Texas Democrats who left their state in an attempt to block proposed new congressional maps joined Rainbow PUSH leaders Saturday morning to call for an even broader coalition to join them in denouncing the move by Texas Republicans.

Dozens of Texas Democrats left for Illinois on Sunday, as well as Massachusetts and New York, to deny Republicans a quorum needed during its special legislative session to approve new congressional maps they say will wipe minority-majority districts and disenfranchise Black voters.

Changes in the proposed maps would put Austin residents in the same district as rural Texans more than 300 miles away, while diluting Democratic strongholds in Dallas and Houston into neighboring Republican districts — both of which have constituencies made up of 22% and 24% Black

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