This week, the California legislature will begin considering legislation to authorize a vote on a redrawn congressional map that would more heavily favor Democrats.
The legislature meets amid an escalating national standoff between the two major parties as Republicans in Texas are moving forward—on the request of the Justice Department and President Donald Trump—with a plan that could give Republicans five extra seats in the House.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies are calling for the passage of a bill that would allow a referendum to vote on the new congressional maps, which would go into effect as early as 2026.
Newsom and other California Democrats have said that the plan “fights fire with fire,” and is intended as a response to similar efforts that are ongoing in Texas.
The plan is drawing national attention, prompting responses from prominent California lawmakers in both parties.
Under a 2008 constitutional amendment, redistricting in California is handled by an independent commission.
To get around that, Newsom has proposed—and is encouraging the passage of—a new referendum to approve redrawn maps favoring Democrats. It would go through the California legislature as the “Election Rigging Response” Act.
California Democrats’ plan would move blue voters into currently red districts, aiming to increase Democrats’ share of the House by five seats in line with the Texas effort.
State lawmakers—who control supermajorities in both chambers of Congress—released the new map Friday.
When California lawmakers return to Sacramento on Monday, redistricting will be their top priority at Newsom’s request. They'll need to pass the bill by Friday to allow for the measure to appear on the state’s Nov. 4 ballot.
They'll hold hearings on the map, and leaders indicate they will almost certainly pass the bill, paving the way for a referendum that will be held Nov. 4 this year, the same day as several municipal elections.
“We are prepared and we will fight fire with fire,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. “We will do whatever it takes to defend our democracy. We will do whatever it takes to protect the voices, the votes, and the rights of every American.”
State Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire said, “It is our sacred responsibility to defend the people of California and our democracy from this madness, so if Texas moves forward, we will be forced to do the same.”
If approved in a referendum, the new map would remain in effect through 2030, at which point it would be replaced under the standard California process.
Neama Rahmani, a California-based lawyer who comments on national politics, told The Epoch Times that the measure is likely to pass if placed on the ballot later this year.
“California is a heavily blue state, throwing a lot of money at this. You can win any ballot initiative here,” Rahmani said.
The push for a referendum has been met with criticism by Republicans.
State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, a Republican from San Diego, called the move a “corrupt, illegitimate, and illegal effort by politicians to remove citizens from drawing the lines and give the power back to politicians.”
DeMaio said that the 2008 amendment to approve an independent redistricting panel “eliminates” any role for the state legislature or governor in redistricting. He added that the current push is “simply not legally permissible.”
DeMaio was also critical of Texas’s efforts to redraw its maps.
“We want the citizens to be able to draw the lines, not the politicians,” DeMaio said.
Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said: “Newsom’s made it clear: He’ll shred California’s Constitution and trample over democracy—running a cynical, self-serving playbook where Californians are an afterthought and power is the only priority.”
In response to criticisms about the bid skirting the independent commission, Newsom has defended the plan.
“We’re working through a very transparent, temporary, and public process,” Newsom said during a rally last week to discuss the bill.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), one of the House lawmakers most at risk from the changes to the map, is pushing to ban all mid-decade redistricting i California, Texas, and elsewhere.
Asked about the situation in Texas, where over 51 Democratic lawmakers fled the state to delay a vote on redistricting, Kiley told a local outlet, “I think people are looking at that and saying, ‘This is not the way the political process is supposed to work.’ I think it does underscore the need to restore sanity to this whole process.”
A bill introduced by Kiley would ban mid-decade redistricting entirely.
With the California bill on track to pass the state legislature, some of the Texas Democrats who fled the state, taking refuge in blue states like Illinois, New York, and California, may soon return to Texas.
California’s move, if approved by the legislature, will offset the effectiveness of similar efforts in Texas.
Currently, California and Texas—the country’s largest and second-largest states, respectively—are the only ones taking part in the redistricting battle.
However, others, including Republican states like Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, and Florida, and Democratic states like New York and Illinois, are considering similar measures.
—Joseph Lord
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