Texas House Democrats Leave for Illinois to Block Republican Redistricting — Texas Governor Greg Abbott Wants Them Extradited Back
This week’s Legal Definition of the Week and national news overlap as we cover the case of the Texas House Democrats that have fled to Illinois.
On Aug. 3, many of the 62 Texas House Democrats fled the state to Illinois to block the voting of a redistricting map Republicans made. According to CBS News, Texas created the maps redistricted for Republican’s advantage after Trump had suggested in July.
The map is intended to likely get Republicans five extra seats in the U.S. House next year and for the upcoming midterm elections. This is done by including conservative voters into districts that are predominantly Democrats without effecting other Republican districts through a process known as “gerrymandering”.
The Texas House is made up of 150 lawmakers, and 100 of them need to conduct business, making any actions forward with the redistricting gridlocked.
In an article published by NPR, Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Austin, TX points out how this merging of districts goes against Black, Latino and other POC voters as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
According to Rolling Stone Magazine, “The new map was concocted during a special session Governor Greg Abbott called last month under the guise of bolstering the state’s response to devastating flash floods in early July.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also said he will use his “extradition authority” to demand that the Texas House Democrats are sent back to Texas.
On Aug. 7, the FBI was requested by Senator John Cornyn to locate the Texas House Democrats.
