Governor Abbott has threatened to arrest the lawmakers upon their return.

This week, Texas lawmakers were slated to approve a new severely restrictive voting rights law. If passed, this new law would ban 24-hour polling stations, ban ballot drop boxes, and give increased power and authority to poll watchers. Texas is already one of the most difficult US states to vote in, with no means of online voter registration and extremely stringent requirements on mail-in ballots, which is likely why it had one of the lowest voter turnouts for the 2020 Presidential election. Should this law pass, numerous voters, most notably minorities, would have an even more difficult time making their voices heard. This is why Democratic lawmakers enacted a plan to delay the vote however they can.

On Monday, privately-chartered aircraft ferried over 50 Democratic lawmakers out of Texas to Washington DC. Without the Democratic lawmakers present, the remaining Republican lawmakers of the Texas legislature were unable to meet the required quorum, preventing any new legislation from being passed.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has threatened to repeatedly call special sessions of legislature for as long as necessary. He also threatened to restrain any Democratic lawmakers that return to the state and force them to participate in the process.

“As soon as they come back in the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas capitol until they get their job done,” Abbott told a local television station.

Texas is the latest of multiple states that has attempted to pass stricter voting restrictions. Like those other states, the legislative push for these restrictions follow the former President’s claims that the 2020 election was somehow “stolen,” which have repeatedly been proven false.