Democratic Texas State Rep. Chris Turner, left, from Grand Prairie, speaks during a news conference with other Texas Democrats, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Texas voting bills that prompted state Democrats’ flight to Washington this week include a raft of tweaks and changes to the state’s election code. Some are dramatic, others highly technical, and a couple could make life easier for voters.

In this March 22, 2021, file photo advocates for statehood for the District of Columbia rally near the Supreme Court and Capitol prior to a House of Representatives hearing on creating a fifty-first state, in Washington. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, FIle)

Plus: The cases for and against Washington, D.C., becoming the nation’s 51st state on “Chicago Tonight”

The nation’s capital has a larger population than Wyoming or Vermont, and its estimated 712,000 residents pay federal taxes, vote for president and serve in the armed forces, but they have no voting representation in Congress.