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The news that Democrats in the Texas legislature fled the state to block a redistricting vote made me wonder if a similar tactic could have any impact in North Carolina.
Not likely — the Texas legislature has unique quorum rules requiring two-thirds of its members must be present to take votes.
Quorum rules in the North Carolina Senate and House require a simple majority of members must be present for votes. With a GOP majority, legislative leaders could usually hold votes even if no Democrats showed up.
The only exception is if a large number of Republicans were absent from session. Then Democrats could, in theory, try to leave and deprive the GOP of a proper quorum.
But under House rules, “in the absence of a quorum, 15 members are authorized to compel the attendance of absent members and may order that absentees for whom no sufficient excuses are made be taken into custody wherever they may be found.”
That could make for high drama, but it’s highly unlikely it would ever happen. That said, legislative Democrats have walked out of voting sessions before in an effort to highlight what they viewed as an inappropriate legislative process.
Last year, Senate Democrats left the chamber after campaign finance legislation was tacked on to bill about masking at the last minute. Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, said at the time that his caucus "walked out today because it’s critical we shine a light in a dark-of-night rushed process that will undermine our democratic process."
Republicans proceeded to pass the bill in a 28-0 vote, and it later became law after party-line votes in both chambers to override then-Gov. Roy Cooper's veto.
