Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered Democratic lawmakers to be arrested and brought back to the state capital after they left Texas in a bid to prevent voting on a Republican plan to redraw the state's congressional districts.

The exodus by Democratic members of the Texas legislature was intended to deny Republicans the quorum necessary to vote on the redistricting plan, which President Donald Trump has championed.

By redrawing district lines in hopes of flipping some seats currently held by Democrats, the Republicans aim to protect the party's narrow US House of Representatives majority in next year's midterm elections.

Texas House falls short of quorum after Democrats leave state. – AP

At Monday's session the Republican speaker of the state House issued civil warrants for the Democrats – most of whom have gone to Illinois, New York or Massachusetts – to be brought back to Austin. But the orders apply only within the state, and breaking quorum is not a crime.

"To ensure compliance, I ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to locate, arrest, and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans," Abbott said.

On Sunday, Abbott cited an opinion by the state's attorney general that district courts may determine whether legislators have forfeited their offices "due to abandonment", saying that would empower him to "swiftly fill vacancies". But even if Abbott succeeded in ousting the absent Democrats, it would take time to hold new elections.

Attorney General Ken Paxton told Fox News that he expected the Texas Supreme Court to ultimately weigh in on any abandonment cases filed against the Democratic lawmakers.

"And they're obviously a Republican court," he added.

In another possible tactic, Abbott said that any lawmaker who solicited funds to pay the $500-per-day fine that Texas House rules impose on absent legislators could violate bribery laws. He vowed to try and extradite any "potential out-of-state felons" among the group.

Democrats from Texas House who left state, hold press conference. – AP

Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the US House of Representatives, with three Democratic-held seats vacant after deaths and one Republican seat vacant after a member resigned. A stronger Republican majority in the US House would enable Trump to further advance his agenda.

The session – which was also called to address flood prevention and relief – is due to reconvene on Tuesday afternoon. Democrats have threatened to stay out of state until the end of the 30-day special session, which began on July 21.

Democratic US Representatives Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett led several dozen protesters in a march outside the governor's mansion on Monday afternoon.

"Governor Greg Abbott is a coward for saying that our law enforcement should go out and arrest our local elected officials," Casar said.

"This is America. This is a place where you're not supposed to be sending law enforcement to go and handcuff elected officials that you disagree with."

Gene Wu, the chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said the calls for the arrest of the members of his caucus were "a warning to the public of what they're doing – they're threatening us with arrest because we're defending you".

Chairs sit empty in rows at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. – Reuters

A White House official said Trump supports Abbott's threat to remove absent Democratic lawmakers and wants "whatever is necessary" done to get the new map passed. Trump has told reporters he expects the effort to yield as many as five additional House Republicans.

States are required to redistrict every 10 years based on the US Census, but the current Texas map was passed just four years ago by the Republican-dominated legislature. While mid-cycle redistricting occasionally takes place, it is usually prompted by a change in power at the legislature.

Under Texas' current lines, Republicans control 25 out of 38 seats, nearly two-thirds of the districts in a state that went for Trump last year by a 56 per cent to 42 per cent margin.

Texas Democratic lawmakers have before tried the strategy of leaving the state to block a redistricting plan. Some fled in 2021 in a similar bid to deny Abbott the quorum needed to pass a voting restriction measure. That bill passed after three of the lawmakers returned, saying they had achieved their goal of bringing national attention to the issue.

Leaders of Democrat-led states such as California and Illinois have also raised the idea of redistricting their own US congressional maps to boost the number of Democratic seats in response to Abbott's push in Texas.

Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott last month. – Reuters

California Democrats are considering new political maps that could slash five Republican-held House seats in the liberal-leaning state while bolstering Democratic incumbents in other battleground districts.

The proposal is being circulated at the same time that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has said he wants to advance partisan redistricting. He says he won’t move ahead if Texas pauses its efforts.

Newsom said he’d call a special election for the first week of November. Voters would weigh a new congressional map drawn by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

“California will not sit by idly and watch this democracy waste away,” Newsom said.

A draft plan that's circulating aims to boost the Democratic margin to 48 of California’s 52 congressional seats, according to a source familiar with the plan who was not authorised to discuss it publicly. That’s up from the 43 seats the party now holds. It would need approval from lawmakers and voters, who may be sceptical to give it after handing redistricting power to an independent commission years ago.

Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows takes the roll call in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Austin. – AP

In addition, the proposal would generously pad Democratic margins in districts for competitive seats anchored in Orange County, San Diego County and the Central Valley farm belt, giving Democrats a potential advantage as Texas Republicans move to sway the tissue-thin balance of the House.

Democratic members of California’s congressional delegation were briefed on the new map on Monday, according to a person familiar with the meeting who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.