Democratic lawmakers in Texas have decided to flee the state to stop voting on the new congressional bill.
According to BBC, about 50 Democrats left Texas to flee to Illinois ahead of a vote on a congressional map favouring Republicans on Monday, August 4.
Texas Republicans, with the support of US President Donald Trump, presented a new congressional map that will potentially create five new Republican-leaning seats.
51 Democratic lawmakers have left the state to deny Republicans the required quorum, as two-thirds of the 150-member Texas legislature need to be present to hold a vote.
The lawmakers stated, “Texas Democratic lawmakers are halting Trump’s plan by denying his bootlickers a quorum,” accusing the Republicans of the state of “cowardly” surrendering to Trump’s “disastrous policies.”
The plan to flee to Illinois was reportedly backed by the Midwestern state governor, JB Pritzker, who, after meeting with the Texas Democratic caucus last month, asked his staff to provide logistic support for their stay.
The Texas House Democratic caucus chair said, “We’re leaving Texas to fight for Texans. We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander. We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent.”
The Republicans proposed new map last week, aiming to give their party five seats in Congress in next year’s midterm elections to maintain their power in the US House of Representatives.
The map targets districts in major cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston, as well as two districts in south Texas.
