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Elected Democrats in the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott have entered a public dispute after Democrats went to Washington, D.C. to avoid a vote for an election integrity bill.
Democrats who chose to leave, say they are avoiding Abbott's attempt to "blackmail" them to vote for the bill.
"By vetoing the legislature and then calling a special session, what Gov. Abbott is trying to do is essentially blackmail lawmakers into doing his bidding instead of protecting our constituents. We are protecting our constituents instead of doing blackmail," Rep. Chris Turner, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement to Fox News.
In response, Abbott said publicly he will continue to call for special sessions, despite the Democrats' plan to not come home to Texas until the recent special session comes to a close.
"I will keep calling Special Sessions until we address every emergency item—including funding for foster care, property tax relief and bail reform," Abbott said in a statement he released on Twitter. "The Democrats’ decision to break quorum inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve."
Of the Democrats who stand behind the leave to D.C. they continue to stand by their commitment to Texas and their constituents.
"We really had no choice but to take this bold action," Rep. Rafael Anchía said, according to Fox News. "We would really love to be back with our constituents in Texas. We love Texas and we love this country. We would ask Republicans like Gov. Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick to put politics aside."
Fox News reported that the "absent lawmakers" remained in D.C. while Texas's special session began on July 8.
The same elected officials received backlash from some for testing positive for the COVID-19 virus after leaving Texas. The criticism comes after a photo was posted online of the group in a plane without wearing masks.
Since the photo was taken, six people have tested positive for COVID-19.