gone more a month, but ultimately, Republicans passed a new redistricting plan.
The versions of the revived voting changes passed Sunday by a House panel — at 7:30 a.m., almost 24 hours after debate began — and by a Senate committee later that afternoon no longer include two of the most contentious provisions: prohibiting Sunday morning voting, when many Black churchgoers go to the polls, and language that would have made it easier for a judge to overturn elections.
Hundreds of opponents packed overflow rooms at the Capitol and waited for hours to testify. It was the biggest turnout against a bill this year in Texas, where COVID-19 concerns have dampened crowds.
