Duffel Pud said:

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There are 472 district courts in Texas. My guess is that the judges in the awol democrats' districts are also likely to be democrats. Someone explain to me how that's going to work.

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It won't and Paxton has acknowledged as much.

chilimuybueno said:

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Article III Section 13 of the Texas Constitution.

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This covers what happens if there is a vacancy and how it is filled. This does not say it is illegal to not show up to the legislature. This is why they are relying on an opinion from the AG. As others have posted, there is a process to have the courts remove them but good luck with that given it would initiate in their counties and I would assume most are in D counties.

"Section 13 - VACANCIES; WRITS OF ELECTION
(a) When vacancies occur in either House, the Governor, or the person exercising the power of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies; and should the Governor fail to issue a writ of election to fill any such vacancy within twenty days after it occurs, the returning officer of the district in which such vacancy may have happened, shall be authorized to order an election for that purpose.
(b) The legislature may provide by general law for the filling of a vacancy in the legislature without an election if only one person qualifies and declares a candidacy in an election to fill the vacancy. (Amended Nov. 6, 2001.)"

Is there a list of absent reps? I can only come up with the following:

• Gene Wu: District 137 District Judge: Lina Hidalgo
• Trey Martinez Fischer: District 116
• Ramon Romero Jr.: District 90
• Jon E. Rosenthal: District 135
• James Talarico: District 50
• Greg Casar

Casar is US rep not state rep. He just likes to be on camera in Austin.

texink said:

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Troy91 said:

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Most of the blue states that are threatening to redistrict cannot. Those states use bipartisan boards to redistrict and not legislative votes.

Blue states are stuck in their bureaucracy and that is why they are crying over Texas doing anything that they did not plan on happening.

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Those blue states have a well-intentioned desire to ensure representation that reflects the voters. What Texas is doing is a blatant gerrymandering power grab, and blue states should remove their redistricting boards to follow suit.

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I cannot fathom someone believing this. Two years ago the state of NY overrode the desires of the electorate and redistricted 5 R seats out of existence. The state voted 45.% for Trump but now has 15% R representation.

See also NJ, IL, and very soon MN.

Blue states used brute partisan force to reduce R seats. Time for Texas to do the same to D seats.

Kansas Kid said:

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chilimuybueno said:

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Article III Section 13 of the Texas Constitution.

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This covers what happens if there is a vacancy and how it is filled. This does not say it is illegal to not show up to the legislature. This is why they are relying on an opinion from the AG. As others have posted, there is a process to have the courts remove them but good luck with that given it would initiate in their counties and I would assume most are in D counties.

"Section 13 - VACANCIES; WRITS OF ELECTION
(a) When vacancies occur in either House, the Governor, or the person exercising the power of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies; and should the Governor fail to issue a writ of election to fill any such vacancy within twenty days after it occurs, the returning officer of the district in which such vacancy may have happened, shall be authorized to order an election for that purpose.
(b) The legislature may provide by general law for the filling of a vacancy in the legislature without an election if only one person qualifies and declares a candidacy in an election to fill the vacancy. (Amended Nov. 6, 2001.)"

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The key thing that needed an AG opinion was what defines when a legislator has "abandoned" their position. To me, deliberately leaving the state so that the legislature can't function is abandoning your position. You don't need to get them all on abandonment, just enough to lower the threshold for a quorum to what can be achieved without needing Dem participation.

texink said:

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Those blue states have a well-intentioned desire to ensure representation that reflects the voters. What Texas is doing is a blatant gerrymandering power grab, and blue states should remove their redistricting boards to follow suit.

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Massachusetts says hi.

9 Dem reps - 0 Republican

Democrats can get through this without a single person getting fired. It's called "go to work" and will keep them from facing any consequences.

Unfortunately, much like their constituents, this proves a nearly insurmountable obstacle.

Decay said:

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Democrats can get through this without a single person getting fired. It's called "go to work" and will keep them from facing any consequences.

Unfortunately, much like their constituents, this proves a nearly insurmountable obstacle.

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Do you feel the same about the Republicans and the their constituents that do it in other states? This shouldn't happen in the United States anywhere but be clear, like gerrymandering, it is a bipartisan issue.

My favorite part about the obvious Dem talking points being spread out to their minions is the emphasis on "Independent commissions" that just so happen to universally come up with ~80% D/~20% R maps in states where the vote split is <60% D/>40% R. Give us more about these "independent" commissioners and how they are appointed to the boards. Their results are universally slanted heavily towards Ds, so I expect that their appointment process is anything but independent.

How many Soros-funded fear flights has this been for Democrats? I've lost count.

txags92 said:

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My favorite part about the obvious Dem talking points being spread out to their minions is the emphasis on "Independent commissions" that just so happen to universally come up with ~80% D/~20% R maps in states where the vote split is <60% D/>40% R. Give us more about these "independent" commissioners and how they are appointed to the boards. Their results are universally slanted heavily towards Ds, so I expect that their appointment process is anything but independent.

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Use California's Commission selection process for example.

While the process includes even distribution of partisans (Dem/Rep) it also includes an equal distribution of unaffiliateds which are typically leftists.

fc2112 said:

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texink said:

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Those blue states have a well-intentioned desire to ensure representation that reflects the voters. What Texas is doing is a blatant gerrymandering power grab, and blue states should remove their redistricting boards to follow suit.

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Massachusetts says hi.

9 Dem reps - 0 Republican

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Imagine being this blind to reality.

"My team is full of well intentioned people who are kind and pure." Said no one to Nancy Pelosi with a straight face ever. Or either Clinton or one of the Bushes.

Well not if they knew even the most basic things about how politics and power in DC actually work. California just redistricted 3 GOP seats out not too long ago. Most blue (non-swing) states that have even close to a double digit Congressional delegation are already gerrymandered to the extreme. I hope Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Missouri and the entire South redistrict the Dems into a permanent minority in the House.

BTKAG97 said:

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txags92 said:

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My favorite part about the obvious Dem talking points being spread out to their minions is the emphasis on "Independent commissions" that just so happen to universally come up with ~80% D/~20% R maps in states where the vote split is <60% D/>40% R. Give us more about these "independent" commissioners and how they are appointed to the boards. Their results are universally slanted heavily towards Ds, so I expect that their appointment process is anything but independent.

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Use California's Commission selection process for example.

While the process includes even distribution of partisans (Dem/Rep) it also includes an equal distribution of unaffiliateds which are typically leftists.

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Who appoints them? And who selects the "unaffiliated" members?

Decay said:

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Democrats can get through this without a single person getting fired. It's called "go to work" and will keep them from facing any consequences.

Unfortunately, much like their constituents, this proves a nearly insurmountable obstacle.

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That's not entirely true, because five of them are going to lose their seats in the eventual election.

Teslag said:

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Troy91 said:

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Texas officials can only execute arrests within the Texas borders. That's why they flee out of state.

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Arrest family members for aiding them.

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Beautiful PR move. Yes, let's invite the Dems to run thousands of hours of ads that credibly describe Rs in Texas as fascist. Winning.

txwxman said:

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Teslag said:

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Troy91 said:

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Texas officials can only execute arrests within the Texas borders. That's why they flee out of state.

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Arrest family members for aiding them.

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Beautiful PR move. Yes, let's invite the Dems to run thousands of hours of ads that credibly describe Rs in Texas as fascist. Winning.

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It's Texas. We could probably shoot democrats in the street and increase R turnout.

But to your point. If you aid people in committing felonies you're committing a crime. Don't commit crimes.

txwxman said:

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Teslag said:

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Troy91 said:

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Texas officials can only execute arrests within the Texas borders. That's why they flee out of state.

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Arrest family members for aiding them.

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Beautiful PR move. Yes, let's invite the Dems to run thousands of hours of ads that credibly describe Rs in Texas as fascist. Winning.

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Yeah I wouldn't do that, but JB Pritzker or Hochul seem like better bets if you want to reaallllly escalate it since they ordered staff to help them.

txags92 said:

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BTKAG97 said:

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txags92 said:

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My favorite part about the obvious Dem talking points being spread out to their minions is the emphasis on "Independent commissions" that just so happen to universally come up with ~80% D/~20% R maps in states where the vote split is <60% D/>40% R. Give us more about these "independent" commissioners and how they are appointed to the boards. Their results are universally slanted heavily towards Ds, so I expect that their appointment process is anything but independent.

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Use California's Commission selection process for example.

While the process includes even distribution of partisans (Dem/Rep) it also includes an equal distribution of unaffiliateds which are typically leftists.

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Who appoints them? And who selects the "unaffiliated" members?

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The California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CCRC) consists of 14 individuals.

The process of becoming a member is as follows:

Application Submission: Applicants must meet specific eligibility requirements, including having been registered with the same political party (or no party) for at least five years, and voting in at least two of the last three statewide elections.

Initial Applicant Filtering: 120 of the "most qualified candidates" are selected by the Application Review Panel (ARP) and sorted into 3 different sub-pools based on partisan affiliation: 40 democrats, 40 Republicans, and 40 with no party preference. Basically the initial selection process consists of 80 leftists and 40 conservatives.

-- The Application Review Panel consists of 3 "independent" auditors "randomly" picked by the State Auditor which is an appointed position thus a Democrat. One auditor is to be registered with the largest political party, 1 from the 2nd largest party, and the 3rd from neither of those 2 parties. Thus 2 leftsts and a conservative pick the initial 120 applicants.

2nd Filter: The ARP narrows the initial selection down to 20 individuals from each sub-pool (halving the population) then the CA Legislature can remove up to 8 people from each pool.

Random Selection of 1st 8 commissioners: The State Auditor (Democrat) "randomly" selects the 1st 8 commissioners. The selection consists of 3 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 2 unaffilateds. 5 leftists vs 2 conservatives.

Final 6 commissioners pick by 1st 8 commissioners: 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 2 Unaffiliateds. 4 leftists vs 2 conservatives.


The end result is 9 leftists (64%) and 5 conservatives are picked for the "Independent Commision".

HTownAg98 said:

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Decay said:

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Democrats can get through this without a single person getting fired. It's called "go to work" and will keep them from facing any consequences.

Unfortunately, much like their constituents, this proves a nearly insurmountable obstacle.

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That's not entirely true, because five of them are going to lose their seats in the eventual election.

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The new districts are for the US House. They are not voting on their own seats.

Kansas Kid said:

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Decay said:

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Democrats can get through this without a single person getting fired. It's called "go to work" and will keep them from facing any consequences.

Unfortunately, much like their constituents, this proves a nearly insurmountable obstacle.

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Do you feel the same about the Republicans and the their constituents that do it in other states? This shouldn't happen in the United States anywhere but be clear, like gerrymandering, it is a bipartisan issue.

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I haven't heard of anyone doing this before this session so no, I didn't feel anything. If the legislature isn't able to operate due to missing members then they should be removed too. I abhor playing games and it seems some people are so lost to politics.

Gerrymandering is also a problem but it's very hard to fix. This is pretty easy. Throw their asses out of the government if they can't show up.

IT’S OFFICIAL: There is no quorum in the Texas House.

Speaker Dustin Burrows says, “Leaving the state does not stop this House from doing its work. It only delays it.”

He says he will entertain a motion for civil arrests of those who fled the state. #txlege pic.twitter.com/AXWwE7P2VG

— Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) August 4, 2025

Hey Dems.

And we stand adjourned due to lack of a quorum.

Press conference coming up.

It is 3:00pm do you know where your representative is?

Arrest warrants issued

texink said:

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Troy91 said:

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Most of the blue states that are threatening to redistrict cannot. Those states use bipartisan boards to redistrict and not legislative votes.

Blue states are stuck in their bureaucracy and that is why they are crying over Texas doing anything that they did not plan on happening.

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Those blue states have a well-intentioned desire to ensure representation that reflects the voters. What Texas is doing is a blatant gerrymandering power grab, and blue states should remove their redistricting boards to follow suit.

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Is this a real post?

fc2112 said:

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Arrest warrants issued

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Symbolic move at this point, they only apply within the State.

Ag CPA said:

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fc2112 said:

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Arrest warrants issued

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Symbolic move at this point, they only apply within the State.

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They have to come back sometime.

I think we could take New Mexico

deddog said:

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texink said:

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Troy91 said:

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Most of the blue states that are threatening to redistrict cannot. Those states use bipartisan boards to redistrict and not legislative votes.

Blue states are stuck in their bureaucracy and that is why they are crying over Texas doing anything that they did not plan on happening.

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Those blue states have a well-intentioned desire to ensure representation that reflects the voters. What Texas is doing is a blatant gerrymandering power grab, and blue states should remove their redistricting boards to follow suit.

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Is this a real post?

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I fail to understand why we don't take advantage of technology and its ability to be non-partisan. It seems like there should be some sort of Monte Carlo simulation that could accomplish the goal.

But I thought it was the republicans who were a threat to democracy?

TA-OP said:

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deddog said:

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texink said:

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Troy91 said:

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Most of the blue states that are threatening to redistrict cannot. Those states use bipartisan boards to redistrict and not legislative votes.

Blue states are stuck in their bureaucracy and that is why they are crying over Texas doing anything that they did not plan on happening.

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Those blue states have a well-intentioned desire to ensure representation that reflects the voters. What Texas is doing is a blatant gerrymandering power grab, and blue states should remove their redistricting boards to follow suit.

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Is this a real post?

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I fail to understand why we don't take advantage of technology and its ability to be non-partisan. It seems like there should be some sort of Monte Carlo simulation that could accomplish the goal.

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Because that cedes control from politicians to the people?