Texas Democrats set example by facing down Republican voting rights assault

Legislators who walked out to deny passage of a restrictive voting bill have called on Democrats in Washington to get tough

For nearly five months, Democrats in state legislatures across the country have been scraping to do everything they can to stop an unprecedented onslaught of new voting restrictions from Republicans.

They have given searing speeches on the floors of state legislatures. They have supported protests and even gotten arrested demonstrating against the bills. They have filed lawsuits challenging new restrictions almost immediately after they were signed into law. But despite their efforts, Democrats have not been able to stop sweeping new voting restrictions from going into place in states such as Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Iowa and Montana, where Republicans have used their legislative majorities to ram through the bills.