Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers from Texas have skipped out on a special legislative session in order to break a quorum and stall Republican efforts to fast track new election integrity bills, which critics on the left claim amount to voter suppression.
Simply crossing state lines into Oklahoma or Louisiana would have cost less in travel and lodgings – compared to what the lawmakers are expected to be spending in the nation’s capital between Monday and Aug. 7. But in Washington, D.C., they have a chance to put pressure on the House and Senate to enact the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
A D.C. stay begins at $149 a night. A similar room in New Orleans costs $97. It would be $104 in Oklahoma City. Comparable Hyatt rooms cost around the same in New Orleans and Oklahoma City – and begin at $199 in the nation’s capital.
Meanwhile, a flight from Austin to Washington could cost at least $236 round trip, on short notice, according to Google Flights – more than the $209 to Oklahoma City and $185 to New Orleans. And the shorter the flight, the shorter the carbon footprint.
But being in Washington is also helping the absentee state lawmakers lobby for the Democrat-backed voting legislation currently stalled in Congress, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Those bills would outlaw the type of rules Texas Republicans are trying to pass. Despite Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, they can’t pass them because of the filibuster.
