AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Some Democrats who left Texas to block a GOP voting bill have ended a 38-day holdout.
Enough Democrats returned to the state Capitol on Thursday to allow the Texas House to resume work for the first time since mid-July.
That’s when more than 50 Democrats flew to Washington, D.C., in what amounted to a second walkout over Republican efforts to pass new election laws in Texas.
The special session was called after Democrats blocked the elections laws during the regular session. They left the House prior to the end of the session.
However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session to get the bills passed.
Democrats who left the state and refused to fulfill their duties as lawmakers were threatened with arrest. However, the warrants for their arrest were dissolved Thursday after enough of them showed up to resume work, the Texas Tribune reports.
Republicans are now back on a path to pass new elections laws in Texas before the current special session ends on Sept. 5.