THE TEXAS House speaker has signed arrest warrants for several Democrats who left the state for DC in an attempt to block changes to state voting laws.

House Speaker Dade Phelan signed the warrants after the Texas Supreme Court ordered that the missing Democrats could be detained and arrested by state authorities, KSAT reported.

"Speaker Dade Phelan signed 52 civil arrest warrants this evening, which will be delivered to the House Sergeant-at-Arms tomorrow morning for service," Phelan spokesperson Enrique Marquez said.

Democrats who could be arrested would not face criminal charges or fines, KSAT noted. They could only be brought to the House chamber.

The House voted 80-12 earlier on Tuesday to allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who were not in the chamber.

Previously, the Texas State House was set to vote on a bill that would add new restrictions to elections in the state, and Democrats there effectively blocked the passage of the restrictive voting bill after staging a walk-out before a midnight deadline on May 30.

State Democrats then left Texas on July 12 in an attempt to block the controversial GOP legislation that critics have said amounts to voter suppression.

By fleeing to Washington, DC in July, the absence of the Democratic members denied the Texas House quorum – the minimum number of lawmakers needed for business to be conducted.

The House hasn't been able to make a quorum since the Legislature went into a second special session on Saturday because several Democrats have still been absent from the House.

The Supreme Court's order on August 10 came after both Governor Greg Abbott and Phelan asked the Court to overturn a ruling from a state district judge that blocked them from ordering the arrest of the Democrats.

But some groups have pressured the Democrats to hold firm and continue breaking quorum in the face of these challenges.

A coalition of Democratic-aligned groups released a statement saying, "To every pro-democracy Texas lawmaker: the only way to preserve our right to vote and the best way to fight is to stay off the House floor."

The coalition included groups such as Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, the Texas Sierra Club chapter, Progress Texas, the Communications Workers of America, and more.

State Rep Evelina "Lina" Ortega previously said arrests would be a "big mistake" by her Republican colleagues, KSAT reported.

"We’ll see what happens," she said.

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