Country music legend Willie Nelson helped close out a four-day march in support of voting rights that ended at the state Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Saturday. The march was led in part by former Representative Beto O’Rourke, CBS affiliate KEYE-TV reports.
The march began Wednesday in Georgetown and concluded Saturday, with a group of pallbearers bringing a coffin representing “the death of good legislation” to the Capitol, according to KEYE. William Barber acted as master of ceremonies and called on the U.S. government to raise the minimum wage, end the filibuster and pass the For the People Act, KEYE reports. The bill was blocked by Senate Republicans in June, but Democrats still plan to push forward on voting rights legislation.
“Democrats are doing everything they can to save this democracy, including taking the fight to the one place it can be won, in our nation’s capital before the U.S. Senate,” O’Rourke said Saturday.
Texas House Democrats are still in Washington, D.C., where they have been since fleeing the Lone Star State in order to deny House Republicans a quorum during a special legislative session. As a result, the Texas House has been unable to conduct business, preventing the legislature from passing a GOP-backed voting and elections bill.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said he will call a new special session once the Democrats return. The current special session will expire next week.
Nelson helped close out the rally with a short set, which included the 88-year-old’s 2018 song, “Vote ‘Em Out.”
Array
