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The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Republican Dade Phelan, on Tuesday escalated a n confrontation with the Democratic legislators who broke the quorum for the third time for a vote that will affect voting rights in the state, signing arrest warrants that a spokesperson said would be surrendered “for service” on Wednesday In the morning, reported The Washington Post .
The measure followed the passage of a House motion to send for the absent members, which allowed Phelan to issue the orders.
Thirty days after Democrats left Texas for halt new restrictions on voting rights in the state, cracks in the standoff widened Tuesday as more congressmen They returned home from Washington, DC, and Republicans again authorized the use of law enforcement to find those who still refuse to return.
But unlike a month ago, when the missing Democrats were out of state and out of reach of Texas officers, some are now holding out from home.
Republican Dade Phelan, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, said that Democrats could be forced to return under “warrant if necessary”, although the deadlock remains a civil and not a criminal matter.
Phelan’s spokesman, Enrique Márquez, said that Court orders were signed for , which left the House without eight members to reach a quorum.
While legislators would not be jailed if they were arrested, police can take them to the Capitol once the warrants are served to the House Sergeant-at-Arms to run.
It is unclear exactly how many House Democrats have returned to Texas since 57 fled to Washington in mid-July in an exodus that again blocked the approval of new voting restrictions . In Washington, Democrats advocated for federal protection of the right to vote in the United States Senate.
In anticipation of a possible Senate vote on a more restricted election and ethics bill, 26 of Texas Democrats have promised they will stay in Washington.