California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature formally approved a plan Thursday to redraw the state’s congressional lines, setting up a special election this fall to allow Californians to vote on mid-decade redistricting in response to a plan proposed by Texas Republicans.
The state Assembly and Senate both approved three pieces of the Election Rigging Response Act legislative package: a proposed constitutional amendment and two separate bills outlining the logistics of the special election and map proposal. These bills now go to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) desk for approval, and he was scheduled to sign them Thursday afternoon.
“Open your eyes to what is going on in the United States of America in 2025,” Newsom said in a press conference after the state legislature approved the package.
“We are responding to what happened in Texas. We are neutralizing what happened and giving the American people a fair chance.
Because, when everything is equal and everyone is playing by the same rules, the Republican Party will undoubtedly be the minority party in the House of Representatives next year.
He slammed President Trump’s claim that the GOP is “entitled” to five more House seats in Texas.
“You can’t win by following traditional sets of rules. “He doesn’t follow the rules,” Newsom said of the president. “And we are standing up to that. We are responding to that. “They fired the first shot, Texas.”
The proposal is scheduled to appear on the ballot as Proposition 50.
Democrats in California have been racing against the clock to pass the package by Friday in order to set up a special election for November 4. They voted largely along party lines to pass the legislation.
Unlike Texas, where the GOP-controlled Legislature and governor’s approval will suffice to make the Lone Star State maps official, California will eventually have to put the question to voters.
Californians will be asked to approve a plan that could give Democrats five additional House seats, effectively canceling out the five potential Republican gains in Texas, by bypassing the state’s independent redistricting commission until the end of the decade.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin urged, “Every Californian should vote for Democrats’ measure to level the playing field.”
“This is not only about California. The fundamental premise that Americans, rather than Donald Trump, choose their elected officials is at stake,” Martin said in a statement.
Susan DelBene, chair of the Democratic House campaign arm, stated that California’s proposal “stands in stark contrast to the Republicans’ shameless scheme in Texas.”
“I applaud Governor Newsom and California lawmakers for taking responsible, responsive, and targeted actions to fight back against Republicans’ corrupt power grab.”
“This proposal would give Californians a choice to fight back—and bring much-needed accountability and oversight to the Trump administration,” Newsom said in a statement this week.
Newsom has pitched the plan as a way to “fight fire with fire” after President Trump pushed Texas to find five new GOP seats.
He has also stated that the plan is only temporary, and that after the 2030 cycle, the independent commission will resume its regular post-census redistricting schedule.
Republicans, on the other hand, claim that the plan contradicts the will of voters, who approved the commission in 2008 and 2010. During the hours of proceedings on Thursday, they also raised questions about who drew the maps and expressed concerns about the cost of the special election.
In a post on X, California Assembly Republicans claimed that Democrats “bent the knee to the governor and undermined the will of the people.”
California Republican legislators filed suit earlier this week, requesting that the state Supreme Court block action on the legislation, claiming that the rush to vote on the legislation package violated the state constitution.
The state court rejected the petition on Wednesday, allowing the efforts to proceed in the Legislature.
California’s plan comes after talk of new maps in Texas sparked a national redistricting tit for tat leading up to next year’s high-stakes midterm elections.
Republicans have a slim 219-212 majority in the House, and control of Congress could be down to a few seats.
The GOP controls only nine of California’s 52 House seats. The Republican incumbents affected by the new map are Representatives. Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert, and David Valadao.
Redistricting has also been proposed in the red states of Ohio, Florida, Indiana, and Missouri, as well as Democratic strongholds like Maryland and Illinois.
Meanwhile, the Texas House advanced its redistricting plan on Wednesday. Both chambers must reconcile the legislation before it is sent to Governor Greg Abbott (R) for approval.
“It’s on, Texas,” Newsom declared Wednesday night on social media platform X.
Democrats in California had notably planned to include “trigger” language in the constitutional amendment, allowing the plan to proceed only if GOP-friendly redistricting passed in red states, including Texas. In response to Texas’ actions, they decided on Thursday to remove that direct language from the amendment text.
Instead, they intend to introduce a clarification in a separate bill that has yet to be voted on, “in case something miraculous happens in Texas, and everyone comes to their senses,” state Senator Mike McGuire (D) stated on the floor.
