AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to remove from office a top state lawmaker he called the “ringleader” of Democrats who left the state to block a vote on a new congressional voting map pushed by President Donald Trump. Abbott bypassed lower courts and filed a rare emergency petition against state House Democratic Caucus Chairman Gene Wu straight to the all-Republican state Supreme Court, the state’s top civil court. The governor’s lawsuit came just three days after dozens of Democrats left the state and hinges on an untested legal theory that the lawmakers can be found to have vacated their office if they don’t return to the state Capitol.
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