德克萨斯州奥斯汀——德克萨斯州民主党人周六仍拒绝返回州议会大厦，州长格雷格·艾伯特开始第三次尝试通过新的选举法律，延长了长达一个月的僵局，这一僵局在7月份加剧，当时数十名民主党州议员离开该州，蹲守在华盛顿特区
共和党众议院议长戴德·费伦(Dade Phelan)说，“法定人数不到”，随后他将众议院休会至周一。
上个月，50多名民主党人逃到了首都，但他们每个人的确切下落尚不清楚。在周六的一份联合声明中，民主党人表示，其中26人将继续“在国会工作期间保持在华盛顿的积极存在。”
但也有迹象表明，僵局可能正在解冻。上个月辞职的两名民主党人周六返回奥斯汀，其中一人表示，他的足够多的同事也可能开始陆续返回，以确保下周达到法定人数。值得注意的是，共和党人没有像民主党人离开城镇时那样，援引程序性举措授权费伦签署对失踪议员的逮捕令。
民主党州众议员埃迪·卢西奥三世说，那些可能回来的人感受到了个人和职业需求的吸引力。
卢西奥三世说:“我感到鼓舞的是，接力棒将由我在华盛顿的同事在联邦一级接过，并将在全国范围内进行全面改革。
共和党的州。众议院共和党党团主席、众议员吉姆·墨菲(Jim Murphy)也认为，未来几天会有更多民主党人回来。
“人们正在和他们的朋友交谈，我们认为我们还会看到更多，”他说。
周六缺席的不仅仅是民主党人:六名共和党人也缺席了，包括一名最近新冠肺炎检测呈阳性的人。
进入周末，民主党领导人没有承诺不参加整个30天的会议，这使得有可能在某个时候有足够的人回来结束僵局。共和党人希望根据立法推进德克萨斯州选举的全面改革，尽管民主党议员罢工和抗议了几个月，但立法基本保持不变。
根据共和党人在5月份即将通过的法案，德克萨斯州将禁止24小时投票地点、免下车投票，并给予党派投票观察人士更多的机会。但这一努力因民主党人深夜突然离开国会大厦而受挫。
民主党人做了一个更大的赌注——乘包机逃到华盛顿——在共和党的第二次尝试中耗尽时间。民主党人曾希望向乔·拜登总统和国会施加压力，以通过联邦投票权立法，但参议院共和党人的阻挠继续阻止这一措施。
留在华盛顿的州代表之一、民主党人贾斯敏·克罗克特(Jasmine Crockett)表示，如果她的足够多的同事下周回来给共和党人一个法定人数，她将感到失望。她说，他们的团体并不“天真”，知道他们没有足够的选票来永久推迟得克萨斯州一项法案的通过，但仍希望在国会取得进展。
“我不会放弃任何东西。直到胖女人唱歌，我才回家，”克罗克特说。
拜登从未在华盛顿会见德克萨斯州民主党人。在几名成员的新冠肺炎检测呈阳性后，该组织很快被迫改变了一些计划。关于两名民主党人溜到欧洲的报道也导致了不好的头条新闻，并招致了国内共和党人的嘲笑。
得克萨斯州最近的新冠肺炎感染病例激增，因该病毒住院的人数超过8500人，是自2月份以来的最高数字。但雅培坚称，德州不会恢复大流行限制或口罩规定，并禁止学校要求戴口罩。该州500万学生中的许多人计划本月重返教室。
Texas Democrats continue holdout, don’t show for new session
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Democrats still refused to return to the state Capitol on Saturday as Gov. Greg Abbott began a third attempt at passing newelectionlaws, prolonging a monthslong standoff that ramped up in July when dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state and hunkered down in Washington, D.C.
“A quorum is not present,” said Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan, who then adjourned the chamber until Monday.
More than 50 Democrats last month bolted to the nation's capital, but the precise whereabouts of each of them is unclear. In a joint statement Saturday, Democrats said 26 of them would remain “part of an active presence in Washington maintained for as long as Congress is working."
But there were also signs the stalemate may be thawing. Two of the Democrats who decamped last month returned to Austin Saturday, and one of them said enough of his colleagues may also begin trickling back to secure a quorum next week. And, notably, Republicans did not invoke a procedural move that would give Phelan the authority to sign arrest warrants for missing lawmakers, as they did when the Democrats left town.
Democratic state Rep. Eddie Lucio III said those who might return were feeling the pull of personal and professional demands.
“I was encouraged that the baton would be carried by my Washington colleagues at the federal level, that there would be sweeping reform nationwide,” Lucio III said.
Republican state. Rep. Jim Murphy, chairman of the House Republican Caucus, also believed that more Democrats would come back in the coming days.
“People are talking to their friends, and we think we’re going to see quite a few more," he said.
It was not just Democrats who were absent Saturday: Six Republicans were also out, including one who recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Heading into the weekend, Democratic leaders had not committed to sitting out the entire 30-day session, leaving open the possibility that enough could return at some point to end the standoff. Republicans want to advance an overhaul of elections in Texas under legislation that largely remains the same despite the months of walkouts and protests by Democratic lawmakers.
Texas would ban 24-hour polling locations, drive-thru voting and give partisan poll watchers more access under the bill that Republicans were on the brink of passing in May. But that effort was foiled by Democrats abruptly leaving the Capitol in a late-night walkout.
Democrats made a bigger gambit — by decamping to Washington on chartered jets — to run out the clock on the GOP's second try. Democrats had hoped to exert pressure on President Joe Biden and Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation, but a Senate Republican filibuster continues to block such a measure.
Democrat Jasmine Crockett, one of the state representatives remaining in Washington, said she would be disappointed if enough of her colleagues returned to give Republicans a quorum next week. She said their group is not “naive" and knows they don't have the votes to permanently hold off passage of a bill in Texas, but are still hoping for movement in Congress.
“I’m not giving up on anything. I’m not going home until the fat lady sings," Crockett said.
Biden never met with the Texas Democrats in Washington. The group was quickly forced to change some plans after several of their members tested positive for COVID-19. Reports that two Democrats snuck away to Europe also led to bad headlines and invited mockery from Republicans back home.
There has been a recent sharp surge in COVID-19 infections in Texas, where the number of people hospitalized with the virus stands at more than 8,500 patients, the highest number since February. But Abbott is adamant that Texas will not bring back pandemic restrictions or mask mandates and has prohibited schools from requiring face coverings. Many of the state's 5 million students are scheduled to return to classrooms this month.
