It seems Governor Greg Abbott has had enough. On August 3, Abbott issued an uncharacteristically stern ultimatum to more than 50 Democrat members of the Texas House, demanding they return by 3 P.M. Central Time on Monday, August 4. The Democrat legislators are required to participate in a special legislative session or face removal from office under state law.
In his press release on Sunday, Abbott stated that the absences “were a deliberate plan not to show up for work” and, he continued,
are not merely unintended and unavoidable interruptions in public service, like a sudden illness or a family emergency. Instead, these absences were premeditated for an illegitimate purpose — what one representative called “breaking quorum.” Another previously signaled that Democrats “would have to go by an extreme measure” of a quorum break “to stop these bills from happening.”
Abbott also referenced Texas attorney general Ken Paxton’s 2021 non-binding advisory opinion (Opinion No. KP-0382). The opinion suggests that a court could determine that a legislator has forfeited his seat through “abandonment” via a quo warranto action — a legal proceeding Abbott intends to initiate if the absent politicians do not return.
Beyond civil penalties, Abbott escalated his warning by suggesting lawmakers could face serious criminal consequences for their absences, alleging that fundraising to cover daily $500 fines imposed on quorum-skipping legislators could amount to felony bribery. Abbott’s statement made clear he would target both those soliciting and those offering such funds. He added that he would invoke extradition authority for any individuals deemed potential felons.
The Texas Democrats traveled to states like Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, where governors are offering sanctuary — and in some cases political cover — for the AWOL legislators. The legislators fled to deny the House the two-thirds quorum (100 members of 150) needed to conduct business during an ongoing special session, all because of a redistricting proposal.
Convened by Governor Abbott, the special session addresses multiple bills, one of which addresses urgent flood relief in Guadalupe River communities. However, at the heart of the controversy is a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan under consideration during the session. Democrats see the redistricting as Republican-driven and heavily influenced by President Trump. The proposed map would create five new GOP-favoring U.S. House districts, potentially helping solidify Republican control into the 2026 midterms.
Democratic legislators view the map as an attempt to dilute minority voting power, calling it “racist” and a “rigged process.” They say they fled in defense of their constituents — launching a united push, supported by governors in Illinois and New York, to use out-of-state protection and publicity to block the vote.
Some blue-state governors have hinted at retaliatory redistricting in their own states. Most notable was Gavin Newsom’s statement, in which he threatened to ignore voters and “override California’s independent redistricting process to redraw maps for political advantage,” according to California Assembly Republicans. Newsom described the situation in Texas as a “five-alarm fire for democracy,” promising he would retaliate by reshaping California’s districts. Newsom stated,
If we don’t put a stake into the heart of this administration, there may not be an election in 2028. They’re not screwing around. We cannot afford to screw around, either. We have got to fight fire with fire.
This isn’t the first time Democrats have resorted to such tactics. In 2003, they fled to neighboring states over redistricting. They ultimately failed to prevent the maps from passing. In 2021, Democrats chartered flights to Washington, D.C. to prevent passage of Republican-backed voting restrictions. That standoff lasted nearly a month, and although they delayed the legislation, lawmakers eventually returned, and the bill passed. Arrest warrants for absent members and multiple special sessions followed. The Democrats are essentially leveraging blue-state hospitality to grind the Texas House to a halt.
In 2025, Abbott’s far more aggressive approach leverages legal threats and eliminates ambiguity by citing constitutional provisions and criminal statutes.
For now, Democrat members remain defiant. In a statement from their temporary headquarters in Chicago, they responded to Abbott’s threat with four words: “Come and take it.” They also assert that Texas subpoenas have no force in Chicago, New York, or Massachusetts — and are non-binding threats with limited jurisdiction.
Image: Greg Abbott. Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.