The Democrats Minnesota House Boycott Echoes former Walkouts in other states

St. Paul, Minn. (AP) – Democrats in Minnesota -House that have Boycotted daily sessions Using tactics that legislators around the country have tried at least two dozen times before to avert their opponents. It’s not even a first for the state.

The Minnesota Democrats are trying to prevent Republicans from taking advantage of a temporary majority with a seat caused by a vacancy in a democratic-reliable seat, and the chamber is expected to return to 67-67 after a special election. Democrats asked the State Supreme Court to intervene and The court sitting with them Friday decision that the Minnesota Constitution requires 68 members present for parliament to do business, which means at least one Democrat should emerge. The Senate is temporarily tied to 33, also because of a vacancy in a democratic district.

In 1857The question was the Republicans’ desire to move the Minnesota Territory Capital from St. Paul to a new city, St. Peter, approx. 75 miles (121 kilometers) away. A democratic legislature took physical possession of the bill and hid at a local hotel until it was too late to act on the measure.

Here are other notable moments of chaos and impasses in state lawmakers in the last 170 years:

1863, Indiana: No legislature? No problem!

Democratic lawmakers tired of the civil war tried to fight control of the state militia from violent pro-union Republican Government Head of Oliver Morton. Fellow Republicans prevented the efforts by following his call for Bolt and closing the State General Assembly. Morton operated the State without legislator through 1864 and requested private and federal loans to finance the state government and dolled the funds from a large safe in his office.

1893, Kansas: ‘Legislative War’

With several 1892 races in dispute, both populists and Republicans claimed a majority in the State House. One month to legislators’ annual session, populist legislators locked themselves in and Republicans, overnight in the house chamber. The next day, the GOP -House speaker Used a Slege Hammer To break down a door so Republicans could go in and chase the populists out.

The Kansas Supreme Court eventually decided the disputed races in the Republicans’ advantage, giving them the majority. Sledhammer appears in the State House.

1924, Rhode Island: A filibuster, riot and gas attack

The Democrats tried to end the grossly odd representation of the state legislature who had cemented Republican dominance and suggested to have a convention to revise the Rhode Island Constitution for that purpose.

They were hoping to slip their measure past the GOP’s majority in a seat by filing long enough for a few Republicans to fall asleep or leave. They began in January And kept it up for more than five months.

In mid -June, a battle was moving over who could preside to a daily Senate session, what is called a brief rebellion among senators. Two days later, a unit that remained in the chamber released harmful gas and cleared it. Republicans eventually fled to a Massachusetts hotel and stayed there for the rest of the year.

1934, North Dakota: One ‘was going on session’

A federal jury convicted the GOP government William Langer for Political Corruption, and he called a special legislative session to get legislators to investigate his beliefs. He was exposed to the office, but declared martial arts.

The new governor, Republican Ole Olson, canceled the special session, but a decision -making skill in the house nevertheless called for the first meetings in a new, still unmatched capital. The Senate did not have enough members to do business, and after five days the house recovered and members went home.

1979, Texas: ‘Killer Bees’

A dozen liberal democratic senators, known as “Killerbier” For their tactics in the derogation of legislation, a plan to change the date of the state’s GOP presidential rate in 1980 to help former Texas government John Connally. “Killer Bees” fled from the state of Capitol, bunked into an employee’s garage and avoided the catch of Texas Rangers for four days. Their absence killed the plan.

Democrats used the same tactics in 2003 – House members went to Oklahoma, and the senators later fled to New Mexico – but failed to avert a Republican Congress Distribution Plan.

Similarly, in 2021, the Democrats were initially successful in killing a restrictive voting measure by going out just before a midnight period to adopt it. They could not block it again during a special session as the Republicans had law enforcement Bring them back After they flew to Washington.

2011, Wisconsin: Democrats flee over trade union rights

Democratic State Sensators fled to Illinois and blocked a vote on GOP Governor Scott Walker’s Plan to strip most public workers of their trade union rights, while pro-union protesters fell into the capital of the state. The stalfate ended several weeks later after the Republicans weakened their legislation.

Walkout inspired house democrats in Indiana to also flees to Illinois Winning concessions from Republicans on education and work bills.

2020-2021, New Hampshire: Covid-19-Era Rowdiness

By 2020, when the 400-member house met at an athletic university because of the Covid-19 pandemic, drank some drank beer inside and defied a local mask mandate outside. A university administrator said they behaved as “young criminals.”

The year after, with the house meeting in a sports complex, Democrats went out When a bill against abortion came up for a vote and protested what they saw as a partisan manipulation of the calendar. It caused the Republican house speaker to lock the doors to maintain a decision -making.

2023, Nebraska: Filibusting Almost every bill

The democratic minority brought the work to the officially non-Partisan legislator with a chamber to an almost standstill by filing almost any bill. The senator is leading Epic Filibuster Tried to kill even bills she supported, for the purpose of refueling a Republican-led effort to ban gender-affirming care of transgender people.

Legislators eventually voted to ban operations and limit the prescribed puberty blockers and hormones to a great extent, but also added a ban on abortion after 12 weeks at their expense. The measure was adopted and signed by the governor.

2023, Oregon: A Record Gop Boycott

Since the early 1970s, Oregon legislators in both parties have died daily sessions to stop working in one or both chambers. After a series of GOP -Walkouts approved voters in 2022 a change in the state’s constitution that prevents legislators from seeking re -election if they have more than 10 unused absence in a single annual regulatory session.

Then, in 2023, staged Republican Senators Walkout of all Walkouts: A six-week boycott over measures protecting abortion rights and gender-affirming care of transgender people. Ten was blocked from the ballot in 2024.

2024, Michigan: Defection Dooms Session

A Democrat’s decision to join minority Republicans in skipping a daily house meeting forced an end For a post-election, Lame Duck session in December.

Democratic leaders could not act on measures to ban ghost weapons or protect health data for abortion patients or on financing articles sought by the Democratic Government Manager Gretchen Whitmer. The chaos highlighted wider departments among the Democrats after election that saw GOP recreating a house majority.

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Hanna reported from Topka, Kansas. Associated Press -Autners Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota; Sean Murphy, in Oklahoma City; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin; Claire Rush, in Portland, Oregon; And Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, also contributed.