AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Texas House Democrats used the "last tool in the toolbox" Sunday night to derail a contentious voting bill, bringing the regular session of the 87th Legislature to a screeching halt before a midnight deadline.
The chamber's 67 Democrats all walked off the floor before 11 p.m. Sunday night, breaking quorum and preventing a vote from being taken prior to a midnight deadline for both chambers to give final approval to bills.
Monday is the last day of the regular session.
Gov. Greg Abbott shared his disappointment Sunday night, saying the election integrity item would become part of a special session.
"I declared Election Integrity and Bail Reform to be must-pass emergency items for this legislative session," Abbott said. "It is deeply disappointing and concerning for Texans that neither will reach my desk. Ensuring the integrity of our elections and reforming a broken bail system remain emergencies in Texas. They will be added to the special session agenda. Legislators will be expected to have worked out the details when they arrive at the Capitol for the special session."
In remarks in Fort Worth last week, Abbott pushed back against calls for an immediate special session. Lawmakers are already expected to be called back later this fall to handle redistricting, once the data from the 2020 Census becomes available, though it's not clear if Abbott will wait that long to force lawmakers back into session.
The final version of the bill, if it were to become law, called for the following changes:
*Create uniform statewide early voting hours (6am-9pm Monday-Saturday, and 1pm-9pm on Sundays)
*Ban drive-thru voting and mail-in ballot drop boxes
*Require all counties to have paper versions of electronic ballots by 2026
*Giver further power to poll watchers
*Require mail-in ballot applicants to provide a voter ID number
*Require counties with populations over 100,000 to livestream areas containing completed ballots
Voter rights advocates and Democrats called the bill a "voter suppression" tactic, saying it would disproportionally affect people of color.
"Ahead of a midnight deadline to pass legislation, dozens of Democratic Members were prepared to give speeches against this measure, which is designed to disenfranchise and discriminate against Texans," House Democratic Caucus Chair state Rep. Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie) said in a statement. "We were determined to run out the clock. It became obvious Republicans were going to cut off debate to ram through their vote suppression legislation. At that point, we had no choice but to take extraordinary measures to protect our constituents and their right to vote."
House Speaker Dade Phelan blasted Democrats after being forced to gavel out the session. "Today, on the second to last day of session, a number of members have chosen to disrupt the legislative process by abandoning the legislative chamber before our work was done," Phelan said. "In doing so, these members killed a number of strong, consequential bills with broad bipartisan support including legislation to ban no-knock warrants, reform our bail system, and invest in the mental health of Texans - items that their colleagues and countless advocates have worked hard to get to this point. Texans shouldn't have to pay the consequences of these members' actions -- or in this case, inaction -- especially at a time when a majority of Texans have exhibited clear and express support for making our elections stronger and more secure."
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has been among those calling for a special session on Senate bills that died last week in the House, echoed those calls again Sunday night. "The Texas House failed the people of Texas tonight," Patrick said in a tweet. "No excuse."
During a press conference last week, Abbott said he would limit any special session to just one item at a time, in order to ensure that lawmakers get their work done.
"First, the only things I'll be putting on there are things I want to see passed," Abbott said in Fort Worth on Thursday. "Second, we're going to go one item at a time. There will be one item placed upon the agenda. Not until they passed that item will we move on to another item. So if anybody tries to hold hostage this legislative session to force a special session, that person will be putting their members in the Senate or the House potentially into a special session for another two years until the next regular session."