Topline
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to vacate 13 Texas House seats belonging to Democrats who fled the state last weekend in protest of a controversial redistricting vote anticipated to benefit the GOP, filing a lawsuit that marks the latest attempt at pressuring the Democrats to return to Texas and resume a quorum.
Paxton filed the suit with the Texas Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Key Facts
Paxton, who filed the lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court, called the Democrats “cowards” in a statement, alleging their absence from the Texas House “sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold.”
The lawsuit argues Democrats’ decision to not attend the vote demonstrates “an intent to relinquish and abandon their offices.”
While the lawsuit applies to 13 Texas House seats, over 50 Democrats have left the state to block Republican lawmakers from voting on the redistricting, which could provide the GOP with another five seats in the U.S. House, expanding on their slim majority in the chamber.
Paxton’s lawsuit comes just a few days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott filed a similar petition asking the Texas Supreme Court to declare that state Rep. Gene Wu, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, has forfeited his office by leaving Texas.
Forbes has reached out to the Texas House Democratic Caucus for comment.
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Will Paxton And Abbott’s Lawsuits Seeking To Remove Democrats Hold Up In Court?
Possibly, though there are some hurdles. The Texas Supreme Court is fully lined with nine Republican judges, some of whom were appointed by Abbott. Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock is Abbott’s former general counsel. However, the chief justice issued a 2021 opinion stating the Texas Constitution “does enable quorum breaking by a minority faction,” meaning Democrats’ actions to block the vote could be lawful, though Blacklock noted the Constitution allows lawmakers to penalize members to compel their attendance. It is unlikely Democrats’ breaking of the quorum amounts to the intent to abandon a seat, University of Missouri constitutional law expert Charles “Rocky” Rhodes, told The Texas Tribune.
What To Watch For
A statute allowing Paxton and local district attorneys to ask courts to remove lawmakers says as long as there is “probable ground” to challenge lawmakers’ offices, local judges will be the deciding factor in booting them out from a chamber. That means vacating their seats could turn into a lengthy process, with Paxton noting in a podcast appearance with right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that, “We’d have to go through the court process, and we’d have to file … in districts that are not friendly to Republicans.”
Key Background
In addition to the lawsuits, Texas officials have issued arrest warrants for the Democrats who left the state, though the warrants are largely symbolic as they only apply within state lines. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, urged the FBI this week to assist in arresting or locating the Democratic lawmakers, claiming they “may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses.” The Democrats are facing fines of $500 per day as they remain out of state, leading Republicans to suggest bribery charges for donations used to fund the fines or travel expenses. The allegations made by Republicans may not stick. Political attorney Andrew Cates told Forbes the “idea of a group supporting the Texas Democrats as a whole or individually, just supporting them with funds, is inherently not illegal.” Texas law also calls for “direct evidence” of a bribery agreement to prove the allegation. It also must be clear an official’s actions would not have been carried out if they did not receive a bribe. It is unclear when the Democrats will return to Texas. They will need to stay out of Texas until November to fully block the vote on the Congressional redistricting.
Further Reading
Texas Gov. Wants Democrats Who Left State Kicked Out Of Office. Can He Legally Do It? (Forbes)
Texas Democrats Face Fines, Bribery Charges For Leaving State—Why Legal Experts Are Skeptical They’ll Be Punished (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/08/08/texas-ag-ken-paxton-files-lawsuit-to-vacate-seats-of-13-democrats-who-fled-state/