“If Abbott wants to bring us back for a special session to attack trans kids and strip voting rights, then maybe that’s a fight we want to have with the eyes of the nation on us,” says Texas Democratic lawmaker Rafael Anchía
Rafael Anchía and Democrats walked out of the Texas legislature to stop a Republican crackdown on voting rights and they may leave the state altogether. Photo: Bob Daemmrich Texas lawmaker Rafael Anchía was preparing to make a speech he thought would stop a draconian Republican voting bill from passing when he got a text message from Democratic leadership: Leave.
Democrats walked out as a last resort, ending the session before Republicans could force, and win, a vote that would have restricted voting in what’s already one of the hardest states to do it. What Anchía and others did was not without risk: Legislators can be arrested for breaking quorum like this.
Anchía and other Democratic lawmakers have said they are prepared to go further and leave the state altogether in order to stall the bill’s passage as much as they can. It’s a difficult thing to ask representatives to do — especially those who represent more conservative or rural parts of the state, where the 2003 walkout was met with extreme hostility. But this time, Democrats say democracy itself is on the line.
In 2010, two-thirds of new residents in Texas were Latino, but the maps drawn by the Republican-dominated House cracked and packed Latinos into districts and even eliminated seats long held by Latino representatives. “They all went to white Republicans,” he said. “How can you be in a place where the majority of the growth is driven by Latinos, and you eliminate four Hispanic seats in redistricting? And Republicans are good with that! They are like ‘proportionality’? ‘Fairness’? Whatever.
Sitting in the restaurant, Anchía looked tired, and the hope that things might change for the better for Democrats seemed distant. “Today’s an election day in Dallas. Have you heard about anybody voting or seen a little “I Voted Today” sticker?” He looked around at the full restaurant and found no stickers. “Nope.”
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