Texas Senate Democrats Walk out on Redistricting Bill

This week, nine Texas Senate Democrats staged a walkout during debate on Senate Bill 4, the mid-decade redistricting bill.

After the walkout, the Texas Senate Democrats released a statement, assuring that their walkout was an effort to protest the neglect of urgent flood relief for communities that were devastated by the July 4^th floods that killed over 130 people.

In a statement, the Senate Democratic Caucus declared that “Texans are clear – our top priority must be flood relief and disaster preparedness.” Families devastated by the July 4 floods cannot afford more delays,” they added.

The Texas Senate Democrats accused Governor Greg Abbott (R) of using his emergency budget powers, which were previously used for the border wall, school safety, and even restoring the legislature’s funding, to tie disaster relief to what they call an “unconstitutional redistricting plan.”

“This mid-decade redistricting isn’t about fair representation,” the statement suggests. “It’s about politicians picking their voters instead of voters choosing their leaders.”

“That’s why we walked out – because this session should only be about flood relief, and we refuse to engage in a corrupt process,” they added.

The walkout comes after Texas House Democrats fled the state to protest the redistricting effort. Because of the escalation, Governor Abbott has issued a statement, assuring that Republicans are committed to redrawing the congressional map and that Democrats will return to their post.

“With the Texas House and Senate… announcing they are prepared to sine die on Friday, I will call the Texas House Legislature back immediately for Special Session #2,” Governor Abbott announced.

“The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans,” the governor added. “There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed."