WASHINGTON — If Texas Democrats step foot in the state before the special legislative session is over, they would likely be arrested and cabined in the State Capitol. So, unless concessions are made over a GOP-backed elections bill before August, state Democrats are settling into ​Washington, D.C. for the coming weeks.

Texas Democrats are turning to their counterparts in Congress to find a path forward for a federal law on voting rights. Wednesday, they broke out in separate groups to rally support from Democratic U.S. senators and criticize the Republican-drafted Texas elections bill.

"They're not interested in fairness. They don't want these elections to be free. They want you to fill out a whole bunch of red tape and then cancel your ballot. If you make a mistake, they want to criminalize poll workers who make simple mistakes. So, we're angry and we have courage," said Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Dallas, at a press conference alongside senators Amy Klobuchar, Jeff Merkley and Raphael Warnock.

Members are hoping for a change of heart over the U.S. Senate’s filibuster rules, which currently require 60 senators to end the debate and move to vote. Congressional senators said negotiations are ongoing and there may be other ways to make meaningful change.

“There is a lot of work being done between Congress and the administration, and I am not giving up," Klobuchar said.

In between those Senate meetings, Texas Democrats held a press conference at their hotel, which is blocks away from the White House. They took the moment to reiterate how their amendments to the voting bill have been shut out, as well as their desire to address other issues.

“I wish they had the same vigor and venom and desire to solve mass shootings. How many mass shootings have we had in this country? Why aren’t we changing laws to fix that? There are many issues. Why haven’t we fixed the electric grid? Why haven’t we expanded Medicaid in Texas?" said Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio.

So far, they have not met with congressional lawmakers who oppose their cause. State Democrats said they are open to meeting with Texas’ two GOP senators. For now, Republicans are criticizing them, arguing the Texas elections bill includes common sense reforms and uniformity.

“For the first time ever, some places in Texas experimented with these brand new unusual measures. But now winding them down is somehow an assault on democracy. Really?” said Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell on the Senate floor.

But Texas Democrats believe those provisions such as 24-hour voting and drive-thru voting worked.

“When you want to peel away voting rights, and when you say, ‘Hey, we're gonna make it harder to vote.’ We take that really seriously. We say, ‘Why? Why, is it because too many people voted? Is it because Donald Trump said that the election was stolen from him?’” Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, told Capital Tonight.

It still takes all 50 Democrats in the Senate to support the federal election bill before killing the filibuster can seriously be discussed. One of the biggest holdouts — Sen. Joe Manchin — is meeting with Texas Democrats this week.