Women's March Calls on Democratic Senators to follow Texas Democrats’ Lead

AMARILLO, TX– On Monday, over 50 Democratic members of the Texas state legislature left the state for Washington, D.C. to prevent the quorum necessary to pass voter suppression legislation during a special legislative session. Women’s March Executive Director Rachel O’Leary Carmona issued the following statement in response: 

Yesterday, Texas Democrats left for Washington, D.C. to stop Republicans in the state from blowing up the right to vote. Their move wasn’t just symbolic. By literally not showing up to this special session of the state legislature, these representatives are stopping a series of voting restrictions from being brought to a vote—and showing up instead for the marginalized Texans whose right to participate in our democracy is under attack.

As a result, Texas isn’t just serving as the Republican blueprint for eroding the right to vote; it’s also demonstrating the Democratic blueprint for how to resist. 

The Democrats in Washington who greet them upon their arrival could learn a thing or two from their Texas counterparts. While D.C. Democrats stall on passing and enacting the “For the People” act, Texas Democrats know that inaction isn’t an option—and that every day the right to vote isn’t strengthened, it’s weakened. While they might serve in the Lonestar State, Texas Democrats are hardly alone when it comes to fending off legislative and judicial threats to voting—the very pillar of our democracy, and one that’s in peril across the country. 

The time for action, not just in Texas but in our nation’s Capital, was yesterday. Democrats cannot waste another moment keeping faith in the filibuster, stalling on securing our elections, or pandering instead of passing the “For the People” act. If they do, women and people of color across the country will be disenfranchised, the 2022 midterms will be lost, and our democracy will be further set back decades.