On August 4, 2025, the Texas House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to issue civil arrest warrants for more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to block a vote on a controversial GOP congressional redistricting plan. The vote was 85-6, with House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) stating immediately after that he had signed the warrants and would coordinate with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to locate and return the missing Democrats to the Capitol.
The exodus of Democratic legislators began Sunday night as they left Texas for states like Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts. Their departure was a strategic quorum break intended to delay a vote on the new redistricting map which aims to add five additional congressional seats favoring Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“By fleeing the state, Texas House Democrats are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief,” Governor Greg Abbott said in a news release accompanying the arrest orders. Abbott emphasized that state police were ordered to find, arrest, and return any Democrat who had abandoned their legislative duties, with the directive remaining active until all missing members were accounted for. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also expressed support for their immediate arrest, describing the Democrats as “rogue lawmakers.” Republican Senator John Cornyn echoed similar sentiment, endorsing any lawful measures to end the legislative standstill.
However, legal experts and Democratic leaders describe the arrest warrants and the governor’s threats as largely symbolic and unlikely to be enforceable beyond Texas’ borders. Civil arrest warrants issued by the Texas House have effect only within state lines, and for those legislators currently outside Texas—primarily in Illinois, a Democratic-governed state—the possibility of extradition or enforcement is minimal.
Chad Dunn, a veteran Texas election and voting rights lawyer, said, “A warrant issued by the Texas House is not effective out of the state unless another state chooses to domesticate it and enforce it under that state’s laws.” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker made clear his state’s refusal to cooperate, stating, “We’re going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them.” Houston Democratic Rep. Jolanda Jones, speaking from New York, dismissed the governor’s threats as attempts to generate political sound bites without a legal basis.
The Texas Supreme Court has previously upheld the legislature’s authority to issue such warrants as a means of “quorum forcing” but recognized Democrats’ right to “quorum breaking” as a protest tactic. In 2021, a similar standoff occurred when lawmakers left the state to oppose voting restrictions, with courts eventually striking down injunctions against the warrants.
Democrats argue that the GOP’s redistricting plan constitutes illegal voter suppression targeting Black and Latino communities in Central Texas, labeling it a “racist gerrymandered map” designed to divide and dilute minority voting power. Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu, currently in Illinois, criticized Governor Abbott for politicizing the state’s legislative agenda amid recovery from recent devastating floods, accusing him of using voting rights and relief efforts as political leverage.
The standoff has left key legislation stalled, with Republicans seeking to advance the redistricting plan alongside critical bills related to property tax relief and flood victim assistance. Meanwhile, Democrats face daily $500 fines for breaking quorum.
As the political impasse continues, the use of civil arrest warrants highlights the deep partisan divisions within Texas government and the escalating tactics both sides are willing to employ in the high-stakes battle over political control and electoral maps ahead of the next election.