Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a new special legislative session to pass a Republican-backed voting law, although dozens of House Democrats are still out of the state and remain in Washington. The announcement comes after more than 50 Democrats left Texas on July 12 to avoid voting on an election reform bill. In late May, hours before the legislative session was slated to end, Democrats walked out of the House and denied Republicans the ability to vote on the bill. In mid-July, House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, announced the lawmakers would face the threat of arrest for breaking quorum. Abbott, also a Republican, said at the time that he will persist in calling special sessions to deal with what he described were outstanding issues that need to be dealt with. “I will continue to call special session after special session to reform our broken bail system, uphold election integrity, …