Texas Democrats tear ‘permission slips' imposed by Republican house speaker

The Guardian

9 hours ago

Texas Democrats are tearing up 'permission slips' they signed in order to leave the chamber, joining state representative Nicole Collier ahead of Wednesday's vote on the controversial Texas congressional redistricting maps.
The slips are part of new surveillance protocols set by Texas Republicans in the house chamber, stating that Democrats would 'be granted written permission to leave only after agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated [Texas department of public safety] officer' who would ensure their return to the chamber.
The move follows a two-week quorum break that had delayed Republicans' effort to redraw the state's congressional districts to align with Donald Trump's push to reshape the US House map in his favor before the 2026 midterm elections.
On Tuesday, Collier chose to remain confined inside the Texas house chamber until lawmakers reconvene on Wednesday, refusing to comply with what she condemned as a 'demeaning' protocol.
Collier was among dozens of Democrats who left the state for the Democratic havens of California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York to delay the Republican-controlled legislature's approval of redrawn congressional districts sought by Trump. When they returned Monday, Republicans insisted that Democrats have around-the-clock police escorts to ensure they wouldn't leave again and scuttle Wednesday's planned House vote on a new political map.
But Collier wouldn't sign what Democrats called the 'permission slip' needed to leave the house chamber, a half-page form allowing Department of Public Safety troopers to follow them. She spent Monday night and Tuesday on the house floor, where she set up a livestream while her Democratic colleagues outside had plainclothes officers following them to their offices and homes.
Linda Garcia, a Dallas-area representative, said she drove three hours home from Austin with an officer following her. When she went grocery shopping, he went down every aisle with her, pretending to shop, she said. As she spoke to the Associated Press by phone, two unmarked cars with officers inside were parked outside her home.
'It's a weird feeling,' she said. 'The only way to explain the entire process is: it's like I'm in a movie.'
The trooper assignments, ordered by Dustin Burrows, the Republican house speaker, was another escalation of a redistricting battle that has widened across the country. Trump is pushing GOP state officials to tilt the map for the 2026 midterms more in his favor to preserve the GOP's slim house majority, and Democrats nationally have rallied around efforts to retaliate.
Gene Wu, the house minority leader from Houston, and Vincel Perez, a state representative of El Paso, stayed overnight with Collier, who represents a minority-majority district in Fort Worth.
On Tuesday, more Democrats returned to the Capitol to tear up the slips they had signed and stay on the house floor, which has a lounge and restrooms for members.
Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, a Dallas-area representative, called their protest a 'slumber party for democracy' and said Democrats were holding strategy sessions on the floor.
'We are not criminals,' Penny Morales Shaw, a Houston representative, said.
Collier said having officers shadow her was an attack on her dignity and an attempt to control her movements.
Burrows brushed off Collier's protest, saying he was focused on important issues, such as providing property tax relief and responding to last month's deadly floods. His statement Tuesday morning did not mention redistricting and his office did not immediately respond to other Democrats joining Collier.
'Rep Collier's choice to stay and not sign the permission slip is well within her rights under the house rules,' Burrows said.
Under those rules, until Wednesday's scheduled vote, the chamber's doors are locked, and no member can leave 'without the written permission of the speaker'.
To do business Wednesday, 100 of 150 House members must be present.
The GOP plan is designed to send five additional Republicans from Texas to the US House. Texas Democrats returned to Austin after Democrats in California launched an effort to redraw their state's districts to take five seats from Republicans.
Democrats also said they were returning because they expect to challenge the new maps in court.
Republicans issued civil arrest warrants to bring the Democrats back after they left the state 3 August, and Greg Abbott, the Republican governor, asked the state supreme court to oust Wu and several other Democrats from office. The lawmakers also face a fine of $500 for every day they were absent.
Democrats reported different levels of monitoring. Armando Walle, a Houston representative, said he wasn't sure where his police escort was, but there was still a heightened police presence in the Capitol, so he felt he was being monitored closely.
Some Democrats said the officers watching them were friendly. But Sheryl Cole, an Austin representative, said in a social media post that when she went on her morning walk Tuesday, the officer following her lost her on the trail, got angry and threatened to arrest her.
Garcia said her nine-year-old son was with her as she drove home and each time she looked in the rearview mirror, she could see the officer close behind. He came inside a grocery store where she was shopping with her son.
'I would imagine that this is the way it feels when you're potentially shoplifting and someone is assessing whether you're going to steal,' she said.
Associated Press contributed to this report