Democratic state legislators in Texas have blocked a vote on a United States congressional map that favours their Republican rivals by leaving the state, preventing the state House of Representatives from establishing a quorum.
The vote could not proceed on Monday afternoon, even as Republican Governor Greg Abbott threatened to remove the fleeing lawmakers from office and suggested that they could face charges. At least 100 legislators in the 150-member chamber needed to be present for the vote to proceed.
It is not clear when the next vote will be held.
The new redrawn map, backed by President Donald Trump, would give Republicans more safe seats to help them keep their majority in the US House in the midterm elections next year.
According to the Texas Tribune newspaper, the Texas House approved in an 85-to-six vote a mostly symbolic measure to track down and arrest more than 50 legislators who left the state. The warrants are only valid in Texas.
The controversy in the conservative-leaning state has dominated the political conversation in the country, more than a year ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
Gerrymandering – drawing districts around demographic and socioeconomic lines for partisan reasons – is not uncommon in the US. But Texas appears to have taken the practice to its limits, all but eliminating five seats held by Democrats.
“We’re not here to play political games. We’re here to demand an end to this corrupt process,” top Texas House Democrat Gene Wu said at a news conference in Illinois on Sunday.
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