Two more Texas Democrats who have been in Washington, DC, since last week in an effort to prevent a vote on a GOP-backed election reform bill have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total to five infected state lawmakers, many of whom visited with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The new cases, announced late Sunday by the director of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, are in addition to the three other state Democratic lawmakers on the trip who have already tested positive for COVID-19.
Of the infected lawmakers, all of whom are fully vaccinated, only one is experiencing mild symptoms, caucus director Phillip Martin said Sunday.
The group, who flew to the nation’s capital on a private jet, are expected to stay in DC for a month.
The Democrats flew to the nation’s capital to press Congress to pass federal election reform legislation that would supersede the Texas bill as well as other election integrity laws in states like Georgia.
The Texas state Senate approved the sweeping bill Tuesday night, one day after dozens of House Democrats fled the state to prevent the chamber from taking up the legislation.
The state Senate approved the bill on an 18-4 party-line vote. Nine Senate Democrats had joined 51 of their House colleagues in hightailing it to Washington, DC, though this was not enough to deny the upper chamber a quorum.
However, the legislation is now stalled due to the lack of a quorum in the House.
The Texas bill prevents local officials from sending unsolicited absentee ballot applications and would require applicants to write their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on those applications.
It would also put an end to 24-hour voting stations and would ban drive-through voting and ballot drop boxes. Additionally, the law states that partisan poll watchers are allowed to stand near election workers at polls.
Republicans say the measures in the bill are designed to ensure the integrity of the vote by preventing voter fraud.
Democrats, meanwhile, claim the measures make it harder for poor people and minorities to cast ballots.
The caucus director said the caucus would not release the identities of those infected out of respect for their privacy, though two of the five came forward to the press on Sunday.
State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, who represents San Antonio, said he was experiencing “extremely mild symptoms.” State Rep. Celia Israel, who represents Austin, said she was among the initial three to test positive.
On Saturday, caucus chairman Chris Turner revealed that an initial three legislators had tested positive for the virus during their visit, which has included in-person meetings with Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), among others.
Still, the vice president and her staff said they did not intend to quarantine for COVID-19 because they were not in close contact with the legislators in question.
Noting that the VP’s staff was fully vaccinated, Harris’ chief spokeswoman Symone Sanders said in a statement, “Based on the timeline of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined.”
Harris visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center over the weekend for a “routine check-up.”