California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Aug. 21 signed a legislative package to put a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot that would redraw the state’s congressional map to favor Democrats, in response to Texas redistricting efforts.
The bill’s passage comes as the Texas Senate presses forward with a vote to authorize a redrawn map of the state’s congressional districts.
A Texas Senate committee approved the bill to create the new map on Thursday evening. Though a vote on final passage was initially expected the same evening, that vote is now expected after the Senate reconvenes on Friday.
If the map is approved by the state legislature, it will go to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.
Congressional maps are usually drawn once a decade following the decennial census, and mid-decade redistricting is a relatively rare phenomenon.
Newsom, the leading advocate for redrawing California’s maps, has said the move is intended to “meet fire with fire,” responding to Texas’s efforts to expand GOP control of its U.S. House delegation by five seats.
Leaders in both chambers defended the move ahead of the vote.
Three California Republicans—Reps. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, and Ken Calvert—are particularly endangered by the change, as their districts are on track to be inundated by voters who backed Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
California, the most populous state in the union, currently holds 52 seats in the U.S. House, 43 of which are held by Democrats.
Newsom and other California Democrats have said their move was purely reactive to that of Texas Republicans, while some critics of the plan have said that it flouts the state’s constitution.
Specifically, under a 2008 constitutional amendment adopted by a referendum, redistricting in California is handled by an independent commission.
To get around that, Newsom and other state Democrats are pushing for the approval of a new referendum to temporarily bypass the nonpartisan commission and allow the voting public to approve the Democrat-proposed maps.
Former President Barack Obama expressed support for Newsom’s move.
“We’re only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn’t go into effect.”
DeMaio also criticized the Republican bid to increase their hold on the Texas House delegation, saying, “Gerrymandering is wrong no matter who’s doing it, whether it’s done by a red state or a blue state.”
“We want the citizens to be able to draw the lines, not the politicians,” he said.
Kiley, the congressman whose seat is most at risk by the redrawn maps, has similarly criticized both states’ efforts at mid-decade redistricting.
Under the California proposal, voters would be given the option to vote only for or against the predetermined maps in the referendum and not on how the maps should be drawn.
Still, observers say the measure is likely to be approved by voters in the deep blue state.
