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Texans, where’s your Democratic lawmaker?

An empty House floor the day after Texas Democrats left the state to break quorum over a Republican-led voting restrictions bill. July 13, 2021.

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On Wednesday evening, at least 56 Democratic members of the Texas House and nine Democratic members of the Texas Senate had left the state. Lacking a quorum, the House was unable to conduct business, and the fugitive representatives were subject to arrest under House rules should they cross back into Texas.

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The Senate still had enough members, including four Democrats, present to continue passing bills.

Here's a list of who left, who stayed and a few whose locations were unclear as of Wednesday. (One note: Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat, was in Texas but recovering from surgery and not present in the Capitol.)

At least six representatives and four senators stayed in Texas

56 representatives and nine senators went to Washington

The location of five representatives was unclear

Correction, July 15, 2021: This story originally stated that Reps. Terry Canales and Ana Hernandez were in Washington, D.C. They were not.

Correction, July 14, 2021: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misstated the Senate district that John Whitmire represents. It is SD-15, not SD-5.


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