Texas Rep. Nicole Collier Spent Night In Chamber, Defied GOP Demands

Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier spent the night on the Texas House floor after refusing to sign off on a GOP-led charge to have House Democrats sign off on a police escort when leaving the chamber. Texas is in the middle of a major redistricting fight, and Rep. Nicole Collier says she is standing up for her constituents in defying the order from the House Speaker.

CNN reports that Rep. Nicole Collier remained on the House floor Monday night (August 18) protesting an order handed down by House Speaker Dustin Burrows that all House Democrats must agree to a police escort when leaving the premises. At root, GOP leadership in the House is designing a plan that could potentially gain five additional seats for the party, disenfranchising thousands of Texas residents and invalidating the majority vote in blue districts.

Burrows made the order for the police escorts after several Texas House Democrats fled the state ahead of a vote on the redistricting plan. The House sessions will resume on Wednesday (August 20). While many of Collier’s colleagues signed the agreement, her statment to those residing in her district illustrated her aims.

My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights,” said Collier, as seen in CNN’s reporting. “I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts. My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation. When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents — I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination.

Speaking with CBS Austin, Collier elaborated on the details of her protest.

“I haven’t moved since [we adjourned] because I believe that what is going on is just wrong. It’s completely wrong. We’ve got to stop treating people like they are less than,” said Collier. “I mean, we need to trust the voters to elect the candidate of their choice. We don’t need them to choose who their voters are.”

This has become a national issue regarding gerrymandering, a long-practiced tactic to usurp power by redrawing congressional maps to siphon power to another party or candidate. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has used his platform to support the Texas Democrats in their fight, along with other blue state governors who previously offered shelter to Texas Democrats who left the state ahead of the vote.

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Photo: Getty