Gov. Gregg Abbott says state Democrats who skipped town to derail a GOP-backed redistricting effort could face expulsion from office and even potential felony charges.

The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.

Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows issued civil arrest warrants Monday for the more than 50 Democrats who fled Texas to block a vote on the controversial plan to boost the GOP's numbers in Congress by redistricting.