Texas’s Republican governor has threatened to send troops to arrest Democrats who fled the state in a bid to block efforts to redraw its political map.
Greg Abbott also said he will start trying to remove the absent Democrats from office, and that the Texas Rangers have been directed to investigate them for possible breaches of bribery laws.
The governor added in a statement that the Democrats “abandoned their duty to Texans” and that “there are consequences for dereliction of duty”.
However, state troopers have no jurisdiction outside of Texas, and the state’s Democratic Party chair, Gene Wu, estimated on Sunday that about 57 Democrats had already left.
Sought by Donald Trump ahead of next year’s mid-term elections, the proposed changes to Texas’s congressional districts would make it more likely for Republicans to retain control of the state’s House of Representatives.
The party currently holds 25 of Texas’s 38 seats, but the new boundaries would hand Republicans an advantage in five seats.
The GOP planned to hold a vote on the new district map on Monday during a special legislative session over the deadly Texas floods.
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As the minority party, and therefore unable to vote the plan down, dozens of Democratic representatives left the state to stop proceedings.
Without the Democrats in attendance, the House does not have a quorum, meaning the minimum number of representatives necessary to conduct a vote.
Gerrymandering means the manipulation of political mapmaking to give an advantage to a party.
District maps must be redrawn every 10 years after each census to balance the population in districts, but in some states, there are no limits on how often districts can be redrawn.
If a political party controls both the legislature and the governor’s office – or has such a large majority that it can override vetoes – it can effectively draw districts to its advantage.
Gerrymandering is not illegal under the US Constitution, and the Supreme Court previously ruled that federal courts have no authority to decide whether partisan gerrymandering goes too far.
However, the Supreme Court has upheld challenges to gerrymandering on racial grounds in Alabama and Louisiana.
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‘Fulfil your duty,’ says House speaker
Texas Republicans also voted to issue arrest warrants for absent Democratic politicians.
In the state House of Representatives on Monday, they compelled the sergeant-at-arms to “send for” their return “under warrant of arrest, if necessary”.
Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows promised before the vote that “all options will be on the table”.
He added: “To those who are absent, return now. Come back and fulfil your duty.”
Under Texas laws, a representative refusing to show up is a civil violation of legislative rules, and they can be fined $500 for every day they are not at the state Capitol.
‘There’s nothing illegal’ about plans: Abbott
In an interview with Fox News, Mr Abbott defended the redistricting plan – calling it gerrymandering – and said it was intended to better reflect voters who supported Mr Trump in the 2024 election.
He said: “Gerrymandering can be done, or drawing lines can be done on the basis of political makeup, as in Republicans versus Democrats. And there’s nothing illegal about that.”
Most of the Texan Democrats went to Illinois, headed by Democrat Governor JB Pritzker, while others travelled to blue states New York and Massachusetts.
At a press conference in Chicago on Monday, Mr Wu said: “We’re not here to play political games.
“We’re here to demand an end to this corrupt process.”
California threatens counter-redrawing
In response to the Texas proposal, California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he is considering gerrymandering his state’s districts to slash five Republican seats.
The Democrat governor said he would call a special election for the first week of November if Texas does not pause its own redistricting, and added: “California will not sit by idly and watch this democracy waste away.”
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Speaking anonymously, a Trump administration official told Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Sunday that there were no plans to use federal agents to assist in arresting Democrats.
“Gov. Greg Abbott can handle his own state,” the official said.
