by Voters are now receiving Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to use his own redistricting strategy in California to oppose President Donald Trump’s election gerrymander in Texas.
His plan to call for a special election on a ballot issue that would suspend the state’s current congressional districts—which were created by an independent commission—and replace them with a layout that would benefit Democrats was authorized by the California Legislature on Friday.
Even before they completed the vote, MPs on the floor erupted in cheers as the Assembly passed the legislation 57 to 20. Hours later, the Senate approved it by a party-line vote of 30–8. Shortly thereafter, Newsom announced a special election for November 4.
“It’s time for Democrats to play hardball in response to the Trump administration’s moves to advance their power,” he stated during a press conference to promote the upcoming campaign for what would be on the ballot as Proposition 50.
He claimed that we made an effort to hold hands while discussing how the world ought to be. We must act differently; we cannot simply think differently.
In order to promote fair and competitive elections, California voters supported independent redistricting for congressional districts in a 2010 ballot issue. Democrats claim they are hesitant to abandon that system, even for a short time, but they feel it is necessary to oppose Trump’s attempt to keep control of Congress after 2026.
Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, a Democrat from Long Beach whose father had advocated for nonpartisan redistricting as a state politician and Congressman, stated that if Texas’ actions, which take place without the public’s vote, are not addressed, California will lose its right to vote.
In an impassioned floor statement prior to the vote, Lowenthal stated that Californians must have a say in choosing the political party that would control Congress in 2026. Therefore, I am pleased to join my father, who created this commission, in calling for its temporary suspension today.
Prior to the vote, Republicans begged their fellow Republicans not to follow Texas to the bottom of the gerrymandering race.
James Gallagher, the minority leader and a Republican from Chico, stated that the only effective method to prevent someone from striking back is to teach them a better way.
A package that would organize and finance the special election was also passed by lawmakers on Thursday. It includes the new congressional map that voters will be asked to accept and will be sent to Newsom’s desk. Today, Newsom signed both of them.
The proposition that will be put to voters calls for the state to switch back to nonpartisan map-drawing following the 2030 census, but the shift is only meant to be temporary.
Newsom wanted to counter Texas
Following Trump’s announcement that he was entitled to five additional GOP congressional seats in Texas, Newsom started the rush for special elections. He insisted that politicians from the Lone Star State redraft their congressional districts in the middle of the decade in order to support Republicans’ slender, three-seat House majority. Newsom claimed California would strike back after Governor Greg Abbott suggested Texas would redistrict.
Currently, 43 of the state’s 52 congressional seats are held by Democrats. Five Republican seats are converted into districts that overwhelmingly favor Democrats by the Newsom-backed redistricting. Newsom would virtually negate Trump’s Texas campaign by overthrowing those incumbents. Additionally, the patterns make it more difficult for the GOP to win back three other contested California districts the next year.
In an attempt to halt the bills’ accelerated passage through the legislature, California Republicans spent the week putting up a number of procedural obstacles. One such measure was to request that the California Supreme Court consider their challenge to the short time between the legislation’s public release on Monday and its final vote on the Assembly and Senate floors on Thursday.
Some of them were prepared to denounce Texas and other conservative states that Trump has pushed to change their boundaries, and they called for a halt to the national redistricting arms race.
They contended that several Democratic lawmakers were biased because of their alleged personal interest in running for Congress, and that Newsom’s plans unjustly divided some areas into multiple congressional districts.
The two parties argued about who initiated the altercation during especially heated moments on the Senate and Assembly floors. Republicans countered that Democratic lawmakers were too loyal to Newsom and accused them of not opposing the Trump administration enough.
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GOP couldn t stall measure
However, Republican attempts to thwart the legislation were thwarted by California’s longstanding legislative tradition as well as political numbers.
Most Democratic voters, according to polls, want the party to do more to oppose the Trump administration. Democratic lawmakers, who have a three-quarters supermajority in both chambers, have mostly sided with Newsom on the redistricting initiative in recent weeks.
In a manner that ostensibly conforms to state constitutional standards, politicians often unveil last-minute agreements that they expedite for passage 72 hours later.
Although there may be legal challenges to the vote schedule, California Republicans have already lost one court case. The GOP’s timing-based challenge to the map-drawing attempt was denied by the state Supreme Court on Wednesday night.
Republican lawmakers agreed that they will probably have to battle the issue in the polls.
This Monday, Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo declared, “We will defeat this; if it’s not here in the Capitol, it will be in a courtroom or at the ballot box.”
CalMatters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news company that holds our officials accountable while providing Californians with articles that examine, clarify, and consider solutions to problems affecting their quality of life.
