STANDOFF ENDS — DEMOCRATS RETURN TO TEXAS CAPITAL

  

The Texas legislative standoff over voting restrictions has apparently ended Thursday, when numerous Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C., dropped their holdout.

Their return ends the 38-day gridlock, paving the way for Republicans to resume pushing their elections overhaul.

Some Democrats lashed out at their colleagues over what they criticized as breaking ranks.  Many of the proposed changes to Texas voting that Democrats have railed against for months remain in a bill that already passed the state Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott could now sign the legislation in a matter of weeks, if not sooner.

Not all Democrats joined in the holdout, and the newest to come back to the Texas House defended their decision, saying they had successfully pushed Congress on voting rights legislation while pointing to the growing urgency of surging COVID-19 caseloads in Texas.